The Common Denominator Of Success

In a great essay by E.M. Gray titled "The Common Denominator Of Success", he contends that one common denominator of all succesful people is not hard work, good luck, or great communications skills, though those are all important.

The one habit that transcends all others is discipline.

Successful people do what the average person doesn't like to do. They probably dont like to do these tasks either, but their purpose and goals drive them on. They exercise their most valuable muscle called discipline.

Gary Player, one of golf's greatest atheletes, is a great role model for the discipline necessary to build resilience and achieve musical success..

Once when being interviewed, Player said, "Throughout my career, people have said to me, 'I'd give anything to hit a golf ball like you'". Gary, who has always been known for being polite and dignified, said that on one particularly tough day, his politeness failed him when a spectator repeated that statement. Gary said he lost his cool and responded, "No you wouldn't! You would love to hit a golf ball like me if it was easy! Do you know what you have to go through to hit a golf ball the way I do? You've got to get up every morning at five o'clock, go out to the range, and hit 1,000 balls. Your hands start bleeding; then you walk back to the clubhouse, wash the blood off, slap on bandages, and then go out and hit another 1000 balls. That's what it takes to hit a golf ball the way I do."

Gary player was resilient enough to endure hardship day after day, because his courage and discipline formed an attitude that would not quit.