The Secret of Success

Everyone wants to know the secret of success.

People write books about it, post motivational quotes on Instagram, sell courses, shoot YouTube videos promising you the “secret formula.”

But here’s the truth no one likes to say out loud:

There is no secret.

Not in the way you think.

I used to believe success was something shiny and loud—glamorous, immediate, measurable. Like a dream job offer. A fancy degree. A viral post. A million-dollar business. Success, I thought, had a look, a smell, a sound.

But when I began my own journey, I realized success is quiet. Almost invisible at first. It's in the unnoticed hours, the unpaid work, the lonely nights, the rejected emails. It's in the mornings you wake up with nothing but a sliver of hope—and still show up.

It started after I quit my 9-to-5 job. People thought I was crazy.

"You’re walking away from stability?"

"You have no backup plan?"

"What are you thinking?"

Truth is, I wasn’t thinking. I was feeling. Feeling trapped, uninspired, exhausted. My soul was suffocating under spreadsheets and endless meetings. I craved purpose.

So, I did what everyone says not to do—I walked away without a plan.

At first, it was liberating. Coffee at noon. Long walks. The fantasy of finally “following my passion.” I started writing—articles, blogs, anything that paid. I thought the universe would reward my bravery quickly.

It didn’t.

Weeks turned to months. Rejections piled up. I made barely enough to pay rent. My savings were running out. The friends who once cheered me on stopped asking how it was going. I could see it in their eyes: Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all.

I thought about quitting—more times than I can count.

But every time I got close to giving up, something small pulled me back.

An encouraging comment from a stranger. A message from a reader who said, “This piece spoke to me.” A freelance gig that paid just enough to last another week. Not big wins. Just breadcrumbs. But I followed them.

Here’s what I learned during that time—what I now know to be the real secret of success.

1. Show Up, Especially When It’s Hard

Success is boring before it's beautiful.

No one claps when you wake up early to write. No one cheers when you send your 45th pitch email. There’s no applause for trying again after you’ve failed ten times.

But these are the moments success is born. Not in the highlight reel—but in the grind no one sees.

2. Fall in Love with the Process, Not the Applause

When you stop chasing outcomes and start enjoying the craft, everything changes.

I began to write for the love of writing, not for the approval. I started asking, What value can I give today? instead of What will I get from this?

That shift changed everything. Readers came. Clients came. Opportunities found me—slowly, then all at once.

3. Stay Humble, Stay Hungry

I realized I didn’t know as much as I thought.

So I learned.

I studied the work of people I admired. I took criticism seriously. I asked for feedback. I rewrote the same article five times until it felt right.

Humility isn’t weakness—it’s growth fuel.

4. Connect, Don’t Compete

There’s a myth that success is a solo journey. That you have to hustle alone, in silence, and only emerge when you’ve “made it.”

Not true.

It was a stranger on LinkedIn who offered me my first big break. It was a fellow writer who recommended me to an editor. It was a mentor who reminded me, “You don’t have to do this all alone.”

The people around you matter. Build bridges. Offer help. Ask for it. You never know who’s holding the door you're meant to walk through.

One day, almost randomly, one of my articles took off. Thousands of views. Hundreds of messages. Clients knocking.

People called it “overnight success.”

But it wasn’t.

It was two years of showing up when no one was watching.

It was 73 rejections before the first “yes.”

It was late nights, early mornings, self-doubt, and stubborn hope.

It was persistence.

It was patience.

It was choosing to believe before there was proof.

The real secret of success?

It’s not found in books or blueprints.

It’s found in you.

In your willingness to fail, learn, rise, and repeat.

In your refusal to quit, even when the odds laugh in your face.

In your ability to find light, even in the darkest chapters.

So if you’re chasing success—stop chasing.

Start building.

Show up. Stay curious. Be kind. Keep going.

You’re not behind. You’re just in the part of the story where the hero is still becoming.

And that’s the most important part.