Secrets of success in 8 words, 3 minutes | Richard St. John

Eight Factors That Contribute to Success

Richard St. John summarizes lessons from interviews with successful people as eight factors that contribute to success. His emphasis is on purposeful, sustained effort—not luck or a shortcut.

• Passion: Choose work you care about. Doing something for love can bring financial rewards, too.
• Work: Success takes hard work, but work can also be enjoyable.
• Get good at something: Build skill through repeated practice; there is no magic substitute.
• Focus: Concentrate your efforts on one thing.
• Push yourself: Keep going through shyness, self-doubt, and other challenges.
• Serve others: Create something valuable for other people rather than focusing only on personal gain.
• Develop ideas: New ideas can be found through practical creative effort; the talk doesn’t spell out a specific method.
• Persist: Continue despite failure, criticism, rejection, and pressure.

Presenter and Sources

Presenter: Richard St. John

Interviewees cited: Freeman Thomas, Carol Coletta, Rupert Murdoch, Alex Garden, Norman Jewison, David Gallo, Goldie Hawn, Frank Gehry, Sherwin Nuland, Bill Gates, and Joe Kraus.