Living Life by Design

The Greek philosopher Socrates had a very simple answer to the question, “Is there a secret to success?” One day a young man asked him if there was indeed such a secret. Socrates told the man to meet him at a nearby river the following morning. When they met, the philosopher suggested they walk into the water. Socrates surprised his companion by dunking him under and holding him there for a minute or so. Finally, he pulled the young man’s head out of the water. As he quickly gasped and took a deep breath of air, Socrates asked him, “What did you want the most when you were under water?” Without hesitating, he replied, “Air.” Socrates said, “That is the secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted air, then you will get it. There is no other secret.”

– from the book Rule #1, Don’t be #2 by Daniel Milstein.