I heard this story in 1974 when I was starting out in business and it gave me a great perspective on success.
The 100 People Story
Start with a group of 100 people at age 25 who all are strongly motivated to to do something great. They want to build a business of their own. They want to earn a big income. They want to have a great impact on the world around them. They are driven. They are committed and are determined to pay any price—at least they think they are.
10 years later…
By age 35, ten of them had achieved the success they were looking for. Ten out of a hundred, 10%, made it. What happened next? Did they live happily ever?
10 years after that…
Now our group is 45 years old. How are our ten successful people doing? Surprise! Only one is still on top. Nine out of ten have faded away. So one out a hundred makes it to the top and continues to be successful.
That’s something to think about when you hear people raging against the 1 percenters. I’m not sure they appreciate the effort it takes to make it into the 1 percent.
