Wednesday Wisdom: John Adams on Deserving Success
Wednesday Wisdom is a weekly feature which aims to give you some motivation in the middle of the week. This week’s is by John Adams on deserving success. You can click here to find past Wednesday Wisdom posts.
John Adams On Deserving Success
Today’s Wednesday Wisdom quote comes from one of America’s Founding Fathers, and second President, John Adams. Adams worked for decades to not only free the American colonies from British rule, but to turn them into one, successful country. At no point during this time was he insured of success, and for much of it faced the possibility of execution for treason. However, he believed, as he once told his son, that “We cannot insure success, but we can deserve it.” This maxim led John Adams to lead a very industrious life, rarely taking a day off, in pursuit of his goals.
The idea is that nothing in this life is guaranteed. You have little control over random acts that might happen to you throughout your life. When you first start out aiming towards a goal, there is nothing that insures you will reach it. The only thing you can do is work hard, so that at the very least you deserve success. You might not get a say in what the world throws at you, but you at least control your own actions and habits, and with these you can work towards your goal.
Think about a goal you have set for yourself. What is it you can do that will allow you to deserve success? Work towards these habits every day, and if success finds you, it will be all the sweeter knowing that you earned it. Our former President knew that success is fickle, but that doesn’t mean your work ethic should be too.
So what do you think about John Adams on deserving success? Is he right? Do you have any tips for habits that deserve success? Or a Wednesday Wisdom quote you’d like to have us feature? Leave your comments below!