Author: Private Jet Services
The only way to succeed is to continuously improve and so, Success is simple The Japanese have a name for it: Kaizen. And Kaizen is all about consistency. If you’ll forgive/indulge me, let’s use me, and this photo, as the vehicle for this discussion here. It’s probably evident even from the above low res version […]
The only way to succeed is to continuously improve and so, Success is simple The Japanese have a name for it: Kaizen.
And Kaizen is all about consistency.
If you’ll forgive/indulge me, let’s use me, and this photo, as the vehicle for this discussion here.
It’s probably evident even from the above low res version of this photo that yes, this might be a nice image, difficult to capture, etc., etc. (A high quality version of this photo is available HERE). And yes, of course I was happy it got 1st place in this competition But let’s focus (excuse the photographic pun!) on the process, rather than the prize.
I don’t play the lottery. I believe we have to create our own luck. But if you do want to win the lottery, you have to buy a ticket. Every week. You have to get in –and stay in- the arena.
I managed to get this successful photo because I invested thousands of hours, thousands of $’s, to take thousands of other photos that were essentially comparative failures. (Thank goodness for the advent of digital photography, which significantly reduced my slide film processing bill!). But I was willing to pay the price and continued shooting because I was motivated by a goal (in this case, of competition).
And there are endless examples in our wild world, of this phenomenon.
Persistency pays.
As I speak about in my Thriving in a Wild World™: Success is simple Secrets from Africa’s Big Cats™ keynotes, staying consistent, persistent and persevering is the difference between thriving and not surviving, in the face of competition. Africa’s Big Cats live in a brutally competitive environment. For each of the big cats, this impala, for instance, is a hugely popular item on the menu. All the big cats love to prey on this ‘rooibok’ antelope, which constitutes a major proportion of each of the Big Cat species’ diet.
So all Africa’s big cats are hunting in the same ‘market’. And the big cats’ success rate is, believe it or not, surprisingly poor. Even lions, the apex African carnivore, fail more than they succeed. Lions’ kill rate is only one out of three actual hunts. But the Big Cats are not deterred by failure. They keep going. They persist. They stay consistent. They repeat the basics. They keep hunting. They stay in the arena.
I’m a big believer in the merits of competition. I speak every week around the globe on how it pulls everyone in -and often even out of- the arena to stretch themselves and elevate their performance. It keeps EVERYONE on their toes, on point, at peak performance, and leaves no room for complacency. Competition fuels success. It is a catalyst to Kaizen.
So if I’m to be authentic and have integrity as a speaker and as a human being, I have to practice what I preach and walk my talk.
I love speaking. It’s what I do and I enjoy every minute. And I love my hobby of photographing wildlife. As a speaker, you’re stretched and kept on your toes all the time because every keynote, every audience, every context is a new challenge. As a wildlife photographer, every sighting presents different circumstances, different lighting conditions, different animal behaviors to understand and master. And to photograph wildlife also requires serious logistic gymnastics, dedication and time… lots and lots of time!
So, because my travel these days is necessarily (and –don’t get me wrong- thankfully) mostly to conference venues to speak rather than to the bushveld to photograph, it’s important to create the time to still stay consistent with my wildlife photography, and to continually stay in the competition arena like this to keep stretching myself…
So the path to Success is simple is actually a choice. Not rocket science. Not nepotism. Not lottery luck. Just staying in the arena. Just staying consistent and persistent. Just staying committed to Kaizen, in everything.
Success might not be easy. But it is simple.
And there are a few simple, controllable keys. Like consistency.
And EVERYONE and ANYONE can choose to be consistent.
Lorne Sulcas
Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and follow us on Twitter
The articles, video and images embedded on these pages are from various speakers and talent.
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.
A framework from my book Humancentric for how to create Relationship and Intelligence in businesses in the fourth industrial revolution. How do we focus more on people than technology? When we do our research behind all of the aspects of business, we need to focus on the context we are in, the relationships around that […]
We are only as unified as our loneliest team or Disconnected Worker community members. No one is immune to feeling lonely at work—not even the outgoing top sales associate, the customer success representative that brings her dog into the office, or the charming vice president who always declines every happy hour invitation due to “overcommitments.” Entry-level […]
When Lance Armstrong was bust for using performance enhancing drugs through most of his career one of his defences was that it was part of the racing culture of the time and many other riders were doing it too. So, Would you use performance enhancing drugs at work? In order to be competitive, he believed […]
Most people experience discomfort and they run. Hunting Discomfort may be the experience of pain (and that’s… unpleasant), but on the other side of that pain are breakthrough results. If you’re committed to breakthrough results, hunting discomfort will get you there, even to give a TED Talk. Everyone knows that giving a TED Talk is […]
When you first started your business, odds are you spent time setting goals and scheduling the components of your business plan so you can be ready to grow. But the bigger your business gets, the deeper into the weeds you go and the harder it is to prioritize these tasks. They seem “less important” […]
Virtual Programming: Let TV personality and online content wiz Tan France help you Boost Your Business In his new Facebook Watch show Boost My Business, TV personality and entrepreneur TAN FRANCE aims to help businesses recover, thrive in a new normal, and embrace digital tools to connect to their online communities. In each episode, Tan meets with small […]
This post has taken me almost 8 weeks to think about posting, client is always the client. I have started to write and then, delete — delete — delete. Leave it for a few days and try again, but still my anger and emotions take over as I have tried to construct a well thought-out […]
Your first time as a manager is a learning experience as much as anything else and what is the best way to build trust? How do you lead your team well? Who should you hire? Where do you draw the boundaries with former colleagues who are now direct-reports? WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO BUILD TRUST? […]
No results available
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME