We’re often told that hard work is the answer. I say hard work can be a path to success, but it’s not the only path. Just look at how many people bust their butt every day but make little (or no) progress. 

Some people are successful by showing up consistently over a long period of time. Objectively speaking, they don’t work hard or run fast. They do a little every day, do it well, and keep doing it. They improve their skills, deepen their relationships, and allow their efforts to compound. 

Slow and steady wins their race, while others burn brightly and burn out. 

Some people have good business connections and leverage them effectively. Some have money to burn. Some people are smarter than average, some have more charisma, and some happen to be in the right place at the right time. 

There’s also the “passion” factor. Some people love what they do and their enthusiasm and joy for doing it attracts people and opportunities that allow them to leapfrog others who are just doing a job.

Here’s the good news. We get to choose our path. Some choose to work hard, some choose something else. 

We need to give ourselves permission to choose the path that’s right for us, and remind ourself to focus on our strengths instead of trying to run fast enough to overcome our weaknesses. 

When we do, we can not only get where we want to go, we can enjoy getting there. 

We all know the value of focusing as a mechanism for creating successful outcomes in our life. The more we concentrate our time and resources on something, the more likely we are to be successful at it.

In law school, we focused on learning the law. When we started practicing, we focused on bringing in clients, doing the work, and running the business side of things.

What we focus on grows. Which is why it is important to choose what we want to focus on instead of aimlessly doing whatever might be in front of us.

The first step is knowing what you want.

When you know you want something, you activate your Reticular Activating System (RAS), the part of your brain that helps you notice things that are important to you and filter out things that aren’t.

When we lived in caves, what was important to us was finding food and staying safe from enemies. Our RAS helped us stay alert about the strangers we encountered and notice the berries that were safe to eat.

Today, if you’re interested in buying a red car, you suddenly notice red cars everywhere. And tend not to notice ones that are green or blue.

If you want to build your practice, your RAS will help you notice things that will help you do that. Articles, people, ideas, and opportunities you might not have noticed before are seemingly everywhere.

How can you use this to your advantage? By getting clear on what you want. Decide what’s important to you—your goals, your purpose, your values—and let your RAS go to work.

When it does, pay attention. The things it helps you notice are consistent with what you said you wanted.