Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more The Myth of Overnight Success - and What Success Really Means
- Simon Sammut
- Aug 7
- 3 min read
“You see someone blow up on social media overnight… but do you know about the 10 years of work before that moment?”
Everyone seems to love a story of an overnight “success.”
The musician “who went viral.”
The business “who made six figures in six months.”
The individual “who transformed their body in thirty days”
It makes us question why we haven’t achieved something similar yet. But most of these so-called overnight success stories are built upon years of visible and, most often, invisible work. There are so many different angles we can explore, but the most important to ponder at this point is: what is success, truly?
The Decade Behind the “Moment”
Consider any musician who makes it big on social media in a single day. It seems like they’ve struck gold overnight. But in reality, what they’ve accumulated is something like:
10,000 practice room hours in the form of rehearsals
Performances in front of three to five people in empty venues
Songs that died in a lifetime of obscurity
Stages of life in which they contemplated disappearing and not pursuing their career
The same goes for everyone else. The individual who “seems” to have the perfect job may have slogged it out for over a decade. That “fitness transformation?” More often than not, it is the result of relentless work “behind the curtain” over the years and manifests in slow, long-term progression, rather than a magical thirty day program.
It seems like success occurs at all at once. But in reality, it’s the tip of the iceberg, a tiny fraction of what is a long, silent voyage.
Uncovering What's Below The Surface
Additionally, let us consider something we don’t often explore, the notion of success is, at times, the opposite of what it appears to be.
For some, success can feel anticlimactic like when a viral moment or a “big break” is accompanied by no real structure to uphold it. While for some, reaching the so-called milestone feels devoid of any magic.
This is precisely how so many people “make it” only to later feel disoriented. The person gets what they believed were the markers of success, only to come to the realisation later that it is not what they were, in the end, looking for.
Shifting The Thought Of Success
So what is it, success?
For the musician, is it packed-out shows or is it finishing a song that gives them a sense of achievement?
For some creators, is it going viral or having the self-expression and freedom to continue making art?
For anyone, is it focusing on external markers, or living a life deemed to be meaningful and fulfilling?
Personally, I think it is not an event in time, rather an accumulation of several. So far, I have understood that success is the process and the perpetual work that leads to a joyful outcome.
Why Slow Wins Last
Slow growth is definitely not beautiful in any way. It cedoes not go viral. However, it ensures that something genuine is built:
Lasting real skill
Ingrained confidence that is not dependent on external admiration
The liberty to define what success is for you
Perhaps that is what we should work for. Not the quick win, but the slow, sure and steady climb.
Your Turn
Could it be that real success is simply in showing up, day after day, regardless of whether the world is noticing or not.
So let me ask you:
What does success mean for you – devoid of the suffocating expectations that have been imposed on you, and instead pivoting towards what genuinely resonates and brings joy to your life?
Comments