As we approach the end of 2012, many of us gear up for the inevitable task: a list of resolutions to guide us in the oncoming year. What exactly do we aspire to accomplish in 2013? Lose five pounds, be a better person or perhaps mend some fences? Or do we want something more: to achieve greatness and/or success?

There’s a book by Malcolm Gladwell on that very subject called “Outliers.” It’s an interesting take on the subject. Very entertaining. He basically claims that being in the right place (parents, environment, etc.), plus being given the appropriate opportunity, and lastly, putting in the proper amount of time (10,000 hours) are the key components to becoming a huge success. He makes a good case, citing people like Steve Jobs and the Beatles—plus others—as examples. What he doesn’t seem to take into account, in my opinion, is that many fitting his criteria fall far short, while others, seemingly outside of his archetypes, are able to achieve greatness none the less. Ultimately his book is a cookie cutter explanation which offers few tangible solutions of how to get there from here.

My take on the matter offers a far more practical blueprint. I believe that my criteria, although geared towards the arts, can be adapted to any career choice or endeavor, from athletics to business to science. So please feel free to share this blog post with anyone you think it can help. It’s based on my own life experience and has proved instrumental in helping many of my former students achieve their dreams.

I think that in order to be successful, one needs to be in possession of the following four traits:

Number 1: Talent.
To me, talent is the most overrated of the four. It’s a popular belief that it alone insures success. As a teacher with 40 years experience, I can assure you, this is very not true. Many precociously talented people fall far short. My most talented student ever isn’t currently employed in any creative capacity, and is not even tapping into his great talent as a hobbyist. The myriad of distractions, which life has to offer, has kept him from manifesting his tremendous artistic potential. Conversely, I had another student, with minimally apparent skill, who become a most impressive painter. I’m not saying that talent is meaningless—it’s impossible to succeed if you have none. therefore, in the grand scheme of things, I consider it’s worth in the quest for success to be about 5%.

Number 2: Hard Work.
My aforementioned student, the one with with minimally apparent talent, achieved success because he worked his butt off, bringing in a finished painting each week, while his classmates put most of their energy into making excuses. Similarly, when Bouguereau entered the Academy he was rated last in his class, but thanks to his legendary work ethic, he eventually won the highest honor, the Prix de Rome. He went from last to first. Rarely does anyone achieve great success without working hard. Since hard work is at least twice as important as talent, it gets a rating of 10%.

Number 3: Objectivity
It’s far more important than the previous two, because you need to cast a critical eye inward if you truly want to be great at what you do. If you actually think you don’t need to improve then why aren’t you successful already?

It’s easy to make excuses, but in order to get better you need to determine your weaknesses and turn them into strengths. What exactly is it that you need to work on? Is it your overall design sense (sometimes referred to as picture-making), achieving unity, drawing hands, establishing color harmony or something else? It may be one thing or it may be many. It may not even be seemingly art related, but pretending that a problem doesn’t exist won’t fix it. See, if you think you’re already great, what can you possibly do to get better? When you acknowledge that a problem exists, you give yourself a chance to change it for the better.

Being self critical is very tough. None of us like to be criticized. We tend to get very defensive when told that we are lacking or somehow screwed up. Very few realize that the knowledge and experience responsible for our achievements to date are the very same things keeping us stuck. If you want to fulfill your potential, you need to be ruthless regarding your self analysis and the truths you hold to be self evident.

Objectivity requires not only a look inward, but also a look outward. With regards to the big picture, where exactly do you fit in? What traits allow others to be successful while you fall short? Are they more talented, do they work harder, do they charge less money, are they better at networking, are they less ethical? The list can go on, ad infinitum, but the bottom line is, if you just stand there hoping that things will serendipitously turn around for you, you are powerless?

If you can muster the strength to be self critical you can begin to move forward. What’s the worst that can happen? Maybe you discover that you’re not willing to do what’s necessary. That can be a very good thing. Get out of the game and find another better suited for your unique set of talents and abilities, and put all your energy into that.

To me objectivity is much more important than the previous two traits because no matter how talented and hard working you are, if you don’t focus your energy appropriately, you’re going nowhere. With that in mind, I rate objectivity at 33%, approximately twice the importance of the other two.

Now if you’re keeping score, the previous three when added up total 49%. So obviously we still need to account for an additional 51%, or what I consider to be the most important factor in achieving one’s goals. But as important as it is, without talent, hard work and objectivity, it alone falls far short of 100%.

Number 4: Perseverance
The most critical aspect of achieving greatness is never giving up! It is pretty obvious, when you surrender, you’re out of the game. Interestingly, most people cite fear of failure as the reason they give up. That’s pretty ridiculous, if you think about it, because once you’ve given up, failure is all but guaranteed. Personally, I believe fear of success is the main reason people pack it in. Being successful means giving up your comfort level, your reasonableness and your excuses, because once you succeed you need to keep working even harder to keep succeeding. It never gets easier. Life is an incline. Either you are moving forward or you’re sliding back.

So if you truly aspire to become all you can be, this blueprint can come in very handy. Take a look at where you are now and begin the journey, one resolution at a time.

I wish all of you, my readers, great success and a happy, healthy and successful new year!

Until next time…