What makes people successful? Rather, how are successful people made?

We all know stories about poor students who become extremely successful and geniuses who succeed in school, but fail miserably in life. Why?

I am reminded of a story I heard about Jorge Posada and his father. One day the father came and told Jorge that he was too slow to be a second baseman. If he wanted to make the major leagues he needed to be a catcher. So Jorge set himself to practice his defensive skills behind the plate until he became proficient.

Then the father told him that there were many right handed catchers, if he wanted to succeed in the majors, he needed to be a switch hitter. Jorge now became committed to developing his hitting from the left side of the plate.

The rest is history. He has become the starting catcher for the New York Yankees and one of the more respected major leaguers for several years.

What makes people successful is not intelligence, memory or a particular gift. Those help, but they can't guarantee success. What all successful people share is a driven personality, a commitment to succeed, a willingness to do the work and the ability to learn and improve themselves. This is what researchers call 'deliberate practice'.

This is what makes Tiger Woods a great golfer, Mark Price a fantastic free throw shooter and drives every virtuoso musician and artist to perfect his or her craft. The same can apply to us in the business world.

'The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.'
Chinese Proverb