"Success in Life", by Mark Twain

"All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure."
- Mark Twain

I came across this quote today on my Google home page and I was struck by its significance.

I've come to learn that success in life is often times a result of taking risks. Sometimes the difference between one who succeeds vs. one who doesn't is that the successful one is the one who took a chance, who wasn't afraid to put it all on the line in exchange for achieving greatness. This type of success is the perfect balance between healthy amounts of ignorance and confidence and the results can be life-changing.

The reason why is this: without a healthy dose of ignorance, it is too easy to discount everything as too hard to do, impossible to achieve, too uncertain to risk. We know a lot these days about many things and the world tends to scare us into believing that we are helpless. We are conditioned every day to believe various things about ourselves and our world which can end up boxing us in. We start to believe that things don't, can't or won't change and that simply is not true.

I am less than two days away from running my first marathon and because of this quote, I know I will succeed. What makes me ignorant is the fact that I have never run this far before but I am confident that I will finish because I have been dedicated to my training since January.

Prior to committing to this goal, I could have analyzed all of the reasons why I shouldn't do it: the time commitment, the fatigue, the muscle aches and pains, the need for proper rest, sleep, hydration and nutrition that might affect my social life (God forbid!). Maybe if I had dwelled on these facts and weighed them all completely, I would have decided NOT to do it... And what a shame that would have been!

Instead, I chose to be ignorant to the fact that training for a marathon can be another full-time job because I want to achieve this moment of greatness in my life and weighing the "cons" too heavily could have prevented me from doing so.

They say that "ignorance is bliss" and it's clear to me why. However, I think the most productive, safe and effective type is what I call "healthy ignorance". Different than being oblivious, healthy ignorance is an attitude or state of mind which is educated enough to anticipate or understand a particular outcome but free and courageous enough to move forward regardless.

This is where the critical aspect of confidence comes in. I was able to be "healthfully ignorant" because I was confident that after training for 21 weeks, I would be well prepared. Without some sort of confidence, it is almost impossible to be ignorant in a way that will still yield successful results. Had I only been just plain ignorant to the effects of distance running, I perhaps would have tried to run the marathon without proper training (aka: confidence) and would have likely been unsuccessful.

Without healthy ignorance and confidence, it is hard to take risks but taking risks is what so often drives success. It all goes back to breaking out of our "box"; the walls we have built around us based on the experiences in life which have conditioned us. I believe that anything in life is possible if you give yourself the chance.

Don't be afraid to take reasonable risks - don't be afraid of changing your life! Believe that anything you want to do IS possible and within your reach. It is the powerful combination of healthy ignorance and confidence that will lead to success.

Wish me luck on Sunday! On second thought... I'm confident that I won't need it!