Will Smith’s Secret for YOUR Success
By Guillermo Rubio

I was surfing YouTube the other day and came across a really cool video.

It was the actor Will Smith at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. When he went up to accept his award, he told everyone in the audience what he considers the two keys to success in every area of life.

Now in case you’re wondering what qualifies Will to tell us what it takes to succeed, consider this:

• 14 of the 19 films he’s starred in have become blockbusters … grossing $100 million or more worldwide in ticket sales.
• He is the only actor in history to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office as well as being the only actor to have eight consecutive films open at the #1 spot.
• And, he’s one of the few in the entertainment industry who’s topped the music charts (as a rapper), had a hit TV show (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), and gone on to become a film mega-superstar.

After I heard what these two keys were (and his explanation of them), I realized this is the PERFECT success formula for becoming a paid writer and living the writer’s life.

So what is this “perfect” formula for writing success?

Two words:

Running. Reading.

Now before you think I’ve lost it, let me share with you Will’s explanation behind these two key concepts.

Why running?

Well, we’ve all experienced that nagging little voice in our head that pops up a few minutes after we start running …

“Wow, you should stop. This is painful. I can’t keep going. I need to stop.”

If you can successfully learn to conquer that little voice in your head that feeds you doubts and tells you what you can’t do, then you WILL succeed.

Of course, the way to do that is to FORCE yourself to keep going while you’re running – despite what your mind is telling you. You’ll be surprised with what you can accomplish.

How does this apply to writing?

Every aspiring writer is faced with doubts and fears. Especially when it comes to contacting clients.

All sorts of negative thoughts pop up, like: “Am I just wasting my time? Am I just a fraud? What will they think of me?”

And even when it comes to honing your craft, negative thoughts can pop up too: “I’m too tired to do the next section of the program. I’ll do a spec assignment tomorrow or whenever I feel better. I’m not in the mood to write, I’ll just wait till tomorrow.”

Learn to dismiss those thoughts and move forward and success will no doubt be yours.

Hence, running is key.

Now on to reading …

No matter what problem you’re having right now, someone else on this planet has lived through it, found a solution and written about it. There are no unique problems. Someone out there has already experienced the specific problems you’re going through. And more than likely, they wrote a book on it.

So the moral? Never let problems stand in your way. If you don’t know what to do, find a book and read it. Then apply the solution.

In terms of writing …

Don’t know how to write copy for the web? Grab yourself a copy of Nick Usborne’s Copywriting 2.0 program.

Don’t know how to write copy? Then start with AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting.

As far as lack of knowledge goes, there’s no excuse. No matter what it is, you can find the information you need.

And once you do, it’s just a matter of applying it UNTIL you reach your desired goal … and conquering that pesky little voice in your head that tries to derail your best efforts.

So there you have it … a simple formula for your success: Running + Reading = Whatever you want to achieve.

If you have any comments or stories you’d like to share, I’d love to hear them!