What influences success? Why do some people find it easy to go after what they want while others struggle to act? When success finally comes, why do some people thrive while others falter?
The journey to achievement involves complex elements that shape our potential. In his book The Winner Effect, Ian Robertson identifies five key factors of success: motivation type, parental influence, opportunity access, biological responses, and social standing.
Read on to discover how these interconnected factors might be influencing your own path to success.
The Factors of Success
Robertson writes that there are five interrelated factors of success: the type of motivation that drives you, your parents’ influence, your access to opportunities, the way your hormones and neurochemicals respond to success and stress, and your social status. Let’s take a look at each of these factors and how they impact your ability to succeed and thrive.
Factor #1: Motivation
The first factor influencing your ability to achieve, maintain, and build upon success is your motivation—why you want to succeed. Robertson explains that people want success for one of two reasons:
- They want to experience internal rewards such as enjoyment or satisfaction.
- They want to acquire external rewards such as social recognition or money.
Robertson argues that those motivated by internal rewards are more likely to succeed than those driven by external ones. When you’re motivated by positive emotions such as personal satisfaction or enjoyment, you’re more likely to have a genuine passion for what you do. As a result, you tend to immerse yourself fully in goal-related tasks, go above and beyond minimum requirements, and produce higher quality work—leading to greater expertise and achievement over time. For example, a software developer motivated by the joy of solving complex problems will spend extra time perfecting code, leading to innovative solutions and career advancement.
Factor #2: Early Influences
The second factor of success is how you were influenced early in life by your parents and educators. Robertson explains that your role models’ attitudes toward success rubbed off on you, shaping how you now pursue and respond to success.
Robertson distinguishes between different parenting and teaching styles, highlighting two key distinctions: 1) Did they praise efforts or talents? 2) Did they encourage autonomy or dependence?
Factor #3: Opportunities
The third factor influencing your ability to achieve, maintain, and build upon success is your access to opportunities. Robertson defines opportunities as events or circumstances that provide potential for growth, advancement, or achievement. These can arise from various sources, including education, work environments, social connections, and chance encounters. Robertson emphasizes that potential advantages only become opportunities when you recognize and act upon them—without the ability to spot and seize promising situations, even the most favorable circumstances will pass you by.
Encountering opportunities early on in life creates a snowball effect, increasing your chances of achieving ongoing success. Robertson explains that opportunities provide challenges that force you to learn and develop new skills. This enhances your confidence, making you more likely to seek out and capitalize on future opportunities. Additionally, opportunities help you meet new people, expanding your network with connections that often lead to further opportunities. For example, being given a chance to work on a high-profile project early in your career helps you refine your presentation skills and showcase your talents to influential people in your industry, leading to job offers that further advance your career.
Factor #4: Neurochemical and Hormonal Responses
The fourth factor of success is your biology—specifically, the neurochemicals and hormones your body releases when you anticipate or experience success. According to Robertson, three chemicals influence these responses: dopamine, testosterone, and cortisol.
When we achieve something, our brain releases dopamine, creating a pleasurable sensation that encourages us to repeat successful behaviors, like when an executive feels motivated after closing a deal.
Success also increases testosterone levels, which immediately boosts confidence and risk-taking while accumulating over time to reinforce these traits, potentially pushing that executive to explore challenging new markets.
Unlike these post-success chemicals, cortisol is released during stressful situations and, in moderate amounts, actually contributes to achievement by heightening alertness and focus—helping that same executive recall crucial details during important negotiations.
Factor #5: Social status
The fifth factor influencing your ability to achieve, maintain, and build upon success is your social status—how you’re perceived and treated by others within your social and professional circles. According to Robertson, high social status is both an outcome of prior success and a catalyst for future success. With each success, your status increases, opening doors to new opportunities. This dynamic creates a self-reinforcing cycle that can propel you toward further accomplishments.
He argues that a high social status fosters ongoing success by eliciting positive feedback from others: People expect you to succeed based on your previous achievements and reputation. This expectation leads them to behave in ways that facilitate your ongoing success—they listen to your ideas, assuming they must be valuable. They’re also more inclined to ignore your mistakes, assuming that someone of your status doesn’t make errors. As a result, you have more latitude to exert your influence and shape your environment in ways that support your success.
For example, grant committees might view a renowned scientist’s research proposals more favorably. As a result, the scientist is able to secure funding that enables her to continue producing groundbreaking work.
Exercise: Assess How the 5 Factors Influence Your Success
Robertson argues that five interrelated factors drive success: motivation, early influences, opportunities, neurochemical and hormonal responses, and social status. This exercise will help you recognize how these factors of success have shaped your path to success.
- Consider your primary motivation for pursuing success—are you seeking internal rewards or external ones? Briefly describe how your motivation affects your approach to challenges and opportunities.
- Think about how your role models praised your accomplishments. Describe how their approach might have influenced your current beliefs about your abilities and your approach to success.
- Consider the opportunities you’ve had in your life or career. Briefly describe how these opportunities have contributed to your current level of success.
- Recall a recent success you’ve experienced and consider how it impacted your dopamine (linked to pleasure), testosterone (linked to confidence and risk-taking), and cortisol (linked to focus) levels. Did you notice any immediate changes in your mood, behavior, or decision-making following this success?
- Reflect on how your social status has evolved as a result of your successes. How does your current status influence the way others interact with you, and how has this influenced your behavior or decision-making over time?
