# Gradually, then suddenly How do we succeed and fail in life? Gradually, then suddenly. Mistakes, procrastination, errors in judgment, etc gradually add up and ultimately lead to a sudden failure. The same is true for success. Each step counts. We gradually make progress towards our 'sudden' success. ## Inspiration Lines from [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s novel The Sun Also Rises: > “How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked.  > “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually, then suddenly.” They refer to the human experience around success and failure. There is pain and shock when the world collapses beneath our feet. Then we realize that this outcome was quite predictable. In retrospect, it's much easier to see where we went wrong. Everything makes sense more easily after the fact: the procrastinations, the blind eyes we turn, etc. Those small details don't matter, until they add up and cause havok. It's common in life to rarely be motivated to act, unless a crisis is upon us and acts as a forcing function. This happens over and over: life, businesses, relationships. It's not until something large and irreversible happens — when we risk losing it all — that we feel compelled to act. But it's often too late. Media talk about suddenlies. We notice the suddenlies. We comment on those. Yet, it's the graduallies that should really take our attention. Excellence requires consistent gradualies. Endurance, effort, selft-reflection and wisom propels us toward the destination we seek. Day by day, year by year. We improve, build, earn and learn, until, shockingly, we find ourselves 'suddenly' successful!