Success and Searching for the Eighth Number

Success is a concept that has been studied and written about extensively in the realm of personal and organizational development.

Many individuals attribute their successes to a combination of personal values and technical skills. In his book "Shortcut for a Better Life," Ziad Rayess discusses the importance of personal values and the technical aspects of one's line of work in achieving success. Rayess believes that success is a combination of many factors and that the absence of even one of these factors can lead to failure. This article delves into Rayess' perspective on success and explores the metaphor of "the eighth number" that he uses to explain the importance of all factors in achieving success.

The Importance of Personal Values in Achieving Success:

In his book "Shortcut for a Better Life", the writer Ziad Rayess mentions: We experience many failures in our daily lives, whether they are personal or organizational, private or public. Much of the time, we blame others or surrounding circumstances for these failures, while going far in searching for the real reason behind the failure. But any successful action requires a set of important factors—in addition, of course, to Almighty God’s blessings. One of these may be characterized as one’s personal values used in management, such as honesty, trustworthiness, patience, commitment, perseverance, creativity, etc. There is also a specialized, professional, technical aspect related to one’s line of work.

Almighty God created the causes of success. All that people have to do is look for them and make sure to see them through, without stopping anywhere along the way.

I’d like to use a metaphor known as “the eighth number.” If you have a safe to store important documents, cash, or the like and you need to open it, you have to enter eight numbers. If you enter the first seven numbers correctly, and the eighth number is wrong, the safe will not open, and you will not gain access inside. You must keep looking for the correct eighth number, continue to try numbers and correct and change them, until you open the safe and achieve your goal. Success is the same: it requires correct fulfillment of all of the factors. We have to keep looking and striving toward the real reason for our failure, so we can work on it.

Lack of success may be due to a purely technical, mundane factor, or it may be for divine reasons, like disobedience that caused Almighty God to withdraw his blessings. We must always self-reflect and make sure that all of the requisite factors are fulfilled, with no shortcuts, in order to succeed.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, success is a complex and multi-faceted concept that requires a combination of personal values and technical skills. Rayess emphasizes the importance of understanding and fulfilling all of the requisite factors for success without taking any shortcuts. Success may be elusive, but with the right mindset, hard work, and attention to all of the relevant factors, it is achievable. By adopting the metaphor of "the eighth number," we can strive to keep looking for the right combination of personal values and technical skills to succeed in our personal and professional lives.