Don’t Chase Success—Do This Instead

I’ve mentioned two books (Rich Dad Poor Dad and How to Win Friends and Influence People) which truly changed the course of my life. Here’s one other defining moment in my development as a leader.

A Failed Business

After I left KPMG to work on startups, I had a really great business concept I worked on called Donation Plus. The basic idea was to create a way for people to have the airline miles and points they accrue automatically donated to the charity of their choice. 

Everyone I spoke with thought this was a great idea and said they would personally use it. Think of it: by simply paying your regular bills on this credit card you could generate money that could be used to sponsor a child. 

Forget the toaster you could have traded those points for with your other credit cards. With that $30 you just earned by paying $3,000 in bills, you just saved a child’s life. 

Who wouldn’t use this?

Well, I invested a significant amount of time and money to get Donation Plus off the ground, but none of the banks in New Zealand wanted to sign onto this program. They didn't believe people would choose to use this card over the one that allowed them to trade their points for that fancy toaster.

And the business failed. Just like that.

A Shift in Mindset

I can remember one day where I was sitting reading my Bible after yet another failed business. And I came across this verse: 

“Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich; restrain yourself! Riches disappear in the blink of an eye; wealth sprouts wings and flies off into the wild blue yonder.” –Proverbs 23:4-5 (MSG)

I sat and read it again and again, trying to understand what it meant for me and my various business endeavors.

And the first revelation I had was to stop focusing on personal success and instead focus on adding value and solving problems for others. This critical shift in my thinking was foundational in the birth of Pushpay.

But the second revelation (which is intricately linked to the first) was that success is not something you chase. It’s something you attract. My mentor, Jim Rohn, put it this way,

“Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become.”

You can watch a short version of his powerful talk here.

Some of you might be thinking, “But that first example was a great business model for adding value and solving problems for others.” And you’re right. The problem is, my mindset was wrong. I was motivated by the wrong things. And had that business gotten off the ground, I might have run it the wrong way by pursuing success rather than building an organisation that attracted it.

A New Path Forward

The great news is that anyone can grow and become an extraordinary leader. Anyone can become the kind of leader who attracts success. Leadr is based on this belief, and Pushpay’s success is proof that it’s possible.

Failure isn’t the end. It’s often the beginning. Success isn’t chased. It’s earned. And the future is wide open.

→ Your turn. Have you ever experienced a big failure in your life? How did that experience help to shape you moving forward? What important lessons did you learn?