HANDS:
hands
hands title:
§22. Rule 14: Success
hands date:
7 December 2025
hands text:
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
01
I have a somewhat peculiar attitude towards success. I believe, for instance, that dealing with success is, in many ways, more challenging than dealing with failure.
02
The central problem is defining the correct objective: it is to convert a one-time achievement into long-term success. There is no glory in reaching perfection once. Consistency and predictability are where professionalism lies.
03
Another challenge is the need to act under time constraints, when there is no opportunity for careful deliberation. In practice, this means that you must know how you will act before the situation arises.
04
Finally, you should be able to control and direct your emotions.
05
For me, this means abandoning the perception of success primarily as a celebration and instead treating it more like a ritual.
06
After completing something meaningful, you should suppress strong emotions, excitement and the desire to show your work to everyone. Instead, calm down, put your tools in order and take a moment to honour what has been done.
07
First, try to find the words to describe what you have accomplished. Saying what was done—even quietly to oneself—turns an abstract feeling into a clearly articulated statement. It is the act of signing a finished object: “This is what I made today.” Naming transforms an achievement into something tangible, something that belongs to the maker.
08
Then examine the work once more, recalling the decisions and techniques that led to the outcome. Identify the steps, habits and choices that made the achievement possible.
09
Never attribute success to luck or circumstance but to your own hands and mind. This is where self-trust is built.
10
Touch the work. These sensations are not indulgences but reinforcements. They teach the nervous system what competence feels like so it can be recognised and repeated.
11
Take photos. You need a record of your successes. This becomes a source of reassurance and direction. Each success must be woven back into your story by adding it to the lineage. With every achievement, you refine the inner narrative: “I am someone who persists” or “I am someone who shapes raw materials into form”. Through these small stories, success becomes part of who you are, not just what you have done. Remind yourself that you are not alone but stand within a long lineage of craftsmen and makers.
12
Finally, share your work with friends or colleagues—someone you trust. You need your success to be witnessed, contextualised and, at last, celebrated.