What do you consider to be your greatest strength, and how has it contributed to your success?
My greatest strength is questioning the premise. Just because something is commonly accepted doesn’t mean it’s true—it might simply be tradition, passed down unexamined from generation to generation.
It’s like the old story of the 1842 football coach who said, “I learned that from my coach,” and so on, endlessly recycled. That mindset shows up everywhere: in finance, medicine, nutrition, sports, social norms—entire industries built on assumptions rarely challenged.
Think of Aristotle, Copernicus, and Galileo. Even something as basic as the calendar needed to be questioned and reworked. Progress always begins by challenging “what everyone knows.”
Another strength of mine is turning negatives into positives.
When your mother yelled at you, it wasn’t because she hated you—it was because she cared. When a coach screamed from the sideline, it wasn’t cruelty; it was a demand for your best. I learned to reframe discomfort. At away matches, when crowds booed, I didn’t shrink—I got louder inside. I told myself: if they’re spending that much energy on me, I must be doing something right. All noise is good noise.
Ivory soap is a perfect example. When it was first made, it floated—seen initially as a defect. But someone at Procter & Gamble flipped the narrative: Ivory is so pure, it floats. That became their edge. Competitors couldn’t match the claim, and the rest is history. A flaw became a feature.
My grandfather understood this better than anyone. When the grandkids tore up the backyard, my grandmother would yell from the porch about her ruined lawn. But Daddy Wade as we called him would smile and say, “Ruth, we’re growing children, not grass.”
That perspective shaped me. Don’t just accept what is. Question it, flip it, and use it. That mindset has guided me through every challenge I’ve faced.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these How to Succeed thoughts. My best to you.
