The Secret Society of Success

Stop Chasing the Spotlight and Learn to Enjoy Your Work (and Life) Again

Tim Schurrer

• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN: 9781400229437
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Workplace Culture

It's time to redefine success.

“The book you're about to read is an absolute game changer, life changer, and outlook changer. . . . You will never view success the same way again. And that's a very good thing.”

— ERNIE JOHNSON JR., Emmy Award winner and host of TNT's Inside the NBA

There's a message getting a lot of airtime these days. It says to be successful, you have to step into the spotlight, climb the ladder, become the boss, or chase whatever version of success that's been dangled in front of you.

But what if there's another way? What if fame, money, and power aren't all that we should be chasing?

In The Secret Society of Success, Tim Schurrer invites you to reevaluate your definition of success and learn a new, freer way to go about achieving it. How do you learn this approach? With the Secret Society as your guide—a community of people who know how to make an impact, whether they have the spotlight or not. The Secret Society will teach you to:

• Define success for yourself
• Contribute to your team without minding who gets the credit
• Make an impact that spans far beyond yourself, regardless of the size of your platform
• Navigate living in the tension between contentment and striving
• Go from feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and restless in your job to being confident in the value you bring to the team
• Discover meaning and fulfillment in the work that you do

 

Through powerful stories of people like the CEO of Apple Tim Cook, NBA all-star LeBron James, Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and people whose names you've never heard of, you will discover that the success you're looking for is within your reach, wherever you are and whatever your role.

“The Secret Society of Success is an important book that everyone should read. It is not only insightful; it's inspirational. This book captures what it really means to be successful. I am for one ready to up my game! Thank you, Tim, for giving me this gift!”

— DAVID NOVAK, cofounder and former chairman and CEO of Yum! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut)

1

THE SECRET SOCIETY

“Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”

With that, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made their way from the lunar module Eagle to the moon’s surface for the world’s most famous walk. I’m sure you know the moment: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Can’t you almost hear that echoey, old-timey voice playing in your head?

But what you may not remember is that there was another astronaut on Apollo 11 who isn’t spoken of much. He’d just ubered Neil and Buzz to the moon but wouldn’t be taking steps on it like his coworkers. Instead, he’d wait in space, orbiting the moon until they were ready to be picked up and brought back to earth. Not everyone could go down on that coveted walk. Someone had to stay with the Apollo command module.

That someone was Michael Collins.

ON THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

While Armstrong and Aldrin had the eyes and admiration of the world, Collins did laps around the moon. Twenty-six times, to be exact, while his partners completed various tasks on the moon’s surface.¹

In the shadow of Armstrong and Aldrin—indeed, in the shadow of the moon itself—Collins quietly did his job.

I like how one journalist clearly defined the stakes of Collins executing his role to perfection:

Collins was under a different kind of pressure than the other astronauts: He was their only ride home. The crew would arrive at the moon together. Armstrong and Aldrin would travel to and from the surface in a lander, and Collins, in the command module, would release and recapture them. If something went wrong in these delicate maneuvers, the moonwalkers would be stranded. Collins needed to learn how to fly the command module back to Earth because there was a terrible chance he’d be the only one coming back.²

Needless to say, Collins’s role was a crucial one. But he didn’t quite touch the moon. He’d traveled 238,900 miles. He’d trained his entire career for the opportunity. He’d even been to space before and was uniquely positioned to be one of the chosen. Walking on the moon was one of the greatest accomplishments in history. And he missed it by that much. Not to mention, despite the undeniably famous “one small step for man . . .” echoing in your brain, you’ve probably never even heard Collins’s name.

The president of the United States surprised Armstrong and Aldrin with a telephone call from the Oval Office while they were on the moon. Nixon spoke of the pride he and other Americans were feeling because of their historic feat, but he failed to mention Collins in his remarks. While the world praised the moonwalkers, Collins worked diligently in the shadows.

One thing I should share with you about Michael Collins, since you likely don’t know much about him, is that he approached his work differently than most. Going to the moon isn’t even the most impressive part of his story. More on that in a minute.

First, there’s a reason I’ve brought up the moon landing.

Some of us are the Neil Armstrongs and Buzz Aldrins of the world: the ones who stand in the spotlight and garner a lot of attention, who make a significant impact on thousands (if not millions) of lives. It’s hard to argue against the fact that some of us have been wildly successful in that kind of obvious sense. We’re at the top, so it makes sense that others want to be like us and, therefore, we get a lot of attention.

But don’t forget about the other kinds of success that are a little less in your face. Maybe we are more like Michael Collins than Neil or Buzz. No one knows our name. We’re not necessarily making it big or getting widespread attention for what we do. Our role is important (maybe even vital) for our organization, but no one is mentioning us in their speeches.

Regardless of whether you’re a Neil or a Buzz or a Michael, what I want you to see is that we need to both broaden and personalize our definition of success, or we risk going our whole lives feeling like we failed when we actually made history. We risk going our whole careers feeling like we missed the mark instead of understanding the truly vital role we played.

What we may not have realized until now is that we’re all up against the same problem. While we may have varying levels of public attention, we’re led to believe we should all want more. More attention. More recognition. More money. More likes. More views on YouTube. A better version of our lives that’s just beyond our grasp. The worst part is, this relentless pursuit for something we’ll never attain is making us miserable.

What are we supposed to do about that?

LIVING IN YOUR DEFINITION OF SUCCESS

When most people hear the word integrity, they think of someone having good morals. Good values. Someone others can rely on. But there’s a second definition: “internal consistency.” And here’s why I think that definition deserves some attention. Culture has sold us on the narrative, “Get into the spotlight (whatever that looks like in your profession), and you’ll have everything you ever wanted.” We’re told this is “success.” Culture is pushing you to get to the top at all costs. You know something’s not quite right with that approach, but instead of identifying what’s at the root of your unrest and then working to eliminate it, you keep on. The lack of integrity between who you want to be and how you are living is causing a rub. At the root of it, the reason you feel off is because you’ve been chasing after a definition of success that, deep down, you suspect won’t make you happy. And yet you keep pushing, because you’re not convinced there’s another option.

Hey look, I’ve been there. I used to define success as owning a million-dollar house. There’s a neighborhood a few minutes down the road from my house where I’ll take friends who are visiting Nashville. When I say the neighborhood is crazy nice, that’s an understatement. The cheapest house you can buy is a million dollars, but most of these mansions are between two and three million. I take people on a tour of this neighborhood with the same fervor as with other Nashville landmarks like the Ryman Auditorium and the Grand Ole Opry.

For a couple of weeks, I was really serious about wanting to own a house in my favorite neighborhood and would refresh my search constantly to see if any were up for sale. I wanted to picture my ten-year goal (or at least that’s what I told myself). I wanted to dream of what my life could look like and what my friends would say about me as the owner of one of those houses.

It was actually quite fun to daydream about. And then one day I noticed myself feeling frustrated about the amount of money I was making, knowing I’d need a lot more to move into my dream house. The “if they only knew what I contribute” types of thoughts flooded my mind. Day by day my resentment grew, and slowly I found myself quite unhappy with my life.

After a little too long being sour, I had a brief moment of clarity. I started to think through exactly why I wanted one of those million-dollar houses. The justifications came flying in. My kids would be set up in a better school district. We’d spend less money in the long-term because they could go to public schools. We love the area we live in, and this would only put us a mile down the road.

These were all true. But if I were honest with myself, I knew none of these were the actual reason I wanted to move into that neighborhood. The real reason? I wanted to appear successful to my friends. If I had a million-dollar house, it’d show people that I was a person who had accomplished something and, therefore, that I was important.

It may be my constant desire to achieve or something else entirely, but sometimes doing a good job, working toward something meaningful, being part of a team, and serving the people around me don’t feel like they’re enough. Forget Michael Collins; I want to be Neil Armstrong! I want to show those around me—especially the people I respect and think are accomplished—that I belong and can compete at the highest level.

But what do we actually need to compete at the highest level? That is the question that has been driving me ever since I read about Michael Collins. If what we need is the spotlight, then what does that say about the man who made the whole moon mission possible? Maybe there’s a way to reevaluate our definition. Maybe we don’t need a constant upgrade of houses or cars or followers to mark our success. Maybe we can track it with something different.

Here’s a truth. The problem wasn’t wanting a million-dollar house; the problem was my intention for wanting that million-dollar house. I was chasing a fantasy in an attempt to cover up a whole lot of internal dysfunction. I was relying on a fancy house to feel successful. And in doing so, I was not living with integrity. My internal consistency was off, and I could feel it.

I decided it would be best to delete my house-searching apps (I had downloaded three) and take a break. With a clearer head, I remembered what I had been missing the past couple of weeks during my million-dollar house search. Gratitude. I looked around my already-big-enough-and-beautiful home and my growing family. I had been so fixated on my big goal that it caused me to miss what was right in front of me, and it ultimately led me to resentment.

At my house, there’s a pond out back. It’s not a huge pond, but it’s big enough to throw a paddleboard down from time to time. When my wife, Katie, and I were searching for our current house, we walked up the driveway and saw the water at the edge of the yard, and our jaws dropped. Even though we love the pond and the peaceful nature of it, it’s easy to take for granted. Probably not unlike someone living in Colorado who no longer notices the mountains.

Staring at the pond and thinking about my two-week brain glitch, I realized I had gotten caught up in an unhealthy mindset. I listened to a world screaming more, more, more and completely gave in to the unhappiness of wanting to keep up with my peers.

You can probably relate to that feeling of wanting more, of being discontent, of getting distracted from the now by thinking of the next thing.

But imagine actually enjoying your life. Imagine taking breaks from the search for the next gig or the next position or the next company you want to start. Imagine settling into your role and being happy with the day-to-day. Imagine experiencing integrity and gratitude and rest.

What if I told you there are people out there who live their lives like this every day? Not only are they making a massive impact on the world, but they’re deeply inspiring, competitive, magnetic people who would tell you they’re living lives chock-full of meaning.

I mentioned them in the introduction, but it’s important to know more about them so you can model your life in the way they live theirs. You, too, can join this Secret Society.

THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUCCESS

The most impressive thing Michael Collins has done in his life, if you ask me, isn’t the impossible mission that day with Armstrong and Aldrin. What he’s done is live life according to his own definition of success. That is truly a miraculous feat.

What would make this a miserable story is if Michael Collins came back from his trip to the moon and acted like a victim. Can you imagine him trying to steal the sp...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword by Donald Miller
• Introduction: The Success You’re Looking For
• Chapter 1: The Secret Society
• Chapter 2: The Spotlight Mindset
• Chapter 3: Success Is in the Assist
• Chapter 4: Playing by the Wrong Scoreboard
• Chapter 5: Looking for a Little Bit of Recognition
• Chapter 6: You Don’t Need a Stage
• Chapter 7: Let a Problem Be Your Solution
• Chapter 8: Get Lost in the Work
• Chapter 9: Embrace Challenges and Learn from Failure
• Chapter 10: When You Don’t Mind Who Gets the Credit
• Chapter 11: When Is Enough, Enough?
• Chapter 12: An Honor to Serve
• Appendix: Living in the Way of the Secret Society
• As the Leader of a Team
• Shout-Outs
• Notes
• About the Author