Success Quote by Edward de Bono

Success, de Bono suggests, isn’t a morality play; it’s a messy traffic jam of chance, temperament, skill, and timing. The line reads like a list, but it’s really a quiet demolition of the comforting idea that achievement is simply what “hard work” purchases. By offering four routes-lucky, mad, talented, well-positioned-he forces you to notice how many celebrated winners are beneficiaries of at least one factor they didn’t fully earn or even choose.

The sly move is the inclusion of “a little mad.” Coming from a psychologist best known for “lateral thinking,” it’s less about clinical instability than about productive deviance: the willingness to violate common sense, to persist past social cues that say stop, to tolerate embarrassment and ambiguity. “Mad” is the social label applied to anyone who pushes an idea before the world is ready for it. De Bono reframes that stigma as a competitive advantage.

Then comes the coldest, most contemporary clause: “find yourself in a rapid growth field.” Not “build” one, not “innovate” one-find yourself there. It’s an admission that markets confer genius after the fact. A middling entrepreneur in a booming sector can look visionary; a brilliant one in a stagnant industry can look delusional. The quote’s intent is diagnostic, not inspirational: map your success narrative honestly. The subtext is almost a warning against self-congratulation-and against self-blame. If your story lacks luck, lacks useful eccentricity, lacks exceptional talent, and lacks a rising tide, de Bono implies you’re not failing; you’re playing the hardest version of the game.