How do winners think differently from everyone else? What psychological and biological factors contribute to ongoing success?
Winning isn’t just about talent or luck; it’s shaped by five key elements. The book The Winner Effect by Ian Robertson argues that understanding these interconnected factors can help you achieve and sustain success throughout your life.
Read on to discover the science behind success and how you can harness these principles to create your own winning streak.
Overview of The Winner Effect by Ian Robertson
The Winner Effect by Ian Robertson argues that five interrelated factors shape your ability to succeed and thrive:
- Motivation: The type of motivation that drives you toward a goal influences how diligently you’ll pursue success..
- Early influences: Your belief in your ability to overcome challenges and succeed was shaped by your childhood role models’ attitudes toward success.
- Opportunities: If you’ve had access to opportunities that lead to success, you’re more likely to recognize and seize similar situations when they come up.
- Neurochemical and hormonal responses: Your brain’s reaction to achievement colors how you experience and respond to success.
- Social status: How people treat you once you’ve achieved success influences your ability to maintain it.
In this overview of Robertson’s book The Winner Effect, we’ll break down each factor, explaining how it impacts your ability to achieve, maintain, and build upon success.
Factor #1: Motivation
The first factor influencing your ability to achieve, maintain, and build upon success is your motivation—why you want to succeed. Robertson explains that people want success for one of two reasons:
- They want to experience internal rewards such as enjoyment or satisfaction.
- They want to acquire external rewards such as social recognition or money.
Robertson argues that those motivated by internal rewards are more likely to succeed than those driven by external ones. When you’re motivated by positive emotions such as personal satisfaction or enjoyment, you’re more likely to have a genuine passion for what you do. As a result, you tend to immerse yourself fully in goal-related tasks, go above and beyond minimum requirements, and produce higher quality work—leading to greater expertise and achievement over time. For example, a software developer motivated by the joy of solving complex problems will spend extra time perfecting code, leading to innovative solutions and career advancement.
External Rewards Limit Engagement
On the other hand, when you’re motivated only by external rewards, you miss out on the positive emotions that inspire action. This can lead you to adopt a shallow approach to goal-related tasks, performing only the minimum requirements to obtain the reward. According to Robertson, this lack of engagement makes it difficult to develop the traits and skills necessary to grow and excel at what you do. For example, a software developer primarily motivated by receiving a salary only does the bare minimum required for each project, limiting skill development and innovation potential.
External Rewards Undermine Internal Motivation
Robertson adds that introducing external rewards for activities you’re internally motivated to pursue can diminish your passion and engagement over time. It does this by shifting your focus from the inherent satisfaction you feel while performing the activity to the external reward you’ll receive after you complete it. This change in perspective can transform a once-enjoyable pursuit into a chore, impeding your performance and success in that area. For example, if the internally motivated software developer begins to focus solely on their salary, their enthusiasm for problem-solving will eventually wane.
Factor #2: Early Influences
The second factor influencing your ability to achieve, maintain, and build upon success is how you were influenced early in life by your parents and educators. Robertson explains that your role models’ attitudes toward success rubbed off on you, shaping how you now pursue and respond to success.
Robertson distinguishes between different parenting and teaching styles, highlighting two key distinctions: 1) Did they praise efforts or talents? 2) Did they encourage autonomy or dependence?
1) Praising Efforts Versus Talents
According to Robertson, if your role models praised you for making an effort, regardless of the outcome of that effort, you likely developed the belief that your skills and abilities are malleable and that you can improve them by applying yourself. As a result, you probably have a positive and constructive attitude toward challenges, viewing mistakes and failures as learning opportunities—a perspective that helps you maintain motivation and overcome setbacks. For example, a young athlete praised for their perseverance in learning new techniques will likely attempt difficult maneuvers in practice, even if they’re not confident they’ll succeed, because they’ll see the challenge as an opportunity for growth.
Praising Talent Discourages Growth
On the other hand, Robertson explains, if your role models primarily praised your talents and your success each time you achieved something, you may have developed the belief that your skills and abilities are unchangeable parts of who you are. Likewise, you assume that your mistakes and failures indicate inherent limitations in your capabilities. And, because you don’t feel capable of surpassing your perceived limitations, you might shy away from opportunities that stretch your abilities or give up easily when tasks become difficult. For example, a student who is constantly told that they’re naturally gifted at math might avoid challenging problems, fearing that any mistakes will reveal that they’re not as smart as everyone thinks.
2) Encouraging Autonomy Versus Dependence
According to Robertson, if your role models encouraged autonomy by guiding you to solve challenges independently, you likely developed problem-solving abilities that give you a sense of control over your life. As a result, you tend to take initiative and confront problems with a can-do attitude. For example, a child encouraged to make their own choices and deal with the consequences might grow into an adult who feels confident making major life decisions, such as changing careers or starting a business.
Overprotection Erodes Confidence
However, if your role models were overly protective and made most of your decisions for you, they may have undermined your confidence, preventing you from developing the skills needed to be accountable and manage challenges independently. And, according to Robertson, if you didn’t have the opportunity to exercise control over your life, you may attribute both successes and failures to external factors beyond your control. As a result, you might feel helpless when faced with obstacles, believing that you’re incapable of overcoming them. For example, a child whose parents constantly make decisions for them might grow into an adult who struggles to take initiative at work, always second-guessing their decisions and seeking approval from others.
Factor #3: Opportunities
The third factor influencing your ability to achieve, maintain, and build upon success is your access to opportunities. Robertson defines opportunities as events or circumstances that provide potential for growth, advancement, or achievement. These can arise from various sources, including education, work environments, social connections, and chance encounters. Robertson emphasizes that potential advantages only become opportunities when you recognize and act upon them—without the ability to spot and seize promising situations, even the most favorable circumstances will pass you by.
Encountering opportunities early on in life creates a snowball effect, increasing your chances of achieving ongoing success. Robertson explains that opportunities provide challenges that force you to learn and develop new skills. This enhances your confidence, making you more likely to seek out and capitalize on future opportunities. Additionally, opportunities help you meet new people, expanding your network with connections that often lead to further opportunities. For example, being given a chance to work on a high-profile project early in your career helps you refine your presentation skills and showcase your talents to influential people in your industry, leading to job offers that further advance your career.
Limited Access to Opportunities Blocks Progress
On the other hand, limited access to opportunities can hinder your chances of success, regardless of your abilities or motivation. According to Robertson, not having chances to develop and showcase your skills limits your access to information, resources, and people—causing you to fall behind peers who have had these chances to prove themselves. This can diminish your confidence, leading to a sense of helplessness that prevents you from recognizing or acting upon opportunities when they do arise. For example, if you’re unable to afford unpaid internships in your desired field, you might struggle to gain the experience necessary to move up in your career.
Factor #4: Neurochemical and Hormonal Responses
The fourth factor influencing your ability to achieve, maintain, and build upon success is your biology—specifically, the neurochemicals and hormones your body releases when you anticipate or experience success. According to Robertson, three chemicals influence these responses: dopamine, testosterone, and cortisol.
Chemical 1: Dopamine
Robertson explains that, each time you experience success, your brain releases dopamine, a pleasurable neurochemical designed to reward and reinforce success-generating behaviors. In other words, each time you perform an action that leads to success, you feel a surge of pleasure that makes you want to repeat that action, potentially leading to further achievements. For example, when a business executive closes a deal, they experience a dopamine rush that motivates them to pursue more negotiations.
Dopamine Dependency Impairs Judgment
However, Robertson adds that, just as with addictive substances or behaviors, your brain can become dependent on the dopamine high that comes with success. This dependency can lead you to make poor decisions in pursuit of that feeling, potentially jeopardizing your long-term success. For example, the business executive might neglect essential operational issues to focus solely on closing deals, compromising the company’s overall health.
Chemical 2: Testosterone
When you experience success, your body increases your testosterone levels. Robertson explains that this hormone creates both immediate and long-term effects: It boosts your confidence and willingness to take risks in the short term and, with repeated successes over time, it accumulates in your bloodstream to reinforce these traits. This increases your desire to face obstacles and pursue increasingly challenging opportunities. For example, increased testosterone levels might drive the business executive to expand into new markets that they previously considered too challenging.
High Testosterone Alienates Others
While increased testosterone can boost both short-term and long-term confidence, Robertson warns that excessively high levels can result in increased aggression, impulsivity, and reduced empathy. These behaviors can alienate others, lead to poor strategic choices, and ultimately undermine the very success that led to the testosterone increase in the first place. For example, the business executive might ignore advice and dismiss a lucrative partnership opportunity because they’re overly confident in their ability to succeed alone.
Chemical 3: Cortisol
While dopamine and testosterone are directly linked to experiencing success, cortisol plays a different role—increasing the likelihood of that experience happening in the first place. Robertson explains that your body releases cortisol, a stress hormone that prepares your body to take flight or fight, whenever you feel anxious or challenged. In moderate amounts, cortisol contributes to success by helping you stay alert and focused in challenging situations. For example, a small jolt of cortisol might help the business executive recall crucial details during an important negotiation.
Chronic Cortisol Impairs Health and Performance
However, while cortisol can help you succeed, it can backfire when you feel ongoing pressure to maintain your level of success. Robertson explains that this pressure can lead to chronically high levels of cortisol that disrupt almost all your body’s processes, resulting in impaired cognitive function, a weakened immune system, and an increased risk of mental health issues. For example, if the business executive feels perpetually stressed about maintaining their performance, they might feel too drained to focus during the negotiation.
Factor #5: Social status
The fifth factor influencing your ability to achieve, maintain, and build upon success is your social status—how you’re perceived and treated by others within your social and professional circles. According to Robertson, high social status is both an outcome of prior success and a catalyst for future success. With each success, your status increases, opening doors to new opportunities. This dynamic creates a self-reinforcing cycle that can propel you toward further accomplishments.
He argues that a high social status fosters ongoing success by eliciting positive feedback from others: People expect you to succeed based on your previous achievements and reputation. This expectation leads them to behave in ways that facilitate your ongoing success—they listen to your ideas, assuming they must be valuable. They’re also more inclined to ignore your mistakes, assuming that someone of your status doesn’t make errors. As a result, you have more latitude to exert your influence and shape your environment in ways that support your success.
For example, grant committees might view a renowned scientist’s research proposals more favorably. As a result, the scientist is able to secure funding that enables her to continue producing groundbreaking work.
High Social Status Breeds Overconfidence
However, Robertson warns that preferential treatment can lead you astray, distorting your behavior in ways that undermine your success. He explains that being surrounded by people who primarily affirm your decisions can cause you to become overconfident. You might start to believe that your elevated status means you always know best, disregarding valuable input and failing to consider the perspectives and needs of others. Additionally, the qualities that helped you succeed might diminish as you gain more power and status. This occurs because high status can insulate you from the everyday challenges and interactions that initially honed your skills.
For example, a CEO who rose through the ranks due to their team-building skills loses touch with the day-to-day operations and the needs of their employees as they spend more time at the top. As a result, they become increasingly autocratic, undermining the collaborative culture that led to their initial success.
