You are probably not successful yet because of one or more of ten habits: procrastination, lost time, weak belief, low motivation, the wrong crew, no sense of regret, no reminders, low persistence, huge expectations, and thinking you know it all. None of them is about talent or luck, which means each one can be changed.
This list was first written for millennials, and it holds up for every generation now in the workforce, including Gen Z. Below are the ten obstacles from #10 to #1, each with a fix you can apply this week.
What is holding you back from success
| # | Obstacle | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | You know it all | Ask for advice and use it |
| 2 | Huge expectations | Set small targets you can hit this week |
| 3 | Zero persistence | Plan for the first failure before it happens |
| 4 | No reminders | Put your goal where you see it daily |
| 5 | No sense of regret | Picture the cost of never trying |
| 6 | The wrong crew | Audit the five people you spend time with |
| 7 | Low motivation | Rebuild it from belief |
| 8 | Weak belief | Research until you are convinced |
| 9 | Time slipping away | Count it in years, not days |
| 10 | Procrastination | Start before you feel ready |
10 reasons you are not successful yet
10. Procrastination
Procrastination is the most common reason people stall. We postpone everything until the last minute and invent excuses: “I’ll do it tomorrow”, “maybe later”, “I just need one more episode”.
The fix is to start. In any race, the first step is taking your place on the start line. To do something, begin with the smallest version of it today, even ten minutes.
9. Time waits for no one
Time is tricky and fools us all. Think back to starting middle school, finishing high school, graduating. Years that felt endless now feel like a blink.
Some opportunities appear once in a lifetime or once in a decade, and you cannot afford to spend that long waiting. The question stays the same, an old saying attributed to the sage Hillel: “If not now, then when”
8. You do not really believe
Beating procrastination is not enough. You need a strong belief to get started. Think of a speaker who convinced you about a topic you never cared about. He did it because he believed in it.
Without full belief in what you are doing, you will only go so far. Before you pick a direction, do serious research and make sure you are convinced. That conviction keeps you going when it gets hard.
7. Lack of motivation
Wanting something is not motivating enough. Motivation sits on top of belief, which is why belief comes first on this list. When you understand the reasons behind a goal, motivation arrives on its own.
Take a movement you care about as an example. When you see the reasons clearly, you want to act, and that is how motivation works for any goal. For one example, see 10 Terribly Wrong Perceptions of Feminists.
6. Your crew
Be careful who you spend time with. Motivational speaker Jim Rohn is often quoted as saying that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
No matter how determined you are, if everyone around you goes another way, they will not drag you with them, but they will plant doubts, and doubts slow you down. In 2026 that crew includes the creators and feeds you follow, as well as the people in your room.
5. You do not know regret
Skipping effort on your dreams, or passing on an opportunity, means you have not yet felt real regret. Regret about your past is a gift: it stops you repeating the mistake.
The pain of not trying and wondering “what if I had” is worse than the pain of failing. Listen to people who have been there and do not go through it yourself.
4. You do not set reminders
Reminders are a secret key of persuasion. Picture a customer who loves your product but cannot buy it for six months. Say nothing in between and they forget, because everyone is flooded with information every day.
Selling success to yourself works the same way. Stop reminding yourself of the goal and the finish line, and it fades. Put it on your phone’s lock screen, in your calendar, or on a note by your desk.
3. Persistence: zero
Suppose everything is in place. Remember that nothing good comes easy. Trouble comes when obstacles line up, and bigger trouble comes at your first failure.
This is the turning point: you either fall down and stay there, or you fall down and get back up. Rejection is part of many famous stories. The Beatles were turned down by Decca Records after an audition in January 1962. Steve Jobs resigned from Apple in 1985 after losing a power struggle and then started NeXT. Bill Gates’s first venture, the traffic-counting company Traf-O-Data, started at 17 and never became the business Microsoft did.
For more motivation, read 10 Famous Successful Persons Who Overcame Huge Obstacles.
2. Huge expectations
Expectations are good and must exist when you plan your path, but there is a fine line. Building huge expectations in your head means needing a huge amount of persistence, which is why persistence comes just before this entry.
Smaller, realistic targets need less willpower. The balance works: aim high, then break it into targets you can hit this week.
1. You think you know it all
This is the most important lesson, and the one most people ignore. You will not make it on your own. Nobody knows everything, and other people have more life experience than you.
Admitting you need help does not make you weak. It makes you wiser.
Find a mentor, join a community, hire a coach, or learn from the people who already did what you want to do.
How to fix these ten obstacles
Start with the ones lowest in the chain: procrastination, belief and your crew. The rest, from motivation to persistence, depend on them. Pick one obstacle this week, apply the fix in the table, and review your progress in 30 days.
Keep reading
- 15 steps to master self-discipline: the practical follow-up to procrastination and persistence
- Why most people will never be successful: the wider picture behind these ten habits
- 15 rules of success: a rule set to measure yourself against
FAQ
Why am I not successful yet?
Usually because of a habit, not a lack of talent: procrastination, weak belief, low motivation, the wrong people around you, giving up at the first failure, or unrealistic expectations. This list names ten of them.
What is the number one reason people fail to reach success?
Thinking they know it all and refusing help. You cannot do everything alone, and advice from people with more experience shortens the road.
How do I stop procrastinating?
Start with the smallest version of the task, for ten minutes, today. Starting matters more than starting perfectly.
Does the crew you spend time with really matter?
Yes. A well-known saying from motivational speaker Jim Rohn holds that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, so choose them deliberately.
How long does it take to become successful?
There is no fixed time, and rejections along the way are normal. Famous examples include the Beatles being turned down by Decca Records in 1962. Review your progress every 30 days instead of waiting for a single breakthrough.
Last updated: October 2026.
