---
title: "3 Lessons: Success Stories"
id: "11631"
type: "post"
slug: "3-lessons-success-stories"
published_at: "2016-09-12T04:00:00+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-03-15T02:50:01+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/09/12/3-lessons-success-stories/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/09/12/3-lessons-success-stories.md"
excerpt: "Guillermo Ortiz de Zárate Director, Information Systems National Council of Architectural Registration Boards Washington, DC Realize success doesn’t lead to happiness. It’s actually the other way around. In other words, you’re not happy when you’re successful, but you’re actually successful..."
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  - "Aspiring Leader"
  - "Hiring"
  - "Leadership"
  - "Leadership Development"
  - "Mid-Level Professional"
  - "Organizational Culture"
  - "Professional Development"
  - "team building"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "Director"
  - "Manager"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Association Professionals"
---

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 » 3 Lessons: Success Stories

**Guillermo Ortiz de Zárate**  
 Director, Information Systems  
 National Council of Architectural Registration Boards  
 Washington, DC

### Realize success doesn’t lead to happiness.

It’s actually the other way around. In other words, you’re not happy when you’re successful, but you’re actually successful when you’re happy. It’s important to recognize the good things that you have right now. Goals are good, but do not postpone happiness on the way to reaching them. Enjoy the journey of getting to those goals. There are always great things to enjoy and recognize along the way.

### Don’t take your ideas at face value.

We all love our own ideas, but they are all based on assumptions that are not validated. If we convince ourselves that an idea is right, we might send resources and people to chase something that’s not true. It takes a humble person to invalidate their own ideas, but I think it’s very valuable because it allows you to course-correct early and achieve better success than if you blindly follow your instincts.

### Hire great team members.

When you have the opportunity to create a team that you work with, focus on the quality of the people more than the skills they bring. It’s easier to enjoy solving a problem with people you enjoy working with. I look for people who love what they do and who are happy with the opportunity to do it. It’s much easier to lead people like that because you don’t have to manage. Instead, you just have to get out of the way and let them do the work.

Tags: [#Aspiring Leader](https://associationsnow.com/tag/aspiring-leader/)
 [#Hiring](https://associationsnow.com/tag/hiring/)
 [#Leadership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/leadership/)
 [#Leadership Development](https://associationsnow.com/tag/leadership-development/)
 [#Mid-Level Professional](https://associationsnow.com/tag/mid-level-professional/)
 [#Organizational Culture](https://associationsnow.com/tag/organizational-culture/)
 [#Professional Development](https://associationsnow.com/tag/professional-development/)
 [#team building](https://associationsnow.com/tag/team-building/)

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