There's no explanation for success. Success just comes out of

Meat Loaf, the singer who gave voice to passion and thunder, once declared: “There’s no explanation for success. Success just comes out of life.” These words, simple yet profound, are the kind of wisdom that comes not from books, but from the lived furnace of struggle, loss, triumph, and chance. They remind us that no formula can fully explain why one life blooms into greatness while another, equally deserving, does not. For success is not a machine we control—it is a mystery born of persistence, circumstance, fate, and the raw unpredictability of the human journey.

The ancients too spoke of this truth. The Greeks named it Tyche, fortune—an unseen goddess whose hand tilted the course of men’s lives. The Romans called it Fortuna, and even the most powerful generals bowed to her whims. In the East, the sages spoke of karma, of unseen forces shaping what fruit might emerge from the seeds we sow. And yet, all agreed: while labor and virtue prepare the ground, the harvest is not fully ours to command. Meat Loaf’s words echo this ancient recognition—that success, when it comes, emerges not from exact design but from the wild river of life itself.

Consider the story of J.K. Rowling. A single mother, poor and rejected by publishers again and again, she seemed destined to obscurity. Yet, through perseverance and timing, her story of Harry Potter struck the heart of millions. Was it talent alone? Was it persistence alone? Surely those played their part. But something more, something beyond calculation, caused her tale to become a phenomenon. Success, as Meat Loaf said, “just comes out of life”—it arose from her unique journey, her trials, her wounds, and the world’s readiness to receive her gift.

Meat Loaf himself was no stranger to this mystery. His great work Bat Out of Hell was rejected by record companies, mocked as unmarketable, and nearly abandoned. Yet when it was finally released, it became one of the best-selling albums in history. There was no logical explanation, no clear path of inevitability. His success was not predicted by experts, but instead erupted like fire from the furnace of life, where talent, persistence, timing, and fortune converged in a way no one could fully explain.

The meaning of his words is not to diminish effort, nor to dismiss the value of discipline. Work, vision, and devotion are essential—but they alone cannot guarantee success. What he teaches us is humility: do your part, give your all, but know that the spark of greatness comes also from forces beyond control. This should not discourage us, but free us. For if success cannot be fully explained, then it also cannot be fully denied—meaning that hope is always alive, even when the path seems blocked.

The lesson for us is both sobering and liberating. Strive, yes, but do not cling with desperation. Pour yourself into your work, your art, your craft, but do not measure your worth solely by worldly crowns. For success may or may not arrive in the form you imagine, but the living of your life—the courage to try, the persistence to continue, the resilience to rise after falling—this itself is a kind of success, born not of outcomes, but of the very act of living fully.

Therefore, let each person seek not merely the explanation for greatness, but the fullness of life itself. Wake each day with purpose, labor with honesty, and remain open to the unpredictable winds of fortune. Do not despair when recognition is slow, nor grow arrogant when it comes suddenly. Instead, remember Meat Loaf’s wisdom: that success, when it comes, is less a formula and more a flowering—a mystery born from the soil of all you have endured, given, and dared.

Thus his words endure: “There’s no explanation for success. Success just comes out of life.” They remind us that the truest victory is not in controlling outcomes, but in living with courage, persistence, and faith. And when success rises from that life, it comes not as a right, but as a gift—a gift to be received with humility, and to be shared with the world.