Often people speculate about what makes a company or a person successful. Was it genetics, did they have family money to start, was it the college they went to? The list of questions can go on and on.

Recently I was lucky enough to sit down with tech legend and now-local Cd'A resident Doug Schust to talk about his journey toward success. As someone who helped build the largest Internet marketing and search engine optimization company in the world, it is fair to assume he knows a thing or two about being the best.

While we were sitting in front of the 100+ crowd at The Cellar for the monthly Innovation Collective Fireside Chat, I was shocked to learn one of the things he cited as a key to his success was 6 a.m. tennis.

Now, before we all start taking up pre-dawn tennis, we should explore the principle that is at work in this bit of wisdom. When Doug was a young man, a local tennis pro saw him playing at a park. He approached Doug who was hitting the ball back and fourth with a friend and told them both that they were pretty good. After a bit of conversation, Doug and his friend had an invitation to learn from the tennis pro if they could find a way to get to the tennis club at 6 a.m. every weekday.

The first day Doug and his friend showed up excited and ready to learn. Day two it was just Doug while his friend slept, and years later, it was still just Doug. He continued to make it to lessons until he graduated from high school.

The wisdom in this isn't about getting up early, it isn't about being mentored by someone, it isn't even about having passion to pursue something you love. All of those are important, but it is flat-out about being stubborn. Even Doug said it when asked, what has contributed to your success?

"I'm stubborn," he said.

Sticking with something is difficult, but most of the time it pays off.

When you look back at 2014 and start speculating about your 2015 New Year's resolutions (if you are into that), I suggest that instead of picking up a new hobby you instead resolve to be stubborn and not give up when it comes to the things in life you are already doing. It is easy to be distracted by a warm bed or a comfy couch, but get up and go play tennis. The world needs more people who are bullheaded and stick to what they know is important.

Nick Smoot is founder of the Innovation Collective. The IC provides events, classes, and conferences for anyone wanting to learn about entrepreneurship and technology with an emphasis on robotics.

In the next few weeks you will have a chance to hear from three robotics experts coming to CDA from Japan and San Francisco (Dec. 27), the former CEO of Kootenai Health, the former chairman of ESPN, and one of Time Magazine's 20 most influential teens. To learn more about these events go to InnovateCDA.com where you can join the mailing list, or email [email protected].