Bringing your best is probably still not good enough

You’re young and just starting out in the world. You see successful people everywhere and you are probably wondering how it’s all done. And most of all, how you can do it too! The good news is, it’s not as complicated as they told you in school.             

How do the successful think and create so much wealth for themsleves? There is a success strategy in business that can be summed up like this, – I read once that to understand the entrepreneur, just look at the juvenile delinquent. The delinquent is saying, “This sucks. I’m going to do my own thing.” What this concept is telling us is there is a certain brand of people who do not follow the rules. In this case, the entrepreneur is not following society’s rules and is breaking from the traditional pathways of life and doing their own thing.

However, to be successful as an entrepreneur, you have to do even more than be contrarian. Even in the theater of small business ownership, you have to be willing to do what others are not willing to do.

If you look at all the greats whether business, sports, or any area of achievement, the people that stand out are generally the people that, well… stand out. These are the black sheep of society and they play to win! And not just play to win, they play rough and they do not apologize for it.

There is a principle in high levels of achievement that all the top tier earners have come to realize but it’s not abundantly clear to your average person. This base principle of high achievement goes like this: “If you want to be exceedingly successful and be the best at what you do, bringing your best every day is still probably not enough.” That is not an easy pill of logic to swallow for most people.

We all think that the most successful among us possess a special brand of discipline that the rest of the population lacks. They have a talent we don’t or they lack the fear gene, or even worse, they have money and generational privilege that gives them a safety net for greater risk. Let me give you a little info on that last one. The Ramsay Solutions research found that of all the multimillionaires today, over 70% of them are now first generation wealth. In other words, (trigger warning) “self-made.”

Here’s an quote from thier research:

“The overwhelming majority (79%) of millionaires in the U.S. did not receive any inheritance at all from their parents or other family members. While 1 in 5 millionaires (21%) received some inheritance, only 3% received an inheritance of $1 million or more.”

Ramsay Solutions

As bad as we want to think that today’s wealth and privilege are a result of people with inborn giftedness or family money, the numbers on the Forbes 400 just do not support this anymore. The reason we want to think that there is an “easy button” for today’s rich is very scientific indeed. It eases our psyche to think that success comes to those with talent and giftedness. This eases our minds of the burden of work to be as successful oursleves.

However, if we look deep into what makes the successful tick, we find that it’s really nothing more than doing what other people are not willing to do. This also conjures up the idea of risk/reward and whether doing something grandiose is worth the risk. We think that these people are smarter and more attuned to their industries so they have a first mover’s advantage. That is only partially right.

I have studied the wealthy and successful for many years, especially those dreaded self-made people. Here’s what I have found. They are only smarter because they are far more focused on what they do than most others. They also fail a lot more. If you were going to start a new tech company or a new industry, you would have to put in a minimum of 80 hr a week in developing your dream. Elon Musk puts in over a 100 hours a week to create his empires. That’s 2 ½ times more than the average worker.

It’s not that they are smarter, more gifted, or have family money, it’s that they are just outworking most everyone else. One of the staples behind the average American worker that has been trending for a long time is the idea of work/life balance. But to the top tier individual, there is no balance. Balance is a naughty word to the high functioning individual. They don’t want balance, they want to succeed!

No one is saying that this is an easy life. That’s why most people are not willing to put in 80- 100 hours in building their dream. (E.g. doing what others are not willing to do)

Here’s a more relatable example for you younger people: I know a high school senior who is a superior basketball player. But, he’s not the tallest kid on the team, nor the biggest or the fastest. He doesn’t have a record of his outside shot and his ball handling on the perimeter is only average. Yet, he has been a starter since he was a sophomore, high scorer nearly every game, and has been the state’s high school player of the year (An accolade voted on by opposing team coaches).

What separates this kid from everyone else? First, he only plays basketball. No football, track, etc. He completely focuses only on one game all year long. While other kids play multiple sports, this kid put all of his time into training for basketball. His schedule looks like this: up at 5:00 am to hit the gym. Then off to school where his favorite class is his weights class. Then while other kids are at football practice or track, after school, he is back in the gym for another workout. That is 3 workouts per day focusing on his basketball conditioning. This kid also meets with the school’s physical therapist two days a week to work on custom basketball maneuvers and skills, and he meets with a specialized strength trainer 20 miles away who focuses on his explosiveness one day a week.

He doesn’t spend his money on going out with his friends or his girlfriend, or buying new clothes or going to the movies. He spends his money on fuel to travel and meet with his trainer one day a week in another town. 

The one thing this kid notices every day is that he is all alone in his training. He’s the only one doing it at this level and at this intensity. He’s doing what others are not willing to do.

This concept is as old as time itself. There is nothing new here. Ted Williams, Ben Hogan, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, and many more have all done it this way. These greats all knew that bringing your best every day was still probably not enough. You have to do even more than just your best. You have to be willing to do what others are not willing to do.

Look at your own life and find what you could be doing that others are not willing to do. Really flesh out where your edge is and reinvent yourself for a new kind of daily schedule. You must now find ways to put in the hours that will jettison you above the rest. This will inevitably require sacrifice. All the greats sacrificed something. Hell, Tom Brady even sacrificed his family for an 8^th Super Bowl ring. But as a young person you will have to get comfortable sacrificing friends, relationships, or even time with your family.

You have to decide it’s all worth it in the end. Believe me, it’s worth it! You may be wondering right now, why, why give up your social life, your family time, time scrolling on your phone, and living for the weekend? Why apply more work and pressure to your life when it’s easier to just be average? I’ll tell you why – because the rewards of a life doing what others are not willing to do are just so fucking good! Just ask anyone who’s ever done it. 

Get comfortable with the notion that your best is still not good enough. You need to be doing much more if you ever want a career with a legacy that ultimately ends in a dynasty. Practice this life while you are still young. Create the habits and the sacrifices that generate achievement now. It’s almost always going to be doing what others are not willing to do!