If you’ve had the limiting belief like I did that you had to fail spectacularly and hit rock bottom to then be successful this is a good read from James Altucher (take him with 2 grains of salt because he does a LOT of up-selling with great long copy). Some good Unscripted principles included.
“Michael Jordan didn’t make it to his junior varsity basketball team. We all know this already.
It’s not what made him a success. He didn’t make it to his team because HE WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
Period.
He sucked. He admits it.
He went home and cried. He kept picturing the list of names that made it that were tacked to the locker room door. His name was not on it.
It didn’t matter that he loved the game. It didn’t matter that it was “his goal”. It didn’t matter that he played every day with his friends.
He simply was no good.
Many people fail and view it as a valuable experience. They think, “Now I’m a real entrepreneur. So if I just persist through this, I WILL succeed.”
This is bullshit.
The definition of insanity (ugh, cliché coming again) is trying the same thing over and over but expecting the outcome to be different.
People often think persistence is:
1. Failure
2. Keep trying
3. Succeed
4. Give a TED talk.
Michael Jordan started practicing 16 hours a day.
You can’t improve by 5% and think that you are going to go from failure to success. Nobody can tell if you are 5% better. Or even 50% better.
You can’t just write another book and think it will be a bestseller.
You can’t just start another business and think that “Now I have what it takes to succeed. I’m going to be optimistic and persistent!”
You have to change your life COMPLETELY. Failure is awful! It’s shameful. It’s painful!
I hated that pain. Hated it! I hated it so bad I gave up. I stopped running a hedge fund because I sucked at it.
I was good at the investing part. I sucked at the raising money part. I just couldn’t succeed.
I found something to work really hard at (writing, podcasting, personal investing) and I worked 16 hours a day at it. I followed the 80/20 rule (20% of your work creates 80% of the value) but it takes a long time to know which 20% works!
I still work too much. I think I need to start relaxing a little but I don’t know where.
I worked harder than anyone I knew. And I was more vulnerable on the page that anyone I knew.
I also completely eliminated toxic people from my life.
I am a VERY poor judge of character. So I started to have a “one strike and you’re out” policy. I don’t know if it worked. But I love everyone in my life now.
And I changed my definition of freedom. It wasn’t money. It was being able to CHOOSE what I wanted to do every moment of the day. I’m up to 80% of the day. Which seems good enough.
Money is a byproduct of freedom. Not the other way around.
Michael Jordan got 10x better. Not 5% better. He would still suck if he only got 5% better.
Plus he grew 8 inches. That helped also.”
“Michael Jordan didn’t make it to his junior varsity basketball team. We all know this already.
It’s not what made him a success. He didn’t make it to his team because HE WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
Period.
He sucked. He admits it.
He went home and cried. He kept picturing the list of names that made it that were tacked to the locker room door. His name was not on it.
It didn’t matter that he loved the game. It didn’t matter that it was “his goal”. It didn’t matter that he played every day with his friends.
He simply was no good.
Many people fail and view it as a valuable experience. They think, “Now I’m a real entrepreneur. So if I just persist through this, I WILL succeed.”
This is bullshit.
The definition of insanity (ugh, cliché coming again) is trying the same thing over and over but expecting the outcome to be different.
People often think persistence is:
1. Failure
2. Keep trying
3. Succeed
4. Give a TED talk.
Michael Jordan started practicing 16 hours a day.
You can’t improve by 5% and think that you are going to go from failure to success. Nobody can tell if you are 5% better. Or even 50% better.
You can’t just write another book and think it will be a bestseller.
You can’t just start another business and think that “Now I have what it takes to succeed. I’m going to be optimistic and persistent!”
You have to change your life COMPLETELY. Failure is awful! It’s shameful. It’s painful!
I hated that pain. Hated it! I hated it so bad I gave up. I stopped running a hedge fund because I sucked at it.
I was good at the investing part. I sucked at the raising money part. I just couldn’t succeed.
I found something to work really hard at (writing, podcasting, personal investing) and I worked 16 hours a day at it. I followed the 80/20 rule (20% of your work creates 80% of the value) but it takes a long time to know which 20% works!
I still work too much. I think I need to start relaxing a little but I don’t know where.
I worked harder than anyone I knew. And I was more vulnerable on the page that anyone I knew.
I also completely eliminated toxic people from my life.
I am a VERY poor judge of character. So I started to have a “one strike and you’re out” policy. I don’t know if it worked. But I love everyone in my life now.
And I changed my definition of freedom. It wasn’t money. It was being able to CHOOSE what I wanted to do every moment of the day. I’m up to 80% of the day. Which seems good enough.
Money is a byproduct of freedom. Not the other way around.
Michael Jordan got 10x better. Not 5% better. He would still suck if he only got 5% better.
Plus he grew 8 inches. That helped also.”
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