I was listening to a podcast the other day, and Seth Godin was a guest. He said something that really struck me, something that I had never really thought about before.
“…the point is the only way you can be the best in the world at anything is by quitting everything else. And that means you that you don’t start something unless you’re willing to commit to either; going at it until it really doesn’t work, or finishing and being the best in the world. Those are the only two options.”
This hit me pretty hard. I am a somewhat competitive guy, I loved intramural sports in college and I like to win, but I never did the things in my life because I wanted to win. My entire life I have always done stuff because I wanted to have fun, or to get some exercise, or because I liked it; not to win.
I don’t think there is necessarily anything wrong with this; I just don’t think it is a good thing to do when approaching business. Every business ventures in my life so far has not succeeded. I did not go into each one with a desire to be the best in the world. I went in with a desire to “see if this will work” or “try it out”. I did have some really good ideas and a pretty good game plan. I just didn’t have the drive to be the best.
That is why I failed. I didn’t have the will to WIN, the desire to be the freaking best in the world at what I was doing. I was thinking small time.
MJ didn’t set out to just build a nice little Limo business. He was the best. He answered emails and calls pretty much instantly.
@Vigilante isn’t just trying to make a nice little business radio program. He is trying to build the best business radio show in the world.
I went to lunch on Friday with the owner of the company I am working for now. He told me that when he was young, he worked for a company that literally told him to slow down. He had a will to win, to be the best. They were content with what they had, and were essentially coasting. He told me that a company can only coast so long; you need to be going up, or you are going down.
So how does anyone be the best in the world at something? Focus is important. You probably can’t be the best in the world at 6 things. This is what @snowbank is talking about with his entrepreneurial diworsification. I can’t be a great husband, a great employee, a great business owner, in amazing shape, the best cook, have the best self-control, and be the best author if I try to do it all at once.
So how can you change your mindset from “seeing if this will work” to “I am either going to fail or be the best in the world”?
What do you want to be the best in the world at?
“…the point is the only way you can be the best in the world at anything is by quitting everything else. And that means you that you don’t start something unless you’re willing to commit to either; going at it until it really doesn’t work, or finishing and being the best in the world. Those are the only two options.”
This hit me pretty hard. I am a somewhat competitive guy, I loved intramural sports in college and I like to win, but I never did the things in my life because I wanted to win. My entire life I have always done stuff because I wanted to have fun, or to get some exercise, or because I liked it; not to win.
I don’t think there is necessarily anything wrong with this; I just don’t think it is a good thing to do when approaching business. Every business ventures in my life so far has not succeeded. I did not go into each one with a desire to be the best in the world. I went in with a desire to “see if this will work” or “try it out”. I did have some really good ideas and a pretty good game plan. I just didn’t have the drive to be the best.
That is why I failed. I didn’t have the will to WIN, the desire to be the freaking best in the world at what I was doing. I was thinking small time.
MJ didn’t set out to just build a nice little Limo business. He was the best. He answered emails and calls pretty much instantly.
@Vigilante isn’t just trying to make a nice little business radio program. He is trying to build the best business radio show in the world.
I went to lunch on Friday with the owner of the company I am working for now. He told me that when he was young, he worked for a company that literally told him to slow down. He had a will to win, to be the best. They were content with what they had, and were essentially coasting. He told me that a company can only coast so long; you need to be going up, or you are going down.
So how does anyone be the best in the world at something? Focus is important. You probably can’t be the best in the world at 6 things. This is what @snowbank is talking about with his entrepreneurial diworsification. I can’t be a great husband, a great employee, a great business owner, in amazing shape, the best cook, have the best self-control, and be the best author if I try to do it all at once.
So how can you change your mindset from “seeing if this will work” to “I am either going to fail or be the best in the world”?
What do you want to be the best in the world at?
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