There is no Shortcut to Greatness

 



There is no Shortcut to Greatness.

Simple as that. 

Think of anybody you consider The Greatest of All Time. They didn’t just wake up one more morning and decide they wanted to be great at something, and it magically happened.

Muhammed Ali was a beast in the gym, famously pushing himself as far as he could go.

Picasso painted tens of thousands of pieces. Can you say that you've made tens of thousands of attempts at what you want to be great at?

Albert Einstein didn’t just wake up one morning, out of the blue, and say, “Hey, I’m going to write up the Theory of Relativity today.” Instead, he did thought experiments, and asked himself new and difficult questions in order to challenge his thinking.

Serena Williams is known to be incredibly disciplined with her training, working for 4 hours at a time. And, she didn't put in all that work to get really good, and then coast. She continued to push herself until she was incredible, and then worked some more.

Naturally, we can debate about who is the Greatest of All Time, but we can agree that these people were great at what they did.

We all have something that we would like to be great at. 

I don't need to be the greatest at anything (except being a dad, which I succeeded at a few years ago. I know, because I was awarded the mug one Father's Day), but I would like to be a great writer. And, honestly, I want to be a great writer now. I would love it if I could wake up tomorrow and be incredible, and write an inspiring first draft that flows effortlessly and requires minimal editing.

That isn't realistic though, is it? 

It was a hard realization, knowing that if I really want that, I'm going to have to put in the work. It's going to take hours, upon hours, upon hours of writing. It's going to take months, years, potentially decades before I, or anybody else, considers me a great writer.

Isn't that part of the fun, though? 

I genuinely enjoy writing. I love the process, and the way I feel when I write.

I also love the challenge, and the feeling of knowing that I've grown. It's wonderful to look back on past articles and see how I've improved.

It’s going to take time to get there, so you might as well enjoy the process.

Greatness requires work, and dedication. That’s something you have to accept. You will not be great tomorrow, or next week, or next month. But, if you put in the work, you will be better. If you start writing today, you will be better next week. 

You will grow.

There's no way around it. Whether you want to be a great athlete, artist, thinker, inventor, or anything else, you are going to have to put in the work.

If you don't start, and you don't put in the work, you will remain right where you are now. 

That’s what happened to me for more years than I care to count. I wanted instant results, and when I realized that wasn’t realistic, I didn’t try to improve and I stayed right where I was, and nothing changed.

Growth comes from working consistently. 

It’s like regular trips to the gym to lift. You don't get bigger muscles by sitting on the couch. You get them by showing up to workout 3 or 4 times a week.

You gain greater control over your own thoughts by meditating regularly, not by watching TV.

You become better at drawing by drawing things daily, not by looking at things and wishing you were could draw them.

You become a better writer by writing frequently, and regularly, and not by wishing you were a better writer.

What do you want to be great at?

Be prepared to put in the work.

Find a way to enjoy the process.

Take pleasure in your hard work and subsequent growth.

Most importantly, get started!

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