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Successful people aren't Demi-Gods with insane willpower and incredible productivity skills. They are normal people who understood the importance of the small seemingly insignificant daily disciplines. They understood how these disciplines leveraged with time could make them unstoppable.

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August 1, 2017
1461 upvotes
TheRedPill

This post was inspired after I read the book 'The slight Edge'. 10/10 btw

Wtf is time? The human mind has a bad perception of time. Sure we understand 'clock time' and deadlines, but we really are myopic when it comes to understanding the fundamental power of time. It is hard for us to grasp how the small actions we make on a daily basis can have dramatic consequences when leveraged with the power of time. How many times have you told yourself you would “do it tomorrow”, only to realise that a couple of weeks flew by and you still hadn’t done the thing? Bad perception of time 101.

Instant gratification Society To make things worse we live in a society where instant gratification is the normal. We assume that we should get results quick in everything we do. We watch training montages in movies like Rocky and expect to get similar results in the real world. We go online and want ‘instant’ access, ‘instant downloads’ everything needs to be quick. We read 'Think and Grow Rich' and expect to make millions of dollars within a year.

The truth The truth of success is not sexy, it's nothing like those rocky montages with the good music in the background. Success stems from the mundane. Success comes from making the right choices, keeping your daily disciplines consistently and allowing time to use its leveraging power to work its magic. People have a skewed perception in which they believe that successful people are Demi-Gods of willpower and discipline. That these people are cut from a different cloth.

In reality most successful people have just understood the power of daily disciplines, they have learned about the leveraging power of time. The power of the small easy things:

•\tMeditating for 20 minutes a day is easy

•\tReading a non-fiction book for 20 minutes a day is easy

•\tExercising for 30 -40 minutes a day is easy

•\tGetting 0.1% better at your craft a day is easy

•\tSaving a little bit of money/ putting some in investments is easy

All these things are easy, but they are also easy to not do. Unfortunately for us we have a mind that has adapted to take the path of least resistance when making choices. This tendency along with the bad perception of how time leverages the small daily disciplines is why most people fail. Time and persistence is king! Remember that the Grand Canyon was formed by water. Water flows over millions of years ( time is the great leverage, you won’t need that long though). Working on success isn’t a sprint it’s a marathon, the answer is not sexy, but however is the truth. Hey guys make sure you checkout the video and support the channel!

► WATCH THIS Thanks


Post Information
Title Successful people aren't Demi-Gods with insane willpower and incredible productivity skills. They are normal people who understood the importance of the small seemingly insignificant daily disciplines. They understood how these disciplines leveraged with time could make them unstoppable.
Author
Upvotes 1461
Comments 125
Date 01 August 2017 01:33 PM UTC (3 years ago)
Subreddit TheRedPill
Link https://theredarchive.com/post/45061
Original Link https://old.reddit.com/r/TheRedPill/comments/6qw8om/successful_people_arent_demigods_with_insane/
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[Advice]Successful people aren't Demi-Gods with insane willpower and incredible productivity skills. They are normal people who understood the importance of the small seemingly insignificant daily disciplines. They understood how these disciplines leveraged with time could make them unstoppable.

This post was inspired after I read the book 'The slight Edge'. 10/10 btw

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[–]Senior Endorsed ContributorVasiliyZaitzev230 points231 points  (14 children) | Copy

So my three free pieces of semi-related advice for folks this morning that will contribute to your well-being are as follows:

A. Get enough sleep.

B. De-clutter your living space (and work space, for that matter). This doesn't come naturally for me, but, while it doesn't seem to be intuitive, it makes quite a bit of difference.

C. Take care of your oral hygiene (brush, floss, etc.) because so much of what can go wrong with you starts off with your mouth (both literally AND figuratively)

[–][deleted] 26 points27 points  (3 children) | Copy

Organizing your work space speaks to every job. I'm sure most people would assume that applies to office jobs, but as a construction worker you wouldn't believe how disorganized a lot of people are and how badly it affects the job. Keeping things fairly neat increases productivity a hell of a lot.

[–]pollodustino16 points17 points  (1 child) | Copy

Organization is critical when you're paid on flat rate time. If you don't know where your tool or part is, you'll spend precious minutes looking, swearing, and getting worked up that you can't find the damn thing.

I try to do a major clean up every Friday at my shop if I'm not going out that night. Stay a couple hours after quitting time and organize, mop my floors, and make sure my work counters and toolbox top are clear of stuff. Not only does it increase my efficiency, but it makes me happier when I come in in the morning, because everything's clean and fresh, and it helps keep my mind clear of unnecessary stress.

[–]Rooibosisboss2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy

i think organization is hand in hand with having a good Structure/Framework/Routine for say getting up in the morning and going to bed at night.

[–]joewalker6 points7 points  (0 children) | Copy

My Dad is a builder, I labour for him in the summer when I'm not at university. I was very impressed with how organised and tidy he kept the site, particularly when we were cleaning up at the end of the day. Also, there's a sense of professionalism to it as well, if you're working for a couple and they get back from work and the building space is messy and cluttered, it would look unprofessional and could potentially prevent them from recommending his services. So yeah I completely agree with you.

[–][deleted] 28 points29 points  (8 children) | Copy

And iron your shirts, for God's sake!

[–]Senior Endorsed ContributorVasiliyZaitzev22 points23 points  (0 children) | Copy

A former GF of mind loved to iron my shirts while she was in some state of undress, usually wearing one of my oxfords and some of those scrunchy socks. Dunno why, that was totally hot. She said it was because I liked having "a beautiful woman at [my] disposal." I can't really argue with that.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (6 children) | Copy

I abhor the idea of ironing. Seems like a complete and utter waste of time to me.

[–]Ziddy18 points19 points  (1 child) | Copy

It's all in the detail man. Ironing Vs Not is night and day.

[–]vsvp8152 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy

Or: gentle wash in the washer Wrinkle release low temp in the dryer Hang dry Looks great

[–]KremlinRP7 points8 points  (1 child) | Copy

Hire someone to do it. It's cheap and you won't have to.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy

That's a good idea. I'm going to give it a try this month.

[–]Htowngetdown3 points4 points  (0 children) | Copy

Just hang em up right after the dryer finishes and you should be good to go (usually)

[–]aaronsharif0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy

I have a steamer, saves a shit time of time and is easy on the back. Also, it's kinda fun

[–]TheChadSprinkle86 points87 points  (4 children) | Copy

I think one adverse effect of instant gratification is the development of an "all or nothing" mentality.

"I only have 20 minutes left before I have to go to work/sleep, doing x beneficial activity is of no use if I don't have at lest an hour to do it. Might as well surf the internet and masturbate."

I struggle with this way of thinking myself, it's important to remember that practicing your craft/doing anything beneficial, if only for a short while a day, is still better than not fucking doing it at all. It might not feel like it at the moment, but it makes a difference in the long run, as OP stated.

[–]saladon 2 points2 points [recovered] | Copy

This. The absolute biggest cause of endless procrastination.

[–]nombre14 points5 points  (1 child) | Copy

This is my biggest problem with marijuana. However you chose to relax and unwind at the end of a long day/week/project is up to you, and it's certainly safer than alcohol, but it's the being okay with complacency that really bothers me. When your sitting at home with nothing else to do, there's at least a chance that you'll decide to work out instead, or wash those dishes, or read that book. When you're stoned, that chance is eliminated.

[–]RealizedGainz1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy

I get around this issue by treating smoking time the same as drinking-and-partying time. It takes a lot of discipline though which took me a while to get better with. I used to smoke more, but now I get very anxious when I smoke during times when I am not totally free to relax and mess around. This anxiety-high effect motivated me to discipline my habit into a much more occasional activity for kicking back

[–]desi_swagger134 points135 points  (18 children) | Copy

I love Mathematics.

Draw a horizontal line. Draw two lines @ 5 and 10 degree from horizontal.

Consider horizontal line as time, as the time passes (the line extends) the perpendicular space between the two lines that we drew keeps on increasing.

Thats the difference between someone who does what is enough to just get by and someone who does only a little extra.

[–][deleted] 41 points42 points  (1 child) | Copy

How much effort you put in isn't really important. What is important is that you continue to put in that effort every day. Bodybuilder's secret right there.

[–][deleted] 10 points11 points  (0 children) | Copy

Yeah he should have said for each day you get +1 or -1 . Most of us would have zigzag lines ending up nowhere. Successful people have very long streaks of +1 for every -1.

[–]SalemBeats15 points16 points  (8 children) | Copy

If continual growth were linear, infinite, and never-ending like this, I'm sure that more people would be interested in it. But I guess if it helps you to stay on course by thinking of it like that, keep doing it. Any belief that can be used to make progress towards your goals is more important than what's true, should the two ever come into conflict.

[–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (5 children) | Copy

Would you rather it be exponential growth? Put that on a log scale and you still get a linear relationship. I don't understand the issue.

[–]AvatarStinky8 points9 points  (4 children) | Copy

He's saying that at some point you'll plateau. Neither linear nor exponential growth is possible over the long term. Often you'll hit a plateau after which you'll usually stagnate before declining or hitting another plateau.

[–]Drenmar 1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy

True, but that plateau is still way better than what you had before so it's a big win.

[–]SalemBeats7 points8 points  (2 children) | Copy

The issue is that if someone expects linear or exponential growth and instead experiences plateaus, they might give up since they aren't getting what they were "promised" or what they expected.

Some might even be horrified to find that in some pursuits, you have to take steps backwards in order to keep the long-term trend up. You might've made a habit of an alright way of doing something, but it wasn't the optimal way of doing that thing. During the time spent unlearning the "lesser" way of going about things, you may end up worse for a while. An example of this might be someone who switches from a QWERTY typing layout to a Dvorak layout in an attempt to type more quickly. In the short-term, the new layout will be excruciatingly slow. But the skill ceiling for Dvorak is higher than the skill ceiling for QWERTY. So will sufficient time, a skilled typist would cap out higher in the long run from this short-term backwards step. Or you might start a business but end up needing to sell your business to raise the capital for a better business. In FPS games, the skill cap for lower mouse sensitivities is generally higher. But someone accustomed to a higher one will be less precise for a while as they become accustomed to a lower one. Things like that involve short-term loss in anticipation of a long-term gain.

What I'm saying is to anticipate plateaus and irregular spurts and stalls in growth, focusing on enjoying the process itself, so you don't get so frustrated when you run into the inevitable roadblocks that come up on the journey to master something. A proficiency chart looks more like a stock market graph than it does a plotted line, with fluctuations daily from things as simple as not having enough sleep, forgetting to drink your coffee, or longer-term temporary things like having your mind preoccupied over a couple months by the recent death of a loved one.

TL;DR: Always strive for growth, but be realistic enough about it to roll with the punches. Only bullshit yourself if that bullshitting yourself is helping you accomplish something. With that said, bullshitting yourself can be a useful tool if used correctly.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy

Ok. Thank you for the well thought out reply.

[–]will_del1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy

What I'm saying is to anticipate plateaus and irregular spurts and stalls in growth, focusing on enjoying the process itself,

This. Just enjoy the pain/process and always try to improve yourself. The results will come automatically. If you focus on comparing yourself to others or to some schedule of progress it will only demotivate you.

[–]aDrunkenWhaler2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy

The thing than many don't consider or even realize is that once you get old and your body starts working against you. So with some exception, after you're roughly 35 the parallel lines are not really parallel, but narrowing the gap over time. After a certain point, progress can be simply to keep the lines parallel.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children) | Copy

you can draw more from this though. Take the length of time divided by the cosine of the angle and you can get the figurative work required (length of the line). The bigger the angle, the more work required. A line traveling to the same x coordinate (time period) at 85 degrees is going to be a hell of a lot longer than one at 5 degrees.

[–]will_del1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy

I have read the book "The slight Edge" and even made notes. I am starting to think that either this is a meme or it just does not work for me. All I have ever achieved is by maniacally focusing on one thing. Sometimes that thing took all of my waking hours minus the essential work. Or sometimes it took only 3 hours a day(like dieting and lifting) but it was the most important thing I did. I designed my whole life around the one thing I wanted to achieve.

Only by this kind of focus I have achieved anything. I dont believe in this story of just reading 10 pages a day you can complete 20 books. It has never worked out for me.

[–]keksicus21 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy

Even more. Take P to be the initial value. Then take R to be some value within [0.01, 0.05]. Then graph P*(1+R)X on your X,Y plot. That's how I see the OP.

[–]Neverabaday-3 points-2 points  (1 child) | Copy

I don't think time should be seen as a mathematical equation.

[–]Kh444n82 points83 points  (5 children) | Copy

only masturbating 5 times a day instead of 9 is easy

[–]Holy__Schmitz16 points17 points  (2 children) | Copy

Actually this was the hardest decision I've made in my life to date...

[–]Marcus113817 points18 points  (1 child) | Copy

It became much less hard after you stopped though.

[–]jamesbwbevis21 points22 points  (8 children) | Copy

We can't all be kings. Most people will be average by definition.

Most successful work insanely hard and are uniquely talented or smart.

They aren't your average idiot

[–]Drenmar 1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy

Most people live way below their full potential.

[–]jamesbwbevis3 points4 points  (6 children) | Copy

Based on what evidence do you say that

[–]Schindog8 points9 points  (3 children) | Copy

He feels he does. We all live at exactly our potential. Our potential extends to our ability to make intelligent decisions, not just how effective we'd be presupposing good choices.

[–]Patriarchysaurus5 points6 points  (0 children) | Copy

Potential implies the possibility of a future state change, not being infallible by making all the right "intelligent decisions." Saying everybody "lives at exactly their potential" is bullshit because it ignores adverse circumstances (non-level playing field), innate differences in perception, and an entire host of other variables that determine where one ultimately goes in life.

Self-determinism and prudent choices are great, but they don't make you the complete master of your fate.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy

Interesting philosophical take.

"What you did do is all you could do."

I'm not certain I buy it, but I am willing to entertain the idea.

[–]YouHaveAChode 1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy

Totally pulled out my ass but if everyone I know watches tv from the time they get home till sleep. That alone is bringing you down to the very bottom of what you can do. The people I know do the bare min. at work. They don't exercise, read, self improve, nothing. If you put your life towards success and work at it everyday you will be successful. No promises of course but you won't be average.

[–]jamesbwbevis0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy

It's all cost benefit, no point in killing yourself if you're potential is not much above average

[–][deleted] 56 points57 points  (14 children) | Copy

Posts like these always take me back to my experience as an enlisted military member. I went in a slacker with no motivation, little self-discipline, no purpose, etc. I came out an assertive man who knows how to motivate myself, remain disciplined, and a clear purpose to every day as soon as my feet touch the floor. Here's how they do it...

4:45 a.m.: Feet hit the floor and you don't stop moving until "Lights Out". Jump up, throw on PT gear (shirt, undies, shorts, socks, sneakers), make bed with razor sharp precision in less than 30 seconds.

5:00 a.m.: Form up on drill pad. Sing Air Force song. March to PT area.

5:15 a.m.: Calisthenics for 30 min. (Jumping Jacks, Burpees, Push ups, crunches, pull ups, etc.)

5:45 a.m. Run for 30 minutes.

6:15 a.m. Chow (Breakfast)

6:30 a.m. Shower, change into BDU's.

6:45 a.m. Form up on drill pad for debriefing.

7:00 a.m.- noon: Various drilling exercises (marching, weapon breakdown and cleaning, shirt folding, bed making, detailed tasks.)

Noon: Chow (lunch)

12:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: Classroom. (Study everything from military history, traditions, to customs and courtesies.

4:30 p.m.: March (Because)

5:30 p.m. : Chow (Dinner)

6:00 p.m.- 10:00 p.m. (Lights Out): Detail work in dormitory/barracks. Practice what you suck at, and get better.

10:00 p.m.: Head hits pillow and you instantly fall asleep.

Throw in about 500-1000 pushups mixed in throughout the above and that's a normal day. No time to think, just do. Achieve or do not. And if you do not, you don't stop until you do. Failure is not an option.

I doubt many in this sub know what it's like to sleep standing up, or literally fall asleep while you're actively marching on a drill pad for 2-3 hours straight.

It feels great.

[–][deleted] 23 points24 points  (3 children) | Copy

You forgot to mention that this all takes place in a luxury hotel.

[–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (1 child) | Copy

You're right! Consisting of 40 bunks, 80 men, 10 shower heads, 20 side by side partitionless toilets, and a 24 hr kitchen that prepares three meals a day! Not to mention endless hiking trails with Group led hikes with our hardcore "Bootcamp" instructors! 5 star amenities throughout.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children) | Copy

I knew I should have gone Air Force.

[–]TheChadSprinkle5 points6 points  (1 child) | Copy

I loved how getting to sleep only 4 hours a night for two weeks forced my brain to make those 4 hours fucking count.

[–]isthisavailable109 points10 points  (3 children) | Copy

The military actually hurt my discipline it was so structured that I fell off. It took me a while to get back after it

[–]impactandinsight1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy

This brings back memories from Lackland. Add in the EC shifts at night and KP duties and you start your day at 2AM. Hardest and yet the most productive time of my life.

[–]MetalliMunk10 points11 points  (0 children) | Copy

My favorite transition moment was in the movie Limitless where he mentally "wakes up" with this pill, and you see he starts right away by cleaning up his apartment, taking care of himself, exercising, learning languages, and interacting with people. It looks like it's a super power, but the real super power truth is that anyone can do it, but because few people do, this is why it's deemed as "super human".

[–]Bsios20 points21 points  (1 child) | Copy

The problem with being successful is, that if you make one mistake to start everything, you can start from the bottom again. You fail and fail and fail.

Only the men who try and work hard for their dreams become something better.

As long as we can deal with our time on this earth, we should be able to experience the most we can, everything this world has to offer us.

[–]00100001001111116 points7 points  (1 child) | Copy

Make things easy for yourself and minimize the distractions

  • Stay organized
  • Get rid of things that disrupt focus (social media is a big one)
  • Minimize your lifestyle/possessions
  • Invest in activities that will make you become stronger/grow (exercise, personal hygiene, self-development, good relationships)
  • Make good choices about what you put into your body
  • Challenge your mind, push your boundaries (physical and mental) a little, and do it often
  • Manage your money and finances well
  • Expect to make lots of mistakes and fail - view them as opportunities to learn and develop, not as obstacles
  • Get good sleep (read up on how to make your room conducive to sleep) and avoid using caffeine, stimulants, sleeping pills

If you can stay organized, and make good choices everyday, the good becomes compounded and things becomes easier with time. What I find ironic is removing the bad things/distractions from your focus makes doing all of the aforementioned easier.

[–]darkonark17 points18 points  (7 children) | Copy

Don't forget that a large slew of successful folk are manipulative as all hell.

[–]SmellsLikeNostrils35 points36 points  (6 children) | Copy

It's true. And don't think it's a bad thing. At all. Reframe this in a good light to yourself so you don't fall into the blue-pill trap of avoiding your own success because you view successful people as controlling, and see that as negative. It is not.

The best racecar drivers have the sharpest, finest control of their vehicles. The best martial artists control their bodies and minds the best. The best commanders control their troops to within an inch of their lives and competently get their missions accomplished.

In the social world of business, controlling others competently and positively is a highly valued and highly-paid skill.

Manipulative is not evil. Evil is evil. I would wager that if you can't control and direct and move other people, you will fail and lose to those who can. And you will be forgotten.

Sculptors manipulate clay to make beauty. Leaders manipulate people (friends and foes) and their environments to create businesses, nations, movements, community projects... Anything worth making in society.

The thing is, the masses are happy being the clay, and terrified of being the sculptor. Most people will not control and discipline themselves toward greatness or even "success". They will not do it. Not if you put a gun to their head.

But they will apply to Apple, Tesla, MLMs, the RNC or DNC to grow another man's dream for him. Be that man. There is a dire scarcity of those men and it is killing this nation and civilization.

EDIT: Remember this is the Red Pill. Morpheus was manipulative, to revisit the metaphor. Read (or better yet) listen to Grant Cardone for an example of possible mindset upgrade.

[–]Endorsed Contributorsadomasochrist54 points55 points  (28 children) | Copy

I feel like a lot of the people who write this stuff have never experienced success and don't know the sacrifice and effort involved.

It's complex and these posts trivialize what is involved. They also create a sort of conceptual falsehood that your happiness is just success away.

Success, like women, should be a side-product to having a great life.

Don't listen to the guys on here that herrold a business as your salvation. Get a degree, network, build working capital. Run a business on the side.

Those who truly understand business know its for young bucks with nothing to lose, something to get out of their system.

[–]corbinbluesacreblue 1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy

Business is just something to get out of your system.. What nonsense

[–]coinclink8 points9 points  (1 child) | Copy

I know, what a laughable statement / excuse of someone who likely failed.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy

It seems to me to be someone who inherited or succeeded early.

I know if I had 10 million I would be a teacher, of all things.

[–]Endorsed Contributorsadomasochrist1 point2 points  (2 children) | Copy

You're contributing so much I don't even know where to start...

[–]Psychocist7 points8 points  (1 child) | Copy

It seems many people are forgetting that "success" is very much subjective and entirely depends on how you measure it. Not everybody is looking through the same lens, and my success is guaranteed because, as I mature, I will continually redefine what it means to me.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy

deleted What is this?

[–]coinclink8 points9 points  (9 children) | Copy

Business is networking... If you fail at business, you tried to do too much on your own or you didn't work with the right people on the right projects.

[–]Endorsed Contributorsadomasochrist6 points7 points  (8 children) | Copy

Hello person who either has never owned a business before or hasn't yet really cut their teeth.

[–]coinclink2 points3 points  (7 children) | Copy

No, I just have it easy because I'm in tech. That being said, the number one mistake I see people make is latching onto one idea and driving it into the ground. What I do is research and development on whatever is relevant. At this point it is a side business, like you mentioned, but it will be a successful business in 3-5 years. Sorry your idea didn't work out for you.

[–]Endorsed Contributorsadomasochrist-5 points-4 points  (6 children) | Copy

It worked for a long time, you're clueless.

[–]coinclink4 points5 points  (5 children) | Copy

Statistics don't lie friend, small business is half the economy after all. Perhaps you've just figured out that you work better as an individual contributor rather than a creator. That's certainly more likely to me, and there's nothing wrong with that.

[–]MuhammadDinduNuffin2 points3 points  (2 children) | Copy

90% of all small business startups fail too

[–]coinclink2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy

That is such a narrow way of looking at small business. At a minimum, the value in a business is experience and employment (perhaps for many) for the time the business exists. Beyond that, it is the only chance for true freedom in the modern world. It's fine to make good money working for others, but you will never be free.

[–]Endorsed Contributorsadomasochrist1 point2 points  (1 child) | Copy

This doesn't dispute my post.

[–]coinclink1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy

I don't have a problem with your post in general. I'm disputing the comment that "business is something that young bucks need to get out of their system" which is just a lame, narrow statement that is downright wrong.

[–]TRPBackpacker 1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy

Success is... throwing all these little improvements away abd use that time solely for little improvements of your business.

Why are you meditating when you can be cold calling customers. Little bits of time here and there really adda up and you are discoubting the prep time needed to get into the flow.

For meditation, it is not an on and off switch. Once you've been properly taught, you understand that 30 min per day is mostly useless and helping advancement in the art. Vipassanna's 10 day isolation was designed so.that.normal people can dmash through a resistance line.and allow them to feel what it is really like to meditate. Each day of 5 sessions and 3 hours each. 30 minutes was.the time it needs to just clear your mind. Takes me 1 hour to get into the zone.

There are things that stops getting improved on once you reach a level of equilibrium between skill decay and the amount of difficulty to increase in futher level.

[–]Endorsed Contributorsadomasochrist5 points6 points  (3 children) | Copy

I was kind of trying to actually dispute your line of thinking. Success is less about habit, that's more IMO a prerequisite.

The number of people who've made it big in business that haven't worked hard is for all intents and purposes... zero.

And 99.99% of people fail, even if you have success for a while, maybe even 10 years or longer.

The market is designed in a way to make failure likely for all but the most well designed companies (Intel and the like) or enduring products (Coke and the like).

The biggest component to success is having a product, service or talent that is highly valuable to the market at large.

You can work at 100.00% efficiency with a product or service that the market is lukewarm about and make $30K a year or even lose money.

People don't understand how much is involved just turning a profit. And people think once they start making money they'll be happy. And you are, for a while.

Then eventually you start wishing you could punch in and punch out after you have a house, kids all that.

There's tradeoffs, and nothing is the surefire solution. Just like women, you finally rid yourself of some idea of a unicorn and just embrace a business for what it is.

A way to make money that doesn't involve you being someone's employee. Nothing more, nothing less. And they all bring headaches so make them work in your life, and don't make your life bend around your business.

Ultimately that means it's probably "a side business" and for literally all but the most viable companies on earth, that's the best setup you can ask for.

Would I trade what I learned? No.

If I could understand what I know now and choose working for the man or running a business?

I would have just got the graduate degree out of the way and worked for the man.

[–]wanderer77911 points12 points  (2 children) | Copy

That's of course because you didn't make it big, which we are all going to do. /s

Seriously, I think there's a lot of truth here. You seem like a guy who has been through some shit and learned some stuff about the world and himself.

I look at small stocks a lot, companies worth a few million bucks. Some of them have pretty accomplished people at the helm. These guys went to good schools, studied real subjects with practical value, and then went into business and spent their whole life building it. At the end of it these guys have a business making a few hundred k or maybe a couple mil in profits. After decades of grinding they are worth low single digit millions. They've done well, at least financially, but they still have to worry about money, and they worked their ass off for it.

If you read about people who get rich, they are almost all hard working and shrewd and smart. But that doesn't mean you can't be all those things and not get rich. There's a large element of luck involved. They met the right people at the right times, they went into the right business (say oil just as automobiles got big) at the right time, etc.

Life is kind of like a hand of poker. Not a game, a hand. Alright, maybe a few hands, but still, there's tremendous variance. You can bet right and still lose. That's the way it goes.

IMO the main reason to work hard and take chances is to avoid regret. You don't want to be sitting there at 70 wondering what you could have done if you had applied yourself. Even if you tried and failed and had to go back to being an employee, at least you can find peace knowing you gave it a shot.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (2 children) | Copy

Goddamn that's a ridiculous statement. Those who truly understand business are running successful businesses.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy

Those who truly understand business know its for young bucks with nothing to lose, something to get out of their system.

What, exactly do you mean by this? I'm curious.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (2 children) | Copy

I always wondered, perhaps pointlessly, why do motivational speakers exist? These are people who seemingly have the blueprint to whatever success they can imagine but yet they decide to be motivational speakers.

I just don't get it. Maybe it's because they've realized it's more profitable to sell the blueprint or they've gotten so invested that it's become their passion now. I just find myself wondering why not put that into action yourself and go on to do bigger and better things?

I guess we all have different perspectives. Let me know if I'm not seeing something here.

[–]Ac3oSpades0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy

...Because their blueprint is being a speaker, they make fortunes doing those talks and selling the books.

[–]chocolatex2 points3 points  (2 children) | Copy

What are some good 5-10 min daily habits I can implement in my life right now that will help me long term?

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy

As many pushups As you can do... twice a day.

There isnt a way to beat the return on time spent for your body IMO

[–]TheChadSprinkle0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy

Meditation helps you control your mind, strenghtening your frame.

I also find journaling helpful. Before you go to bed, write down what you have done today, how you've felt, what you're thankful/proud of and what you will do tomorrow. It's a good way to clear your thoughts, track your progress and to keep yourself accountable. You are more likely to get shit done if you write down your goals for the next day. It's also a tool that helps you live one day at a time.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy

A lot of times we "know" things but are not using that knowledge wisely. A reminder can be really useful.

This was one of those to me !

[–]SPREAD_THE_LOVE_77911 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy

Good reminder. I have all of those things on my daily task list but I go through cycles and slip up. For example, I'll go on vacation and completely unravel and it will take me weeks to get back on my routine. Or friends will come to town and I won't get shit done (for days after they leave as well). It's okay to snap out of your routine for an unexpected weekend with the boys or vacation, but it's important to get right back into it after, which I struggle with immensely. I'm a major rationalizer who will always come up with an excuse in my head. And I'll listen to it. Your post has allowed me to see the value of these small tasks, which by god I hope leads to more consistency.

To add to the instant gratification society, I came to the conclusion that I always would slack/quit because my goals would be too long-term or not specific enough. I would lose faith in my distant vision and give up. What I'm trying next is to create short, medium, and long term goals that are MEASURABLE. This allows me to get gratification and satisfaction from reaching important milestones.

So all my goals are anxiety/social based. Here is my first draft which may change:

Short-term: Go out 5 nights a week for 1 week and talk to at least 10 girls a night. Medium-term: Meet up with 2 large groups of new people per week for 2 weeks and meet at least 5 new people (via meetup.com or whatever). Long-term: Give a 3+ minute public speech for 30+ people.

Thought if anyone is like me this could help.

[–]prodigy2throw10 points11 points  (12 children) | Copy

There is a lot of grit and high functioning that uber successful people have which can't be replicated by the average person. Yes a lot of it is in your hands but some people just run on a different playing field. If you've ever been around really successful people you would know this

[–]AwakenedSovereign29 points30 points  (7 children) | Copy

Bullshit.

The mind is a muscle. Your personality is not fixed. The difference between people with "grit" and without is sufficiently pruning the wires in your brain. Most will never do this because they never bother to stop and ask why they are doing what they do, much less why they are the way they are

[–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (6 children) | Copy

I'm a big fan of this mindset. The difference between limited and unlimited will power is the belief that will power is unlimited. Ill add the study if I can find it.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (4 children) | Copy

deleted What is this?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (2 children) | Copy

Article that describes the study is here. I can't find the published paper.

[–]Frigzy0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy

The energy source that we link to willpower is still limited. It just seems to be the case that the there are only soft limits to the effects of depleting it, which are influenced by you beliefs and mindset. It's pliable.

I bet you would get similar results if you did the same test for physical tasks. People who believe they have endless energy will outperform those who believe otherwise.

To me that's not evidence about the nature of willpower at all, but rather the power of one's mindset and belief system.

[–]sharp712 points13 points  (2 children) | Copy

Ive met a few. Consistency is a big factor like OP mentioned. Also you have to want the success more than fucking anything. More than morals, more than relationships, more than your own health and happiness even.

The hard part about being consistent is when you fail. JK Rowling had to send her book to something like 40 publishers before one picked it up. Think about the INSANITY that takes. The dictionary version of insanity is doing the same thing expecting different results, thats what she did. Normal people would just do something else and move on. But JKR was extremely depressed at the time of writing and so for her it was probably do it or suicide. That is the type of people who you are competing with a lot of the time, people who would kill themselves if they didnt succeed or stop trying because they are fucked up like that. At the very least they have a bizarre faith that they will succeed even if reality and other people are telling them otherwise.

Success doesnt even bring happiness, these people want it because of madness pure and simple.

But the madness isnt something you are born with. It comes usually from life experiences especially early life experiences. Think of batman, someone who saw crime fuck up his life first hand to the point that it made him push himself to the absolute limit. He forgoed romance, and all sorts of happiness. Being batman didnt even make him happy. He just had to do it because he was traumatized. Its hard to ignore crime and pretend everything is fine or that its a "poor people problem" when you see your parents die because of it. Now plenty of people are insane but just dont have the talent, resources, or luck. Plenty of crazy people who threw everything away for their dreams, and got nothing from it. So dont consider being insane as a good thing most of them fail and are miserable.

[–]Arnoux1 point2 points  (1 child) | Copy

It is true.

In the first semester I did extremly well. (Even got money for my good resulta) Not because I studied 20mins every day, but because I was scared that I will fail.

Then I got promoted quite fast in my job, not because I was hard working or smart or whatever but because I kept pushing my promotion. Again because of fear that I am not enough good.

Fear drives a lot of people to success.

[–]sharp70 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy

Again because of fear that I am not enough good.

Basically how most super successful people got there.

[–]pevans120 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy

Most are extemely humble and kind folks that have an great work ethic and show up on time.

[–]bossplayaintraining3 points4 points  (20 children) | Copy

True, but you missed one key ingredient:

These successful people can stay healthy/lucky. Sayin this as someone suffering through his 12th day of a bronchitis attack, & whose illnesses always seem to be conveniently timed right after he makes major breakthroughs in his life.

[–]wierdmann14 points15 points  (0 children) | Copy

Good. Complain about it. Make it your focus. I'm sure it's helping.

[–]Charmingaxelotl5 points6 points  (16 children) | Copy

A good immune system isn't luck.

[–]dvrzero16 points17 points  (14 children) | Copy

Uh, it's partially genetic and partially environmental from birth. If your parent(s) we're living in shitsville, Arkansas and you spent your childhood breathing fertilizer, corn and tractor dust, you might call that unlucky.

You can't just magically make your immune system better. What sort of bullshit are you talking about?

[–]ZenGoodness6 points7 points  (13 children) | Copy

Nutrition is intrinsically linked to the immune system. When deficient in one or many micronutrients, functions of the immune which depend on said micronutrients won't work properly.

[–]marplaneit-3 points-2 points  (9 children) | Copy

I love how people outside of medicine talk about medicine cause they have seen maybe 2 studies that they half-understood. If you think nutrition it's going to help a cronic bronchitis you are plain retarded. Actually a strong immune system may exacerbate cronic bronchitis, as it a sort of auto-immune desease. Please stop puking thing about medicine when you don't even knows the basics.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3321360/

[–]ZenGoodness7 points8 points  (7 children) | Copy

The point I was addressing was "a good immune system isn't luck" - which is partially correct. This thread was not about bronchitis, or any other specific condition. It was a general assertion that good nutrition improves systemic immunity, which is correct.

Your assumption that I am "outside of medicine" is incorrect also.

[–]marplaneit-2 points-1 points  (6 children) | Copy

Yes, "sure" dude. You have clearly 0 clinical experience, I would tell all my patients to go do some sports, eat well and sleep 8 hours and I would call the day. The are multiple genetic mutations, underlying health problems, ambiental factors and more shit. We are not talking about a deep fungal infection, anyone can get a pneumococcus infection. Also a bachellor in biology doesn't make you a doctor.

[–]ZenGoodness 1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy

I do have clinical experience... 😂 I've been involved in running a number of diabetes clinical trials, and have just started work as a researcher in obesity genetics at one of the top universities in the world... I also technically do have the title 'doctor', on account of my PhD, but I digress...

I feel we're arguing despite having pretty much the same view. I have not once suggested that genetics, environment, etc etc, don't affect immunity. It is a complex system, mediated by countless factors. Nutrition is just one of these.

Exercising (moderately), eating well, getting enough sleep are ALL proven to improve your health and immunity. Not to the point where chronically ill patients can be treated with these alone, obviously - that would be ridiculous.

If you could sum up your issue with the statement "nutrition affects immunity" in a few lines or less, I'd appreciate it.

[–]marplaneit-1 points0 points  (1 child) | Copy

I will believe you have a PhD at 23. Nutritions affects immunity. The first guy who posted here, clearly said he has chronic bronchitis. People here jumped saying it was somehow his fault.

Also I'm no impressed I've done away clerkships in USA, and destroyed exams (Step1) that were not even in my native or 2do language. Also running clinical trials is far from being in a fucking clinic 80 hours a week.

Also my dad has a PhD on molecular genetics and he doesn't know shit about medicine.

[–]ZenGoodness0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy

"Nutritions affects immunity" thank you :)

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child) | Copy

Well shit dude you just got served.

[–]marplaneit-1 points0 points  (0 children) | Copy

It is funny, people thinks I got server from a dude who claims he has a PhD at 23, and doesn't know basic pathology.

[–]1empatheticapathetic0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy

I can't believe people are down voting you. Your point is clear but cmon man just work on your diet, all your hereditary deficiencies will eventually get better!

[–]dvrzero-3 points-2 points  (2 children) | Copy

Let's assume you're correct; what happens if you accidentally ingest some tainted food or drink while you're out on town, and you get food poisoning? Now your gut biome is wrecked and no matter how hard you try, your gut flora and fauna don't process the nutrients correctly anymore?

It's not really in your control. You can be the healthiest lifestyle practicing person on the planet and if the dice come up snake eyes, you're screwed.

[–]ZenGoodness4 points5 points  (0 children) | Copy

There's really no need to assume anything - see here! https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9250133

The point was "immunity is not in your control". Your point is akin to "being rich is not in your control" - there may be an element of luck to it, but your actions have a substantial influence in both areas.

[–]General_Shou-2 points-1 points  (0 children) | Copy

Don't go eatin shit. Problem solved.

[–]1empatheticapathetic0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy

Sometimes it is. My family genes are shit.

[–]puq11 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy

A tl;dr variant: Smart choices and decisions triumphs struggle/effort.

It's OK (even more healthy sustainable) to be a bit lazier than your hyper productive colleague (or whatever) as long as you constantly make smart choices and decisions you'll still end up far far ahead of your super working first-in-last-out peers.

[–]wendysNO1wcheese0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy

Willpower had to do something with it.

[–]DoctorBonkus0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy

You just posted this on GetDiciplined. What makes this Trp worthy?

[–]matagad0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy

they understand that life is the grind.

[–][deleted] -2 points-1 points  (0 children) | Copy

Lotta people get lucky too



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