What does it take to reach your full potential or to find the time to reach your goals:
I will start with a quote from David Goggins in Can’t Hurt Me. Great book.
“Our culture has become hooked on the quick-fix, the life hack, efficiency. Everyone is on the hunt for that simple action algorithm that nets maximum profit with the least amount of effort. Ther’s no denying this attitude may get you some of the trappings of success, if you’re lucky, but it will not lead to a calloused mind or self-mastery. If you want to master the mind and remove your governer, you’ll have to become addicted to hard work. Because passion and obsession, even talent, are only useful tools if you have the work ethic to back them up.
My work ethic is the single most important factor in all my accomplishments. Everything else is secondary, and when it comes to hard work, whether in the gym or on the job, The 40% Rule applies. To me, a forty-hour work week is a 40 percent effort. It may be satisfactory, but that’s another word for mediocrity. Don’t settle for a forty-hour work week. there are 168 hours in a week! That means you have the hours to put in the extra time to work without skimping on your exercise. It means streamlining your nutrition, spending quality time with your wife and kids. It means scheduling your life like you’re on a twenty-four-hour mission every single day.
The number one excuse I hear from people as to why they don’t work out as much as they want is that they don’t have time. (DA- this is the number one excuse I hear too) Look, we all have work obligations, none of us want to lose sleep, and you’ll need time with the family or they’ll trip the fuck out. I get it, and if that’s your situation, you must win the morning.”
He goes on to explain that his days start at 4am and he is in bed by 10pm. He takes one rest day each week and stresses the importance of that day. I have read and heard this same point stressed on owning the morning over and over and over. This comes up a lot in Tim Ferris’s Tools of Titans book. I have never dog-eared so many pages as I did in Tools of Titans!
Personally, I am up at 5:00am to start my morning routine. I do this 5-6 days per week. I used to focus on race events …so I would build up training and then fall off the wagon after the event. I was very inconsistent and my body suffered from it. Over the last 3-5 years I focused on consistency …working hard every day to stay fit and healthy. I didn’t see the results I wanted until I became consistent …and it took a long time to get where I wanted to be.
I tend to lean towards doing work as opposed to relaxing. I defer downtime to get work done. I work first and relax after. This can also be a problem. There will always be work that needs done …you really never get to finish …so every now and then you have to put it aside and relax. We all need down time. My wife has helped me realize this over the past few years.
I don’t shy away from hard work and find that I actually enjoy it. Everyone needs a hard thing in their life …something to master …This could be athletic, academic, scientific, musical, hobbies, etc.. …Everyone needs to know hard work because even those people that look like an overnight success come with a 10 year backstory of hard work that got them to the point of becoming an overnight success!
douglas adams 