The Gist:
- There is only one person who can prevent you from reaching your goals.
- The way you reach your goals is by writing them down, committing to them fully, writing a plan, and persistently executing it.
- The real fight of your life is an internal battle, and it is one you can win.
There is only person who can stop you from writing down your goals, designing your life, and recognizing what you want to accomplish with your time here. That same person is the only one able to prevent you from committing to your goals, your dreams, and aspirations. Without commitment, you cannot reach your goals or make your dreams your reality.
Without the plans you need to put in place to accomplish your goals and aspirations, you won’t achieve them—at least not soon enough to make a powerful difference.. There is only one person who might prevent or delay you from planning how you will accomplish your goals.
No matter how big your goal or dream, and no matter how good your plan, unless you execute that plan as if your goals and dreams depend on it, you’ll be left with nothing more than wishes. One person will allow you to fail to execute your plan. You cannot allow this person to prevent you from executing.
Your nemesis will continually whisper in your ear that it’s time for you to throw in the towel, to give up, and to settle for what you have. They might also suggest that wanting what you want makes you ungrateful, instead of telling you that you express your gratitude for you one life by living it fully. You cannot allow this person to stop you from persisting.
And when you overcome all that and try to do good work, that person will spend hours trying to distract you from doing all the things you should be doing to move towards your goals and your vision. That person will point you toward all the novelty the world provides, insisting it deserves your attention. Your success depends on learning to ignore Vanity Fair and focus on the very few things that are truly important.
Welcome to the Fight of Your Life
This is the fight of your life. It’s a fight with the one person with the most power to prevent you from reaching your goals and keeping your dreams from becoming your reality. You’ll be told that it’s okay to procrastinate on your goals, your commitments, your plans, or your actions. You’ll hear that there’s always tomorrow (at least until there isn’t), and that a day (week, month, year) here or there won’t matter much.
Your opponent in this fight will recruit their own lieutenants, giving you a full roster of external factors that allegedly prevent you from reaching your goals—and keeping you from seeing how impotent they really are at preventing you from building the life you want for yourself. Their goal is mainly to distract you, keeping your attention on things outside your control. You must never trade your personal power for excuses and rationalizations.
You cannot expect your opponent to give you a fair fight: the really important fights are way outside Queensberry’s jurisdiction. The combatant standing opposite of you will use everything in their power to stop you as early in the fight as possible, hoping that you sink back down onto your stool and give up.
How You Win
Your opponent is incredibly dangerous and not easily defeated. They will be tireless and creative in their attacks, pushing you at any time and from any angle. They are likely to ambush you, catch you off guard, and discourage you.
Your opponent, however, has a weakness, one that will allow you to win as long as you keep deciding to exercise your own free will. Once you do that, you will find that your opponent is, was, and always will be under your control.
The simple act of writing down your goals eliminates your opponent’s ability to keep your goals firmly theoretical. The first stroke of your pen (or your keyboard) ends the contest.
No matter how hard your opponent tries to sabotage your success, you will easily overpower them with a full commitment to your goals and dreams. Developing a plan to reach your goals is their kryptonite, so their resolve will dissipate at the first hint of your devotion to your goals.
The first day you decide to execute, your opponent may hang around and make mischief. But the more days you execute without fail, the sooner your opponent will give up, at least for now. You may believe that the fight is over and you have won. But you must keep your guard up; your opponent is both wily and opportunistic.
When you struggle, or when you stall out and find yourself on the plateau, making no real progress, your old faithful friend will be standing right beside you, hissing that “you gave it a good shot,” and that “it wasn’t meant to be.” When things are bleak and you find yourself alone in the dark, the whisper you hear is your opponent, enraged and ready to pummel you for the heavyweight championship of your life. This bout is only won through sheer persistence, showcasing unwavering commitment to your goals, your dreams, and your aspirations.
Say hello to your enemy: you see them every morning in the bathroom mirror. Smile to let them know you’ve already won, then get busy beating them.
Do Good Work (extended edition):
- Write down your goals and design the life you want for yourself.
- Fully commit to bringing your goals and dreams to life.
- Write a plan that will allow you to achieve your goals.
- Every day, execute your plan.
- Persist until you achieve your goal, even when it is difficult.
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