How to Become the Best in the World at What You Do
It can feel?impossible to move?toward?your dreams.?You know exactly what you want?to?do, but?there are?endless?obstacles?in your way.
There is so much?competition?—?thousands or millions of people competing to do exactly what you want to do.
How do you get?out?of the rat race?
How do you?advance quick enough?to not have your?dreams smashed into submission?by society and?imploded?by “reality”?
How do you make the?needed leaps to?move beyond the masses vying?for a similar position?
After all, you have bills to pay and tons of other responsibilities. You only have a?limited?amount?of time each day.?After work and everything else you’ve got going on,?it’s easy to?justify?waiting until tomorrow.?Even if you have the raw energy to do your work, you may feel guilty breaking from your relational obligations.
It truly can feel hopeless and?overwhelming.?There’s so much to learn.?It can be easy to doubt our own abilities.?Maybe we should just give up and accept reality for what it is?
The Truth?Is…
Most of the competition are not hard to?surpass.?They’re dealing with?the same existential?and practical challenges you are.?Their life isn’t structured for optimal?creative expression.?They are?the primary obstacle in the path.?Most will quit long before they ever?really?begin?—?always?remaining?mediocre?at what they do.
With a few tweaks, you’ll quickly drop through a?wormhole?placing you in the top 5–10?percent in your field.?The challenge then?becomes to move from there to the top?—?which movement is the?real?contest.?Getting to the top 5–10 percent?merely?requires a change in lifestyle.?Getting to the top 1 percent requires a?fundamental change?in your being.
This post is a framework to?quickly?get you into the top 5–10 percent of your?field?so you can begin the real quest of becoming the best at what you do.
Phase One?will get you to the top 5–10 percent of your field. Once you’re at?this level,?you are getting paid enough for your art to live on.?This is key,?as Paul Graham has said,?“Once you cross the threshold of?profitability, however low, your runway becomes infinite.”?He calls the lowest?tier?of profitability, “Ramen Profitable,”?which means a startup (or business of any sort) makes just enough to pay the founders’ living expenses.
Infinite runway?means you can now?dedicate?all your “work” time to?your work.?You are no longer?moonlighting?or squeezing time?in the margins of your life.?You can pay your bills and eat Ramen.?This is where?Phase Two begins, and is really the beginning of your artistic journey?—?becoming the best in the world at what you do.
Let’s begin:
Phase One: Getting To Ramen Profitable (Or Sustainable)
1. Start As An?Amateur
Kenzie and Harris were recently married. They had both dropped out of Brigham Young University and were working at the Apple store in downtown Salt Lake City.?On the side, they were recording music covers and posting them on YouTube and Vine.
They had enough money in savings to live on a year, so they quit at Apple to make a run at becoming professional musicians. Every day, they would post Vines. For several months, their?work went mostly unnoticed. They had a few thousand followers tops.
Then, everything changed.?They posted a Vine?that immediately went viral. The next day, they were contacted by some of the top Viners as well as agents who gave them contracts. They were now Ramen Profitable, had amazing connections, and on their way to making an amazing career as musicians.
Kenzie and Harris?wouldn’t have had their?breakthrough?if they didn’t start as amateurs.?They had some raw talent.?But more than anything,?they were willing to put themselves out there over and over and?over.?Quantity became quality.?And then?they put something out that people loved.
Very few people have the?humility?to start as amateurs.?They?procrastinate doing the work they want in the name of?perfectionism.?You know these people.?The one’s who have been saying for years that they’re going to do something but never do.?Yet?inwardly,?they’re terrified of what other people will think of them.
They’re?caught in a?state?of?paralysis?by analysis?—?too busy?calculating?and never reaching a state of flow.?Rather than doing work their own way, they do what they think will be well-received?—?being?merely?imitators of what is already popular.
2. Get Coaching/Education
Take your dreams seriously.?Most people don’t.?Take them serious enough to become amazing and move beyond mediocre.?Get education and coaching.
“When?the student is ready the teacher will appear.”?—?Buddha
Ever since returning from a two-year mission trip, I’ve always known I wanted to be a writer. However, my dream remained a?figment?of my imagination until I became serious enough to get a mentor.
I’ve had two mentors that have changed how I write. One of my mentors was a?young professor?who taught me more in three months than I had learned in the previous four years.
Actually, he taught me more about academic writing and research in three months than most people learn through an entire PhD. With his help, I was easily able to get into the graduate school of my choice.
I started blogging about 21 months ago.?Knowing this is something I’m serious about, I decided to get coaching. However, this time, I did it in the form of a?virtual online course.
Within a month of taking the course, I wrote a blog post that was read over five million times across multiple outlets and in several languages.?This online course was not the reason for my success;?but it was an important part of the progression?I would?inevitably?get one way or another.
You’ll know when you’re ready for the next level when you attract the right teacher to help you get there.
3.?Stop Living The Broken Rules Everyone Else Is?Living
If it’s popular it’s wrong.?Most people are?mediocre?at what they do for a reason.?They’re?playing by rules that?halt?optimal performance.?They are climbing traditional ladders?intended to?slow them down and keep them average.
When everyone else is?zigging, that’s when you?zag.?Darren Hardy says?you should?run?“toward the thing everyone else?is?running from”?in order to stand out from the?crowd.
As?Peter Diamandis says,?“The day before something is a?breakthrough, it’s a crazy?idea.”?If what you’re?doing doesn’t seem?slightly?crazy to you, and very crazy to other?people,?you’re probably?following?the safe path.
Instead?of following the rules set by society,?create your own rules.Restructure?the game to?automate?your success.?Dismiss the?haters, convention, and?conformity.?Follow your heart and the voice inside you encouraging?faith and forward movement.?In?order?to be happy, you must build a lifestyle around being true to yourself.?If you’re true to yourself, good things will follow.
4.?Be?Consistent?Until You Have A Break?Through
Patience.
If you haven’t had your big break yet, keep going.?Consistency?is the most fundamental?virtue?to becoming the person you want to be.?Almost?everyone can?sprint?for a while.?But most burn-out and quit.?Everything meaningful in life is a marathon?—?meant to?test your commitment and will.
If this is what?you love doing, you’ll do it regardless of the outcome.?In fact,obsession with a particular outcome will keep you from attaining your desired results.?Your work will be forced rather than organically lived.
There is a natural law known?as the?compound?effect.?If you invest a small amount of money consistently, eventually compound interest takes over and growth becomes?exponential.?The same holds true for any habit, whether good or bad.?If you?do something long enough, compounding will take effect, momentum?will surge,?and you’ll begin to experience exponential results.
If you?want it bad enough,?you will do whatever it takes to make it happen.?If you don’t, you won’t.?You’ll be willing to reduce time with friends and hobbies, forego sleep, make big asks, take risks, find a mentor, get educated, and look foolish.?You’ll be surprised how quickly you become?Ramen Profitable?when you take your work seriously.
Phase Two: Becoming The Best In The World At What You?Do
The person who?succumbs?to?temptation?knows far less about its power than the person who?resists?it.?Experience is key.?Knowledge only becomes wisdom when it’s properly and consistently applied.?Thus, the importance of learning from people who have actually been there, as?opposed?to?sideline?spectators. Never take advice from someone you wouldn’t?want?to switch places with.
Getting to the top 5–10 percent in your field can be done by following principles taught by?other people.?However, in order to become the best at what you do,?at some point you?leave?it all behind.?You become an?innovator. A pioneer. An artist.
In order to get to the top 1 percent of performers,?you must come up to therazor’s edge?—?the brink of disaster?—?where?probability?of failure is high.?At this point,?everything you’ve been taught is opposed by what you feel you should do.?But?your intuition is operating at a higher level.
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5.?Structure?Your Entire?Life To?Optimize?Your Performance
Entering the?realm?of the best in the world requires becoming?holistic?about your art.?Everything you do matters.?Every moment of your life either contributes to or takes away from?what you’re trying to accomplish?—?the food you eat?—?activities you do?—?people you spend time with?—?and?how you spend your mornings and evenings.
Most people’s lives are structured in a reactive way.?The first thing they do in the morning is check their email or social media.?They may even read a good book.?But all of these things are highly addictive inputs.
In order to become a creative master, you?must focus your efforts on outputs by?leveraging?your?subconscious?mind.?While you’re away from your work, like sleeping, spending time with friends, or other activities, your subconscious?is working?through and?mulling?over the problems you’re trying to solve.
The?first thing to do when you wake up is output.?This may be in the form of writing in a journal to capture all the work your?subconscious?has been doing while you were sleeping.
Or immediately getting to the project you’re working on.?When you get out of a meeting or finish any form of activity, rather than going directly to your email or other input,?maximize your subconscious by going directly to output?—?your work.?Creative and?insightful?eruptions of?intellectual?inspiration will flow.
Being healthy and free from physical pain is also?crucial?for enhanced performance.?In his book,?The Great Pain?Deception,?Stephen Ozanich?wrote:
“Pain and other chronic symptoms are physical manifestations of unresolved internal?conflict.?Symptoms surface as the instinctual mechanism for self-survival.?They are messages from the inner self wanting to be heard, but?ego takes center-stage, and hides the truth within the shadows of the?unconsciousmind: which is the body.”
In the 1990’s neuroscientist Candice Pert, Ph.D., shared her discovery?that?the body, not the brain, is the subconscious mind?which communicates vianeuropeptides. Indeed,?human beings are holistic.?Our body and mind work in?unison.
When we have unresolved?tension?in our lives, this tension is generallymanifest?in physical illness.?When we clear ourselves of this tension, we allow our body to naturally and organically heal.?When our bodies are healthy, we’re far more?prone?to?inspiration.
6. Allow Time For?Recovery
Less is more.?When you?focus on results, rather than being busy,?you’re 100 percent ON when you’re working and 100 percent OFF when you’re not.?This not only allows you to be present in the moment, but allows you the needed time to rest and recover.
The science?if very compelling.?Psychological-detachment?from work is essential for being engaged?while you’re working!?Here are other benefits of? psychological ?detachment?from work:
Your ability to work at a high level is like fitness. If you never took a break between sets, you wouldn’t be able to build strength, stamina, and endurance. However,?not all “rest” produces recovery.?Certain things are more soothing than others.
Recovering from my work generally?consists?of writing in my journal, listening to music,?spending time with my wife and kids, preparing and eating delicious food, or serving other people.?These things rejuvenate me.?They make my work possible, but also meaningful.
7.?Have A Pre-Performance Routine That Gets You In?Flow
Josh Waitzkin?is a genius when it comes to learning and optimal human performance. He was a Chess prodigy as a child?—?he won five National Championship titles in Tai Chi Chuan?—?and is now focusing on becoming world-class at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.?He takes the?fundamental?principles of learning from the ground up and applies them?laterally?to different disciplines.
In order to?“get in the zone,” Josh recommends?a?Pre-Performance?routine.The?goal is to reduce stress and?anxiety?so you can be present.?These routines often take 20–60 minutes to put you in the zone.?However,?Josh recommends incrementally reducing the?routine?time to the point where simply thinking about it?clicks?you into the?zone.
The purpose of the?pre-performance routine?is to?alter your emotional state.Most people experience?emotional resistance?before engaging in a task, like say, writing.
That?resistance?could be a number of?negative?and suppressed emotions such as fear,?uncertainty, and feelings of inadequacy. You don’t want these emotions to influence you while you work. They will negatively influence how you perform.
The pre-performance routine is?intended?to?alter your emotional state to one of courage, peace, acceptance, and love.?From these emotional states, your work will be far?superior.?Without question,?how you feel in the moment you do you work?determines?how well you do.
8.?Embrace Fear And Suffering
“The?hero and the coward both feel the same thing, but the hero uses his fear, projects it onto his?opponent, while the coward runs. It’s the same thing, fear, but it’s what you do with it that matters.”?—?Cus D’Amato
The idea of fearlessness is a?false concept?that is imposed by spectators.?True performers feel fear and experience suffering.?However, they learned to?settle-into it like a yoga stretch.
Cycling is a sport?notorious?for the amount of suffering required.?As?Tyler Hamilton has said,?“I discovered when I went all out, when I put 100 percent of my energy into some?intense, impossible task?—?when my heart was jack-hammering, when?lactic?acid?was sizzling through my muscles?—?that’s when I felt good, normal, balanced.”
Cyclists often refer to “the pain cave,” which is?a mental place they go deeper and deeper into as they’re competing.?“I went deeper than I thought I would.” “I was at the limit.” “I was totally?pinned.”?You often hear?phrases?like these in interviews after a cycling race.
“Mental?resilience?is?arguably?the most?critical?trait?of a world-class performer, and it should be nurtured continuously.?Left to my own devices, I am always looking for ways to become more and more psychologically impregnable.?When uncomfortable, my?instinct?is not to avoid the?discomfort but to?become at peace?with it.?My?instinct?is always to seek out challenges as opposed to avoiding them.”?—?Josh Waitzkin
When you begin feeling uncomfortable, that’s when you start feeling good.That’s when you’re growing.?No pain no gain.?That’s your happy place.?That’s where most people stop.?But not you.
9.?Do It Because Of?Love
In the end,?there’s nothing more important than?deep connection with humanity.?The love you feel for other people is an experience that?eclipses?all others in life.
So much of training and personal progress is?introspective?—?focused on the self.?However,?moving outward and focusing on the needs of others provides new meaning for your work.?Become the best at what you do,?not because of the legacy you’ll leave, but because of the lives you’ll bless.
There is a?four stage?hierarchy?of?motivations in psychology.
At stage one, you are?motivated?by?fear.?Everything you do is to avoid punishment or negative outcomes.?According to decision theory, this form of motivation is?prevention?focused.
At stage two, you are motivated by?reward.?Everything you do is to get what you want. If you are?religious, you follow the commandments solely for the blessings it provides. If you are in business, you do only that which you believe will get you ahead.?Thus, you are?promotion focused.
Both stage one and stage two?demonstrate extrinsic motivation, which is far less powerful than?intrinsic?motivation.
At stage three, you are motivated by?duty.?You’re going to do what you believe you should whether you receive a reward or not. You have no fear of punishment.?You are intrinsically motivated. But?there’s a lack of passion. There’s a lack of life that will take you beyond human ability and reasoning.
At stage four,?you are?motivated by?love.?You have moved beyond worry for your own needs.?Your?aim?is to bring as much joy to each individual as you possibly can.?Your love transcends human reasoning.?It drives you to do things most would consider crazy.?You no longer live by?conventional?rules or wisdom.?You are directed by the highest and?purest?power in existence.
Conclusion
You can quickly get to the point where you do what you love for a living.?This will require?hard work,?sacrifice, and consistency.?However,?what got you here won’t get you there.?Becoming the best?involves?transcending?guidelines and following your?instinct.
You get to decide the level of impact or quality of the work you do.?You can become the best in the world.?It begins with elevated thinking.
Are YOU going to get to the top 1 percent?
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