“Do. The. Work. Every day, you have to do something you don’t want to do. Every day. Challenge yourself to be uncomfortable, push past the apathy and laziness and fear.”
Tim S. Grover, From Good to Great to Unstoppable
Recently, I watched the latest buzz show on Netflix: The Queen’s Gambit. The show is set five or six decades back and centers around a young girl with an innate talent for chess. At a young age, after playing a few games with the janitor in her school, she begins demolishing opponents and goes on to play on some of the brightest stages.
It’s a fantastic show, and I highly recommend it—except it has one fatal flaw:
Where’s the struggle?
Where’s the part where she plays and loses hard? The part where she questions whether chess really is her calling? The part where everyone doubts her as she fails to deliver? The part where she questions her own purpose? The part where we, the audience, question whether she’s really got it?
Put simply, we over value innate talent. We love the stories of the young genius that breaks the barriers, the business tycoon that was born with the vision, and the local waitress that you just wouldn’t expect was a vocal powerhouse on the stage.
How about the homeless man with the golden radio voice, or the child piano prodigy? Or the young basketball player that can jump out of the gym, the 8 year old kid who’s already deadlifting 200lbs, and the thirteen year old Olympic ice skater?
These stories call to us—they make us feel secure in ourselves.
Why?
Because they tell us it’s ok if we’re not great. They tell us that greatness is a lottery of genes. Tough luck kid, you’re either born with it or not.
The fixed mindset is particularly crushing to children—how often have you heard a kid say, “I’m just not good at math.” One of the most debilitating values you can set in a child.
I truly worry for the young girl that watches The Queen’s Gambit, and instead of deciding to challenge the male dominated chess like Becky Harmon, realizes that she just wasn’t born with the gift, and decides to do something meant for her.
Here’s the cold hard facts: some people are born with certain gifts that make aspects of life easier or harder, but in order to play on the stage of greatness, you need to follow Tim Grover’s advice and do the work.
Tim S. Grover was Michael Jordan’s personal trainer. In his book From Good to Great to Unstoppable, he outlines exactly what greatness is: working so hard you’re bloody and sweaty and don’t want to get up. But you do it anyway.
Michael Jordan is widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time. He took the Chicago Bulls in the 90s to six championships with a dazzling display of scoring like the world has never seen. But he didn’t just cruise to those championships; he got knocked down, beaten, and worked his ass off to get there.
The concept that you’re born with it or not is, quite frankly, overrated. Some might point to Michael Jordan’s height at 6’6’’ as an undeniable justification for his innate greatness, but just ask 5’ 9’’ 2017 MVP candidate Isaiah Thomas his thoughts on that.
The truth of the matter is if you work harder than anyone else, sure you may never be the best in the world, but you can get close.
What most people miss out on is the why. Too often we choose our professions for the money, the fame, or the cultural pressure.
It’s far more important to understand yourself, your values, and who you want to be in this world than choosing a profession for the superficial.
When you really believe in the work you’re doing and the impact you want to make, the work isn’t the issue. In fact, the work is why you do it.
Greatness most often gets lost because people are trying to work hard being something they’re not.
Greatness most often gets lost because people are trying to work hard being something they’re not.
Tweet
You’ll hear people complain that the system is against them, or that they just weren’t born with the right gifts or talents, or whatever else excuse they can muster.
There will only ever be one you this world has ever seen. Get close with yourself, learn yourself, love yourself, and then unashamedly work for what you want.
Work. Work. Work.
Sunjeev's Books 