What You Do In The Dark

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

Walt Disney

Success can often times look effortless. When you see someone like Michael Jordan, Michel Phelps, Warren Buffet, or any other individual who has reached the top of their respective mountains, it can seem like they were just born with a certain something that others don’t have.

What we don’t see is the hours of effort put in each day over their lifetimes to get to that point. Michael Jordan didn’t make his high school varsity basketball team and was so heartbroken that he said since he wasn’t the most talented, he would vow that no one would ever out work him. Warren Buffet spent his childhood at the racetracks creating models to best predict what horse would place and after years of this, he began to make money.

What I’m saying is that almost every successful person puts in the hours behind the scenes and that’s what makes them who they are. They find what skills they need and work tirelessly to perfect them. They know how to gain an edge on their competition and that it’s what you do in the dark that puts you in the spotlight.

Know your most productive/focused times:

I’m currently writing this post at 5:29 a.m. so I can be out on the course by sunrise. I know that my peak hours of productivity are in the early morning and late in the afternoon. During the middle of the day my mind can be groggy so I work on my mental practices during that time. This consists primarily of meditation, visualization, and stretching. Understand when you’re most focused times are so you can schedule your important work during that time frame. This allows you to bring all of your attention to those tasks so you can accomplish the big things in your day more thoroughly.

Determine what will separate you from others:

Often times the most successful people are the most hardworking of everyone in their field. However, you still see many people put in insane hours and not receive the same output as others. One thing I believe is key to success is quality practice/work. I don’t have the strength yet to practice as long as I’d like to but I know that what I can do is practice with more intensity than others. Each shot in a practice session I execute as if it were a shot in a tournament. I never just go and hit balls. If I’m spending my time and energy on something I will bring all of my attention to that. If you are letting yourself get distracted by social media or unnecessary emails, then you’re losing focus. Find a way to promote quality work over just sheer hours. This is how to create quality, long-lasting habits.

The Keystone: Willpower

This is the most important part of all of this. You could create the best business strategy, training regiment, or study plan, but without willpower, it will be nearly impossible to execute it. Regardless of your situation, this is one thing you can control. This past couple of weeks I’ve experienced liver failure and although I was in pain and unbelievably bloated from an enlarged liver, I was still out on the golf course by 7 a.m. to practice with what energy I had. When I’ve been too sick to stand I would visualize the shots I would be practicing. Will power is the WD-40 that keeps the wheels churning. If you don’t commit yourself, then you won’t make anything happen.

As we are in quarantine, now is not the time to slack off. You have more time than ever right now to make your dreams a reality. Study for the MCAT. Develop a business plan for your dream startup. Get in shape. As Michael Jordan and Warren Buffet have proven, it doesn’t matter where you start, but rather the consistency of what you do moment to moment that will make your dreams a reality.