Open your eyes, Take action now

 “Do your best, even if it’s not enough ” is the best way to fail in life. In Alex Hormozi’s video, he describes this mindset as the best way to stay poor. This goes further than only money, though. 

This principle was a hit for me because I could recognize myself in it. For example, I would go try and get a girl’s number but I was neither trying my best nor was I doing enough. My “best”, therefore, wasn't enough.

If your best isn’t at the level of what you'd like it to be in any particular skill, you have to level it up. This comes in two main steps,

1. Learning

2. Practicing

You first learn the theory on how to get better and you make an action plan (how can you put the learning into action). Second, you have to actually put that theory into practice. Example: if you want to get better at drawing, it would look something like this:

1. You learn the drawing techniques

2. You think about how you can integrate these techniques into your drawings

3. You draw and use these techniques so much that it would be unbelievable for you to have that much practice and still suck at it.

 

Now, if knowledge is not followed by action, it’s useless. What’s the value of knowing how to forge a sword if you never actually forge it OR if you never share your knowledge? None so cut the theory and get to the practice.

If you don’t have what’s necessary, like me with getting numbers, practice bro! At the minimum, do what it takes to succeed… but if your best isn’t enough, then jUsT Do yOUr bESt, as they say 🥴

Being able to learn from life is a cheat code, to be honest. If you can learn from what has happened last week and make the necessary changes, that means it won’t happen next week. Knowledge is important but only practice can bring about skill. If you have knowledge but don’t apply it, in what way are you better off than if you didn’t even have it? 

What sets you apart in our society is what you know and what you can do with what you know. If you don’t have knowledge and wisdom yourself, you are dependent on the people that do. You are dependent on the doctor because he has knowledge you don’t. It is the same in every other aspect of life. 

"Cast your books from you; distract yourself no more; for you have not the right to do so" 

Marcus Aurelius told himself in his personal journal. (Meditations, Book II, No.2) This guy was the emperor of Rome and he still did not pretend to know everything or to be perfect at anything. He knew that learning is necessary, but that it’s not enough on its own. If a Roman Emperor can admit he isn’t perfect and he needs to improve, you’d have to have a massive ego to say that you don’t have to yourself because you “are talented enough”.

To implement this balance between practice and knowledge, is it possible Stoic philosopher Seneca has advice? He sure does! He says that we should focus on understanding and applying only one principle every day. (Seneca, Letters from a Stoic II) If we try to implement many things at once, we either do none well or forget everything.

The best option is, and this one is for the poets, to focus on implementing one thing at a time, planting that knowledge into the field of our memory where it will be nurtured by the water of practice. 

Remember that practice is the mother of skill.

In conclusion, being good at anything requires you to make efforts and strive to be better and get better. This is why everyday you have to practice a lot and learn a little bit to reach accomplishment in any discipline. Seneca’s advice is to focus on fully understanding one principle/idea per day and fully implementing it into our lives.

“To be everywhere is to be nowhere.” (Seneca, Letter II)

Start doing what’s required today to meet the requirements of tomorrow.