So let’s start with the elephant in the room and that’s talking about greatness and natural talent. Understand that when we’re about physical endeavors that some people (maybe you or me) just might not have the capacity to be great at them and that’s just a fact. So when I say great I’m not saying great compared to the world as a whole but rather great for yourself. Which truth be told is usually far greater than people expect. Thinking people (and if you’re reading this site then you likely are one) tend to underestimate themselves way more than needed.
Of course limits aren’t just physical there are also mental limits as well. For example not all of us could be rocket scientists and that’s again just a fact. Doesn’t mean that we could be way smarter than we are or succeed in a field way more than we thought we could. And who knows maybe you could very well be a rocket scientist. You won’t know until you try and work hard at it and no matter what you’ll end up better than when you started.
But I’m getting off track here. So again when I say great I mean great for you, which is usually far greater than you think at first. And this applies to all sorts of skills and professional. Whether it’s sales, accounting, small business marketing, BMX, hunting, boxing, writing fiction, or underwater basket weaving the principles are going to remain the same. Learning them could drastically increase your income, quality or life, or just how much fun you have at your respective hobbies.
Greatness In The Process
There is one other thing that I want to mention briefly as well when it comes to harnessing greatness and becoming great yourself and that is the learning process. Not all forms of learning are the same and you need different forms to succeed at any skill, craft, or profession. Not I’m not just talking about things like video, audio, kinesthetic, and all of that (though they can certainly help) I’m also talking about methods and forms of learning, something I’ve talked about before but can sound confusing so let me explain.
Let’s take something like boxing or writing fiction, two things I do and have worked hard at improving at. There are three “modes” I use as a sort of cycle to make sure that I am improving. For lack of better terms I’ll call them “Doing”, “Learning”, and “Modeling” even though you’re learning in all of them. I make sure that I’m doing acitivites in each of these categories to make sure that I am improving at these skills. Here are some examples of each.
The “Doing” section is pretty self-explanatory. For boxing this would be getting in the ring and sparring (doesn’t matter if light or hard still counts, just live full contact training) and for writing it would be the process of actually putting words on the page (and going back over and editing those words).
The “Learning” section is what most usually associate with learning and that’s generally classes, instructionals, and the like (where teachers/coaches come in). So for boxing it’d be the coach doing mitt work with you, telling you what you’re doing wrong on the bag, showing you the proper form for things, and so on. For writing fiction it’d be reading a book on how to write better fiction, attending a workshop, going to a writing conference, and so on.
The “modeling” section is one that is often neglected but is the “secret sauce” when it comes to advanced and rapid learning. It helps to fill in all the little gaps that are left by the other modes and really helps to work on a subconscious level. Modeling is essentially seeing it done at a high level and letting it soak in (literally in the case of the subconscious) so for boxing this would be watching fight film of professionals and for fiction this would be reading best selling fiction in your genre of choice. Seeing it done at a high level and letting it sink in.
All should be done for maximal effect but that’s not the end of the story there is even more to this.
The Truth About Teachers & Coaches
A great teacher/coach is invaluable so many that are great got there more because they got hooked up with a good coach/teacher/master than anything else. A lot of it has to do with luck and natural ability. But with that being said for those that truly want to be great at something you’re going to have to go beyond the classroom and beyond your teachers understanding of things (while still making use of the valuable resource most teachers/coaches generally are).
You’re going to have to become a self-learner, a student of the game, even if you have an amazing coach/teacher. You still need to dive into things and learn them yourself. One single teacher can only do so much, you have to take it on yourself to learn and expand your knowledge. For example say you’re being taught writing at a college class but a good professor. That’s great but to actually be great you need to self-study and have a passion for the thing.
You need to constantly learn, refine, and seek more knowledge. Seek different ways of doing things, even if you won’t do it that particularly way just to learn more about the subject. For example a thriller writer reading books outside his genre, an infighter learning all he can about outfighting, and so on and so forth. You must expand, learn, and become more. Something that starts inside of you and can’t be given by another person.
Becoming Great
And then you have to do this day in and day out for a very long period of time. Those are two factors that most people forget. Time and consistency. Combined with working hard and working smart (not either or). A bit of a complex formula and one that isn’t easy to follow. But anyone that tells you greatness in anything is achieved without struggle is a liar. Struggle produces much of the best things in this life. Something to not run away from but fight through. But that’s a topic for another time. So now you have the formula it’s up to you to apply it to your life.
If anything I said here interests you I’d highly recommend you check out The Ultimate Alpha Collection which is a compilation of 16 of my books for the price of 5. It covers everything from being a man to making money to getting the right mindset to getting girls to fighting and more and is a resource no man should be without. Pick up your copy today!
-Charles Sledge
