Why Doing Things “The Hard Way” is 10x Easier Than Any Shortcut
I just saw a blog post titled, “6 Figure Blogging: Zero to Passive Income in 30 Days.”
The post was filled with useful information, but I’m not sure how I feel about the implications of the title. It’s a theme I’ve been seeing across the internet lately.
Open up your computer. Make and market (any) product. Watch the $$ roll in.
I don’t think it’s that simple.
Even if it is that simple, should you do it?
This brings up two quotes I heard recently that resonated with me.
I’m fortunate enough to know exactly what I want to do with my life. I want to be an author. A successful one that sells a lot of books. I want to use my author platform to become a keynote speaker to share whatever wisdom I’ve accumulated with other people.
And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it all to happen right now.
When I wrote my first book, it took 30 days to write the first draft, another 30 to rewrite it, and another 30 to market and publish it.
Truth be told it wasn’t that good.
I’m glad that I shipped my work and I don’t regret the decision at all. But it could have been ten times better and sold ten times more had I been patient.
I remember reading a blog post by Ryan Holiday a few years ago where he basically says that most people who write books shouldn’t write them and that if you write a book it probably sucks and needs to be re-written.
At first, the post upset me, but then I realized he wasn’t trying to discourage me. He was actually trying to encourage me to do great work. And I’ve been trying to do so ever since.
The book I wrote will not stand the test of time. But I’m going to continue to write better books and my body of work will, at a minimum, speak to my dedication to the craft.
What happened to craftsmanship?
What happened to wanting to build a legacy?
What happened to taking pride in the work you do?
I’m paraphrasing history here, but for a long long time, people learned to become highly skilled at what they did.
You couldn’t just get a job. You had to learn the trade by being an apprentice, for years, before you’d even be allowed to do it on your own.
I watched a documentary called “Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” and it’s about this man who dedicated his entire life to making the perfect sushi.
Jiro had a simple motto — Find something you love for work and master it.
Jiro’s apprentices had to spend 10 years cooking rice and cutting fish before they were allowed to move onto the next phase of sushi making.
The work was grueling, but all of his apprentices were eager to learn and believed in the rewards of meticulous work.
I swear I’ve never seen many people who seemed more content than Jiro.
The meals at Jiro’s restaurant start at $300 minimum. There’s sushi you can buy in vending machines for $5. Becoming a master at what you do has its rewards.
The biggest hurdle is figuring out what you want to be. This process is a journey in and of itself. But if you’ve found it. If you’re sure. Don’t worry about the time it takes to achieve it.
The hard is what makes it good.
I’ve toyed around with some of the “internet marketing,” schemes de jour and I’ve had enough.
Nothing against how other people make a living, but I’m not going to create a $1,000 online course that doesn’t cause real change in peoples lives.
I know what I want and I know it takes patience and mastery to build a real legacy.
When I’m 60 years old and sitting in my library full of books that I’ve written I can sit back and reminisce on all of it. The triumphs, anxiety, joy, pain, wrapped together. They don’t live without one another.
It will feel great. It was hard. And it was good.
I want to be around a decade from now.
The post-apocalypse of the “internet business revolution,” will be filled with heaps of broken dreams, dead links to blogs that no longer exist, and then the next new trend will pop up.
Those who become great aren’t concerned with the latest trends. They’re practitioners, lifelong learners, and craftsmen or women.
What about you? Do you want the quick buck or do you want to leave a legacy?
Do it the hard way. Struggle through the uncertainty and anxiety. Increase your skills incrementally until you experience explosive bursts of creativity.
Focus on the process of becoming great at what you do and everything else will fall into place.
Why Doing Things “The Hard Way” is 10x Easier Than Any Shortcut
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