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July 16, 2024

Challenging the Perception of Greatness

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Hi Reader!

Thank you for checking out my newsletter 'GO FOR GREATNESS'!

I am so excited to share with you my humble insights on self-improvement topics for business, life, and everything in-between.

The goal of this newsletter is to help you achieve personal greatness, whatever that may mean for you in your life.

Let's get one thing clear here.

Overnight success is over-rated.

Over-hyped and focused on too much.

You've seen the viral internet sensations, athletes, and billionaires who seem to have some sort of secret 'greatness code' unlocked.

But far too often, the general public misses the tiny actions taken consistently by the victor which led to that success.

Take Olympic Athletes for example.

The world will only recognize these athletes as 'great' once they succeed, when they have won. However, I would argue that their wins are merely evidence of their greatness, which was achieved long before.

These olympic athletes chose to become great months and years before when they chose to:

Run the extra mile
Do one more rep
Push through their mental limitations.

Greatness is not achieved when success is declared. Rather, you become great the moment you choose to take the necessary steps on your path to success -- and commit to act on those steps consistently.

Think of the countless hours of work, the revisions, the back-and-forths, the missteps and learning which always goes unseen.
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The resilient spirit undeterred by setbacks, the unwavering focus on your ultimate goal.
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The act of choosing to rise after each fall, choosing to learn more, to do more, to be more.

The movies always skip through this period when greatness forms in the hero of the story -- You only see brief visuals of actions and struggles accompanied by motivational music playing in the background.

It's a shame we rarely see examples unfold of greatness taking place in the moment.

Greatness is not a station you arrive at; it's a way of travelling. It's not the burst of confetti at the end of the game, it's the journey you undertake, the choices you make along the way.

Don't be swayed by the illusion of overnight success. Embrace the journey, the process, the grind. It's your tiny, consistent actions that pave your path to greatness.

So how do you get there?

What do you need to do to achieve greatness in the small, everyday moments?

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First, you need a system of good habits.

Humans are wired to form habits. Why? Because the brain loves shortcuts.

If the brain can figure out a way to make a repeated task simpler, it does it. You get a habit that forms as a result.

Whether that habit is positive or negative in nature determines your level of energy, health, and happiness in your day.

You should already know that doomscrolling with your phone in one hand and a bag of chips in the other hand while sitting on the couch for several hours is not the ideal system of habits to achieve greatness.

Forcing yourself to adopt healthy, intentional and habitual routines will increase your level of daily energy and overall health.

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Next, you need ONE project with daring, bold, outlandish goals which push you to act with a sense of urgency to get that project done.

Perhaps your project is finishing a 10K race, or writing a book.

The point of this intense project is to get something big done, then move on to the next project.

We humans are fickle. We want immediate gratification, and we want it NOW!!

Instead of viewing this as merely a stumbling block, why not use this to your advantage?

Focus on just one project with an intensity and obsession until you accomplish it.

And then you can briefly bask in the dopamine rush of achievement before moving onto the next project with intensity.

In short, you need to have a balance of these two in your life:

Habitual routines provide the positive framework. Obsessed intensity provides the momentum to make progress.

Without the intensity of a project, the routines will bore you or burn you out.

Without the framework of good habits, you will not be living a healthy life and may struggle with the quality and outcome of your projects.

If you want to be great in the everday, you need to balance BOTH!

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To your success,

T. W. Mulder

P. S. If you liked this newsletter, check out my recently published book, "HOTWIRE YOUR SKILLS: THE 10-STEP PLAYBOOK TO SIX-FIGURE SUCCESS FOR AUTOMOTIVE TECHNICIANS" in both e-book and paperback format:

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