What Separates the 1% From Everybody Else
I was talking to a new Marine the other night at a football game. He was 18 years old and fresh out of boot camp. He wanted to talk to me because he had some questions about what he was about face ahead. We spoke for a good while, and I gave him the advice that I thought I could use when I first started out as a new Marine.
I explained to him that what he had just gone through most people in the world could never do. He kind of gave me a strange look and I knew instantly what that look was because it was the same feeling I had when I’d just graduated boot camp.
His expression said that it was hard to believe. Once you're in Marine Corps boot camp you realize it's not as hard as all the mystery that you hear about. You find yourself actually doing it.
And as you go through it and come out the other side alive, you realize it was never impossible. But I explained him that what we think is possible, most other people don't get that far. Some people automatically assume they can’t do it and they don't even look into it.
Other people might want to do it, find out how hard it might be and stop. I told him that he's part of the 1% for a reason.
And that reason is that he repeatedly made a choice everyday to take just one more step forward whereas others took a step back.
That's what made him Marine. That's what made him part of “The Few. The Proud.”
I told him that if he never did anything else for the rest of his life, he could die knowing he lived a life of deep service and accomplishment.
It's the exact same principle in business.
The difference between those who are wildly successful in having the life of their dreams and those who continue struggling is that they're willing to take that 1% forward to do what others aren’t willing to do, or don’t believe they can do.
Imagine if we were to turn our brain off, stop overthinking everything, and just start taking action consistently every single day? Imagine if we understood it was the consistent action and the courage to take it that was the secret to success? It wasn’t about self-worth, it was about mathematical statistics and science…. IF I DO THIS, THEN THAT WILL HAPPEN.
That's when the magic appears.
In the case of becoming a United States Marine, it isn't even about being a great athlete or smarter, it's about being willing to take the extra steps to do the work that others won’t do. Stepping up and being willing to carry the load because it’s the right and true calling for you.
That's it. It's really just that simple.
Combine that with consistently waking up every day and deciding to take one more step forward is what separates you from the rest of the world.
It’s what makes you a successful entrepreneur.
