Want to become the best at what you do Read this

Want to become the best at what you do Read thisWant to become the best at what you do Read thisIt doesnt matter how good your strategy is, if youre not skilled at what you do, that strategy wont take you very far.As Jason Fried and DHHhave saidMany amateur golfers think they need expensive clubs. But its the swing that matters, not the club. Give Tiger Woods a set of cheap clubs and hell still destroy you.When youre confident about what you do and clear about where youre going, the right strategy will make itself known. Hence, when your why is strong, youll figure out how.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moraThe how comes from the why. Not the other way around.If youre looking for how to be successful, youre going about it all wrong. Youre doing it for the wrong reasons. And youll continuously be left searching for the next patch of land to find gold.What will be left?An open field of half-dug holes, three feet from gold.If you know what you want and why youre doing it, youre not worried about the gold. Your security is internal. You arent worried about the outcomes because you already know they are coming.For you its never actually been about the rewards. Its only and always been about seeing how far you can go. About achieving the impossible. About never stopping.Take everything external away and youre still going to continue with the saatkorn intensity you always have. Give you everything - fame, money, whatever else - and it wont derail you.This article is an excerpt from my forthcoming book,THE PROXIMITY EFFECT.Heres how to become the best at what you do1. Work On Yourself, Not On YourJobWork hard at your job and you can make a living. Work hard on yourself and you can make a fortune. - Jim RohnYour work is a reflection of you. If youre not getting the results youre looking for, stop looking for better strategies.Instead, look inside.Are you currently the person who wouldattractthe level of success you seek? Your outer conditions are a reflection of your hausinternhalb reality.As James Allen has said,Your circumstances reveal you to yourself.Where you are right now thats you.If you want something different improve you.Most people focus on their craft or their job. Thats all well and good. However, youll get far more bang-for-your-buck by focusing on yourself.20% of your energy should be devoted to your work.80% of your energy should be devoted to rest and self-improvement. This is what fuels your work and makes it better than anyone elses. Self-improvement is more than books and true rest is renewal.While others are trying to improve their job, youre continuously improving yourself, expanding your vision, skills, and abilities. This is akin toStephen R. Coveys 7th principle Sharpen your saw. Most people are trying to chop down their tree - their job - with a dull saw.Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the fi rst four sharpening the axe. - Abraham LincolnWithin a short period of time, youll have developed true mastery. Everyone else is trying to hone their craft. Dont work on your job. Work on yourself.When you do, your work will far exceed what other people are painstakingly producing. Your work will be cleaner, clearer, and more powerful because youll be more evolved as a person. Most people youre competing against are an inner mess.2. Consistently Put Yourself Into Situations Others Can Only DreamOfNecessity is the mother of invention. English ProverbYour results arent a reflection of your talent. Lots of people have talent. Few people, however, are required to rise to a difficult challenge.Most people never put themselves in demanding situations - situations that humble and scare you.You need to put yourself into positions that create immense pressure. The kind of pressure that will either make or break you. This is how you purge out your weakness and small-mindedness. It wont be p retty. But it will change you. And eventually, youll rise up. New. Changed. Better.You need to be taking on challenges that require you to become so much more than you currently are. You need to put your back against the wall so you have no other choice but to produce.This is how you evolve.How do you put yourself into these situations?You initiate. You dont wait for life to come to you. You dont wait for the next opportunity.You improve your current situation or job by providing actual value. You pitch ideas. You ask questions. You try and fail. You take on roles that require greater responsibility.Leadership is available to everyone. You just need to assume a leadershiprole.You can do that right now, in whatever situation youre in. You do this enough, and continuously pitch yourself and your ideas, youllcreateopportunities. You then maximize those opportunities and more will come.Opportunities are like ideas. The more you use them, rather than let them simmer, the more will come. Most people sit on their ideas far too long and they become stale. Similarly, most people sit on their opportunities too long and they stop coming.3. Dont Copy Other People. Make Them CopyYouFrom this point, your strategy is to make everyone else get on your level, youre not going down to theirs. Youre not competing with anyone else, ever again. Theyre going to have to compete with you. Tim GroverIf youre still mimicking the work of other people, good luck.If youre trying to replicate the work and results ofother people,what does that say about your own inner compass?What does that say about your motivations?Are you just trying to find whats working?Are you looking for the how?Do you actually know where youre going?If youre following someone elses tracks, where do you think those tracks will lead you? To your own destination or to theirs?And even if youd be happy with their destination, do you really think you could do it better than them? Itstheir path.Theyre driven by something de ep and internal. You cant get ahead if youre always a few steps behind. If youre always reacting rather than creating.If you dont know who you are, youll always try to be someone else. And thus, youll never be the best. Your work will always be a cheap imitation. It will lack thefeelingthat produced the work or the idea.4. Stay In Love With TheProcessThe more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war. - Norman SchwarzkopfThe process - or the work itself - is all there is. Results come and go. And its never been about the results. Success is inevitable.Success comes easy because its the last thing on your mind. You already know its going to happen.The work itself - and becoming better and better at it - is what drives you. It almost doesnt matterwhatyoure doing. Itswhyyoure doing it that matters.The what can and does take many forms. Dont over-attach to one role. Whether youre a leader, writer, athlete, parent, employee - the what doesnt matter. Why you do it and subsequent ly how you do it is what matters. Hence, how you do anything is how you do everything.When you are in love with the process, you seek feedback, mentoring, and coaching - even when youre at the top of your game.You surround yourself with people who arent afraid to tell you the truth. You avoid people who suck-up and only tell you what they think you want to hear. Those arent friends. They have an agenda.Self-transcendence comes from collaborating with others who are driven by a greater and grander vision. When the whole becomes fundamentally different than the sum of its parts. When the work is the reward.Going beyond anything youve ever imagined. Complete openness to the possibilities. Unless youre continuously improving and working with better people, youll never realize this.When you hone yourself, your work, and you produce - opportunities will come. They wont help but come. Because youre a magnet, pulling them in.5. Never Forget Why Youre DoingThisSo many times it happens too fastYou trade your passion for gloryDont lose your grip on the dreams of the pastYou must fight just to keep them alive- Survivor,Eye of the TigerIt blows me away how often I see people throw their value-systems out the door in hopes for quick success.When I see this happen, I already know these people wont succeed long-term. They clearly dont have a why - or they forgot it. They dont have an inner compass. Consequently, they dont really know where theyre headed. Its a destructive path.The moment you start compromising, you wont stop compromising. As innovation expert, Clayton Christensen, has saidMany of us have convinced ourselves that we are able to break our own personal rules just this once. In our minds, we can justify these small choices. None of those things, when they first happen, feels like a life-changing decision. The marginal costs are almost always low. But each of those decisions can roll up into a much bigger picture, turning you into the kind of person you never wanted to be.This, unfortunately, is more common than not.Its so common, in fact, that its almost expected. Hence, few people become the best at what they do. They end up becoming something far less.ConclusionBecoming the best is about never being satisfied with what youve done. Its about continually improving who you are.Its knowing success will come because you know who you are and what you stand for.Its about initiating - continually creating situations that force you to become more than you currently are. Purging yourself of all your imperfections. Evolving.This is your journey. Take it.Ready toUpgrade?Ive created a cheat sheet for putting yourself into a PEAK-STATE, immediately. You follow this daily, your life will change very quickly.Get the cheat sheet hereThis article first appeared on Medium.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin F ranklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people