Clear out the distractions

Whatever it is, be clear about what you’re going after and tie it to concrete actions. You can’t think your way to becoming mentally tough, you prove it to yourself by doing something in real life.

Mental toughness needs to be worked to grow and develop. If you haven’t pushed yourself in thousands of small ways, you’ll wilt when things get difficult.

Extreme situations test our courage, perseverance, and mental toughness, but so do everyday circumstances. Challenge yourself whenever you can, consistently do what you know you’re supposed to and don’t let your brain’s laziness control you.

• It ignores the market. Unless you have a trust fund waiting for you, you’ll have to feed yourself and others. 
• It will turn a passion into a job. 

1. Identify real needs in the market that are currently not being well met. 
2. Assess your strengths: Whatever is easy for you that most others have a harder time with, that’s a worthy option.
3. Match up these two in a constantly iterative process: This process takes many years if not decades.

If you scan the landscape of your life, you’ll notice certain experiences peak up. It’s so valuable to delve into these “peak moments” and extract the key ingredients.
Make a list of the ingredients that truly mattered in your peak moments; don’t be distracted by the counterfeits.

When you look at all the ingredients that matter to you, they might at first seem entirely disconnected. Let’s say you love French, drinking coffee, playing with words, analyzing and categorizing, and being a leader within a community. How could you construct a career from these? 

Seek an umbrella; something that all of these ingredients can fit beneath.

We never arrive. We work hard to succeed, and then we have to work twice as hard to maintain that success.

It’s a slow grind. And it starts with our mindset.

We all have some type of talent, something that sets us apart from the rest of the world. This can also be a potential trap.

Never just rely on your gift or talent alone. Work on your craft. Investigate your weaknesses and make an effort to minimize them.

Creating a morning routine is a game-changer for your passion project.

With a clear, distraction-free mind, you can work on your passion for 30 to 60 minutes in the morning, maybe just one step of work, providing you with a great start of the day.

While we normally would allot a day or a weekend for our passion project, we end up not moving forward in spite of the time set aside.

If we can spare a few minutes to work on our passion project, in increments, we start to build something, with consistency.

While some people have a clear calling from an early age, many spend their whole careers without having ever discovered their passion.

The most basic foundation of passion is an intense interest in what you're doing.

These mindsets determine how we face challenges: We either give up when we are faced with difficulties or we persevere knowing that we will improve over time.

When polymaths become interested in something, they don't care which domain or sphere it leads them. Some qualities of a Polymath person:

• Above-average intelligence
• Open-mindedness
• Curiosity
• Self-reliance
• Individualism
• A desire for personal fulfillment
• Desire to find connections.

“The polymath not only moves between different spheres or different fields and disciplines, but seeks fundamental connections between those fields, so as to give them a unique insight into each of them.”

• The 80/20 method: You can get 80 % proficiency in a subject in about 6 - 12 months.
• The 10,000-hour rule: You can become an expert at something if you spend 10,000 hours of deliberate practice on it. 

To go from zero to 80% (good enough) requires a different approach than that needed to get from 80% - 99% (world-class). The last 20% also requires a different level of commitment. For instance, Stephen King spent 6 - 8 hours daily for ten years before he succeeded as a commercial writer.

The gains disproportionately accrue to people at the top. Stephen King probably sells more books than the rest of his category combined.

Being good at many things probably means that you are at 80% of your potential in all of them. It is not enough to stand out. 

Pick a very few things to tackle through the 10,000-hour rule and try and reach 99% of your potential in them.

See how much of your life already matches your vision.  

You want to keep those things and remember that part of your vision is already happening.

Every decision you make about your life should reflect those values.

• Challenge: Resilient people turn difficulty into a challenge. They don't fight against reality, they confront it. 
• Commitment: Having something to fight for gives you extra motivation. 
• Self-Control: Free will is the realization that you own your actions and control your reactions. 

• Reframe your thoughts about reality: You can’t control reality, but you can manage how you adapt to it.
• Prepare for the worst: You can’t train to deal with every possible situation, but you can prepare your mind to adapt to unexpected ones.
• Create alternative paths: Creativity plays a critical role in overcoming adversity.
• Leverage the power of relationships: Rescuing yourself from adversity starts with you but strong relationships are critical for bouncing back.
• Mind your spirit: Religious and spiritual support bring us comfort during adversity.