Video summary
The core argument presented in this discussion centers on leveraging discontent and discomfort rather than avoiding them to achieve progress. Citing Thomas Edison, the speaker asserts that relentlessness is a necessity for advancement, emphasizing that the goal should not be to feel okay or numb out from life's difficulties but to lean into frustration and areas of inadequacy. This approach generates the energy required to change one's situation; as long as individuals try to brush off their pain or stay in their comfort zones, they remain stuck. The speaker explains that people often run from problems because a part of them believes these issues are unsolvable flaws within themselves, but true growth requires staring directly at what is lacking and accepting the pain associated with it until one has enough momentum to act on it. To transcend current limitations, individuals must cultivate an insatiable desire for learning and accept that they know very little about everything in this vast world. The speaker references Naval Ravikant's concept of reading as a superpower and Thomas Jefferson's humility regarding knowledge, arguing that the power lies in recognizing one's ignorance rather than calcifying thoughts into dogma based on what is already known. When people believe they have mastered something, their thinking becomes brittle like bone; conversely, maintaining hunger for new skills allows abilities to be tested by practical application. This mindset ensures a future bigger than the past, requiring an obsessive focus on acquiring specific skills needed to reach defined goals rather than becoming self-satisfied with current accomplishments. Greatness is described as a craft and a habit built through relentless repetition of small actions, even when they feel inadequate or painful. The speaker uses Henri Cartier-Bresson's analogy that the first 10,000 photographs are always the worst to illustrate how mastery involves pushing past initial incompetence without fear of failure. Courage is defined not just as loud declarations but often as a quiet voice saying "I will try again tomorrow," echoing Marianne Williamson's perspective on resilience after bad ideas or catastrophic errors. To achieve real greatness and be remembered, one must strip away ego, start as an apprentice willing to learn from others, and avoid the trap of trying to convince the world they are extraordinary before earning that status through daily improvement and hard work. A critical component of this journey is distinguishing between emulating others and becoming oneself. While it is natural to be inspired by those who admire us, mistaking a finger for the moon leads people down a path where they try to become someone else rather than discovering their own essence. The speaker cites Albert Einstein's fish climbing a tree analogy to warn against judging one's potential based on external standards or trying to embody another person's eccentricities; instead, individuals should identify what excites them and bring that unique quality into the world like a flower blooming without competition with its neighbors. This involves looking inward to find one's path rather than chasing an imitation of someone else, ensuring that life is lived authentically based on personal desires rather than societal expectations or external validation. Finally, success requires making conscious choices about focus and gratitude while committing to the immense work necessary for adaptation. The speaker highlights Oprah Winfrey's insight that what we dwell on becomes our reality, urging listeners to audit their thoughts to ensure they are focusing on possibilities rather than worst-case scenarios. By choosing to see everyday moments as miracles, one can shift their chemistry from negative to positive and maintain momentum even during depression or hardship. As Theodore Vail noted, real difficulties can be overcome because the hardest obstacles often exist only in our imaginations; by training the mind to obsess over how things could go right rather than wrong, individuals trigger an adaptation response that allows them to push beyond their breaking points. Ultimately, as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X suggest, one must keep moving forward regardless of current ability or circumstances, shutting out 99% of distractions to pursue a single great aim with force until the future belongs to those who prepared for it today.
Read the full video transcript
as Thomas Edison said relentlessness and
discontent are the first necessities of
progress I want everybody out there to
understand that the goal is not to feel
okay the goal is not to numb out from
the things in your life that suck the
goal is to leverage that discontent the
goal is to lean in to the things that
frustrate you to stare at the areas of
lack to grow fed up with the places in
which you're not good enough because
that is what is going to give you the
energy you need to change having the
energy you need to change is the only
way that you're actually going to get
out of whatever position that you're in
so the thing that is feeding your
discontent the thing that makes you feel
badly is the very thing you need to hold
on to it's the very thing that most
people run from and that's the problem
the problem is we want to live in a
comfy world the problem is we want to be
in the comfort zone but the reality is
if you really want to get good if you
really want to progress if you really
want to become one of the greats then
you have to lean into that you have to
let it hurt you've got to sit in that
pain you've got to silence the world so
that you can hear your own
anger so that you can feel the
frustration because when you let it
invade you then you will have the energy
to do something about it but as long as
you try to avoid it as long as you're
trying to brush it off then it's never
going to become intense enough for you
to deal with it an action of dealing
with it that's the whole point that's
what you have to be building towards and
until you get to that point where you
are so fed up then you will not tolerate
it anymore
you'll stay stuck there so the only way
to actually get out of it is this stop
running is to stay there to stare at it
to know what you must do but you've got
to let it hurt if you want to make
change and as Phil Knight said when you
see only problems
you're not seeing clearly the reason
people run the reason they want to get
away from it is because some part of
them believes it's an unsolvable problem
some part of them actually believes
they're broken they're dysfunctional
they're not worth becoming great that
they don't have it in them that they
just weren't dealt the right hand of
cards they believe there's some
fundamental flaw that can't be fixed but
the truth is when that's all you see
when all you can see are the obstacles
when all you can see are the problems
when all you can see is what you're not
good at what you lack you're not seeing
the truth of the human condition
you don't need to believe you're special
you just need to know that you have to
put in a special amount of work to
transcend whatever problem you're stuck
in but all of us can make that change
but it comes with these massive demands
that you have to place on yourself to
stare at the hard things to accept what
you're not good at to feel the pain to
get the energy and the momentum to make
that change so right now understand you
can become whatever you want but you've
got to put in the work
as Thomas Jefferson said he who knows
best knows just how little he knows this
has been one of the most surreal things
about my experience as an entrepreneur
is that the better I get at it the more
that I do the more I feel lost the more
I feel like there's too much for me to
possibly know and understand and in that
is my power that's literally the source
of my power because I understand that my
journey is one of learning I understand
that as navall Ravi Kant said the
genuine love for reading itself when
cultivated is a superpower the means of
learning are abundant it's the desire to
learn that scarce but if you have that
desire if you cultivate that desire to
learn if you accept that you're in this
big world that is far too big for you to
understand every piece of it but in
recognizing that you don't understand it
all and putting yourself on this quest
to learn obsessively to get better to
fall in love with the actual process of
gaining knowledge if you stay hungry for
that at all times and you don't calcify
your thoughts into Dogma but rather stay
fresh stay naive stay hungry and foolish
to really learn and grow then you
actually obtain power and this is the
part I want people to understand look
past the words and hear what I'm really
saying as you take on the knowledge as
you're learning one thing after another
after another those skills have
practical application and it is that
practical application born of
understanding how little you really know
that allows you to become far more
powerful than the people that think they
know because when they think they know
they stop growing and they think they
know they calcify when they think they
know their thoughts get brittle like
bone and break
[Music]
you think you know nothing when you
think you have to learn everything when
you're really just trying to figure out
if something works if it gets you the
result then those skills become real
they become tested by what you're doing
they are boundless because you're always
trying to find that next thing you're
never self-satisfied you never
self-congratulatory you're simply asking
where do I want to go what skills do I
need to acquire to get there and knowing
that each one of those that you get
brick by brick by brick builds a real
path to where you want to go so fall in
love with the idea that you know nothing
fall in love with the idea that learning
is a superpower fall in love with that
hunger want that want to get better
every day never never be tricked by the
desire to be self satisfied never be
tricked by the desire to be great today
never fool yourself into thinking who
you are today is who you can become
I don't care how far you've come I don't
care how many accomplishments are in
your rear view mirror
if you fall prey to that your past will
always be bigger than your future and
there's one mandate that I make of
myself and anyone else that wants to be
around me your future must always be
bigger than your past and the only way
for that to be true is to love how
little you really know and to love how
much you can learn
if you just keep going here's the hard
truth about getting great it takes time
and dedication it takes a willingness to
accept that you're not yet good enough
it takes the ability to stare at the
places that you know that you're weak to
really look at those things and not let
it affect your sense of self-esteem and
not let it affect your sense of
self-worth so that you can still get the
momentum going but you have to
understand that in the beginning we're
all terrible and as Henri
cartier-bresson said your first 10,000
photographs are your worst and so the
thing that really makes great art are
the people that continue to push and the
people that continue to work and face
how inadequate they are and really
understand that at the end of the day
greatness is a craft greatness is a
process greatness is a habit greatness
is the little things that you do every
day
overtime going out every day unafraid of
whether or not this is one of the 10,000
terrible things that you're going to do
it's being unafraid to make those
mistakes as being unafraid that you're
not yet great and as Marianne rad maker
said courage doesn't always war
sometimes courage is the quiet voice at
the end of the day saying I will try
again tomorrow
and that's it if you want to be great
that's when you have to do
you've got to get up again tomorrow
you've got to be willing to face another
day you've got to be willing to accept
that you've got to get through the bad
ideas before you can get to the good
you've got to understand that you have
to start as an apprentice you have to
start as a person going and getting tea
and you have to accept that that's the
job that you should be playing that you
should be working for somebody else you
should be looking up to somebody else's
seeing what they can teach you because
what you know is that you're there to
learn what you know is that you're there
to get through the ten thousand bad
photographs that you need to get through
to ultimately achieve greatness and if
you make the catastrophic error that's
so many make to try to tell the world
that you're extraordinary
today to try to get the world to follow
you and look up to you and think that
you're something today because the
people that living win
best today the ones that listen today
the ones that spend every ounce of their
energy amassing mastery getting better
every day working their asses off to
improve their skill set to relentlessly
look at the things that they're not
doing well to understand that they have
to break themselves down and get rid of
all of their ego before they can really
find greatness those are the people that
we remember so if you want to be
remembered if you want to achieve real
greatness you just need to have the
courage to show up every day and take
another swing take another photo try
another task do something that scares
you and do those little things over and
over and over until you win
as Walt Disney said if you can dream it
you can do it now what makes me laugh as
I know right now some of the people
listening to that they say that's
[ __ ]
they're just limits to what humans can
do and I get that response I understand
it I used to respond to everything like
that I used to see only the difficulty I
used to see only the ways in which it
couldn't work out and I couldn't see I
was literally blinded by fear I was
blinded by some bizarre sense of pride
that wanted to justify my limited
existence that didn't want to have to
face that I could be doing more that I
couldn't be more that my life was
somehow less than what it could be
and so I would laugh at quotes like that
and I know right now of the chills I
know right now there are people that are
laughing at that and all they can think
about are the limits all they can think
about are the things that prove him
wrong and guess what he is wrong there
really are limits but if you [ __ ]
waste your time focused on that you're
never going to create the momentum that
you need to actually make something come
true in your life you can build
virtually anything but if you get hung
up on the [ __ ] virtual part if you
let that stop you if you immediately go
to the things that ultimately limit you
and hold you back that is where you're
gonna stay forever because if you argue
for your limitations guess what my
friend they become yours and
congratulations you now get to live in
that box you get to live in that
self-define prison but if like Teddy
Roosevelt said instead of that you keep
your eyes on the stars and your feet on
the ground and you don't act like
somebody who can't see that sure there
are limits there are edges to this
universe but you're looking
not at that you're looking at how he
really executed your dreaming big and
you're remembering that your feet
ultimately is that contact point it is
where the rubber meets the road it is
that moment of doing and so if instead
of rejecting it because your feet must
stay planted on the ground remember that
in keeping your feet on the ground
that's the moment of action that's the
moment of doing something about it
that's the moment of seeing the [ __ ]
possibilities and then moving doing
something making it real so right now
give up on those weird mental mechanisms
that make you actually want to fight for
the things that aren't possible to get
people to believe in it to get people to
understand why you've chosen to stand
still
instead of that convince yourself that
you should be moving and don't do what
you know you're destined to do as Oprah
Winfrey said what you dwell on is what
you become once you understand that
humans are the ultimate adaptation
machine and you understand that the
brain actually builds faster and better
connections between the things that you
think on you will begin to understand
that it is incredibly important to be
thoughtful about what you think about
it's incredibly important to pick a
direction that you want to grow in to
decide who you want to become and then
make that the center of your focus your
thoughts your time your energy and if
you look inward or if you look outward
and you don't like what you see remember
what Jim Rohn said if you don't like how
things are change it you're not a tree
and that's the beauty that's the
beautiful thing about being a human we
are so plastic and we can change so
dramatically we are so good at adapting
that we forget that's literally what we
do but if you can take control of that
process if you can grab ahold of it and
make it your own if you can make it your
daily obsess
to make the most of your potential to
pick a very specific direction to pick
an end goal and end state and end
identity and work your way backwards
find out the steps that you're going to
need to take to get there to execute and
have the willingness to put in the work
to have the willingness to be both the
sculptor and the clay to understand that
the suffering that comes with that of
changing yourself of making yourself
into something great is a suffering well
working
it's a suffering that you should embrace
it's a suffering that you should run
towards because in that suffering you
can become anything you want so start to
dwell on that dwell on a vision of you
being great dwell on a vision of you
accomplishing your goals dwell on a
vision of you having done this amazing
thing that you want to do dwell on an
image of you being willing to sweat and
bend yourself in half and break if need
to and bleed when necessary to become
the vision of yourself you always knew
you could become dwell on that and
nothing can stop
you've got two choices in life choice
one you can become somebody else choice
- you can become yourself now I really
wish that there was only one choice but
in truth there's not in most people
choose to try to become someone else
because it's a road map its points in
the direction you see someone you
respond to something you admire them you
want to be like them and in that process
you've made your decision in that
process you decided to become somebody
else you have mistaken the finger for
the moon instead you need to understand
that being inspired by somebody does not
mean to become that person to become
that which inspires you it is to
understand fundamentally what is it
about that thing that excites you what
is it what is its essence and when you
can find its essence then you can find
out how it would apply to you and coming
you and as Zen she says
flower does not think about competing
with the flower next to it it just
blooms and that's really your job is to
see the outside world to see the flower
next to you to understand the amazing
things that are happening all around you
all of the incredible people and the
essence of what they have and what it is
that they've done to bring inside
yourself and find out what does that
look like when it's me not what do I
look like when I'm
and once you understand the difference
between that then you can really begin
to be something unique you can become
that thing that you were meant to be
that thing that makes you feel alive and
whole and that's it that's the secret
you're just trying to be something not
that's just inspiring to other people
but that you actually want to wake up
every day and be and that's the [ __ ]
thing about it so escaping you whatever
you become a lie the truth somebody else
yourself whatever it is there's been
every day of your life there and as
Albert Einstein said everybody's a
genius but if you judge a fish by its
ability to climb a tree it will live
it's whole life believing that it's
stupid that's what confuses people
people believe that they're done because
they're not finding their path they're
not defining things based on what
excites them and what they want to live
with every day they're just looking to
what the outside world says is good and
I think it's incredible that there are
other people doing things that are so
extraordinary that we aspire to be like
that but you have to understand the
difference between being like someone
and trying to actually
eat them so if what inspires you is that
somebody works hard work hard if what
inspires you is that somebody gets up
every time they fail get up every time
you fail if what you like is that
they're themselves with all their weird
eccentricities and quirks then be true
to your eccentricities and quirks but
don't try to embody their eccentricities
and quarks that's the surest way to
become the fish that thinks it's stupid
because it's being judged by trying to
climb a tree
so with Scott Belsky said when 99% of
the people doubt your idea
you're either gravely wrong or about to
make history and that's the terrifying
part you're not gonna know you're not
gonna know the difference but if you're
chasing somebody else's path if your
whole game is emulation if your whole
game is to mimic that which inspires you
you will never find the thing that's
real about you and look I don't know
about you but I can be wrong I can be
gravely wrong I can have people think me
an idiot and try something and fail as
long as it was true to me because then
the lesson that I'm gonna learn is going
to apply it's gonna take me an ever step
closer to actually being the person that
I want to become that I want to live
with every day
if I don't understand who I want to be
so look inward identify your path
identify what excites you and go after
it as if your life depends on it because
in truth it does
Epictetus said he is a wise man who does
not grieve for things which he has not
but rejoices for those which he has and
that's gratitude isn't it it's the very
base decision that we all have to make
are you grateful for the things you have
in your life or are you always wanting
more and trust me I get it I understand
people that strive for more I understand
people that want something bigger and
better but at the same time if you allow
yourself to only think about what you
don't have to only be striving for
something more that that obsession will
begin to overtake you it will begin to
corrode you but ultimately it's a choice
ultimately at any time right now in this
moment you can stop and think about what
you have you can put your attention on
the things you're grateful for and watch
what it does watch what it does in that
instance the way that it changes you the
way that it changes your chemistry your
feelings in a moment can shift from
negative and dark to beautiful with
nothing else changing around you nothing
but you deciding that you're gonna focus
on the things you're grateful for
nothing but deciding that there are
things in your life to be grateful for
and that is a decision no matter what is
happening in your life at any moment
right now in the depths of a depression
in something going on terribly in your
life you can choose right now to think
about the things you're grateful for
the breeze a smile from somebody kind a
stranger who holds open a door for you
anything but it's a choice and as
Einstein said there are only two ways to
live your life
one is as though nothing is a miracle
the other is as though everything is a
miracle and what choice are you making
what are you choosing to focus on right
now do you let gratitude fill you up or
not and here's the critical part and I
want you to listen to this really well
whatever you decide whether you decide
we live in a
of miracles or whether we decide we live
in a world devoid of miracles you were
choosing one thing to the exclusion of
the other and when you focus on
something that you're grateful for when
you look at those little moments in your
life and choose to see them as grand
miracles even winning is only a gentle
hand on your shoulder even then it's
only a kiss from somebody who you've
kissed a thousand times before even when
it is only holding the hand of somebody
who needed their hand held even when
it's something that simple
[Music]
it really is a miracle that it really is
something that can fill you it really is
something that will change your
chemistry bring a connection between two
people allow you to see a grander Vista
or even just open a window and look out
at the world and realize that you're
alive that this is all a miracle that
none of this is guaranteed that every
breath you take could be your last and
in that you can choose to cherish what
you have in that you can decide to focus
on that you have a breath to take and
even when it's something that simple
when you train your mind to do that when
you train yourself to decide to see the
beauty in that that nobody can ever take
it away from you and matter where you
are no matter what's going on in your
life you'll be able to rise up and feel
the beauty that is being alive
so take a minute at the worst times in
your life and focus on the things you're
grateful for
[Music]
as Theodore Vail noted real difficulties
can be overcome it's only the imaginary
ones that are the reason that I love
that is because it is a powerful
reminder at the end of the day you're
choosing what to believe at the end of
the day all those things in your head
that seem like you could never get over
them you've made them up you've decided
to obsessively focus on those things and
as Oprah said what we dwell on is who we
become and think about that for a second
think about today just audit your
thoughts what did you spend your time
thinking on did you obsessively think
about the way that things could go right
what did you obsessively think about the
things that could go wrong all the
myriad ways that you need to protect
yourself and that's how it feels in the
moment you think I'm just planning for
the worst-case scenario I'm thinking
through all the ways that something
could go wrong so that I can be prepared
for it not understanding that what
you're doing is focusing on all the ways
that it could go wrong there imagine
futures they are not real and in that
like a
goes where the eyes go you will go where
your thoughts go you will become your
thoughts so instead of boxing yourself
in and thinking only about all the
different ways that something could be
bad could break could fall to pieces
think about all the things that you
could do if you take the action all the
myriad ways that things could come to
your aid and work out for the better
obsessively think on that and let
failure be a total [ __ ] surprise in
that you will take the actions that you
need to be successful but first you've
got to train yourself to obsess over all
the ways
life could go right from there you
lacked alright listen and listen well
because no truer words are ever gonna be
[ __ ] spoken you can do anything you
want without limitation whatever it is
that you decide you want to make come
true in your life you can do that it is
gonna take an inhuman amount of work
you're gonna have to be prepared to
break yourself in half you are going to
have to learn more than anyone has ever
learned you can have to push yourself
harder than anyone has ever asked you to
push yourself before you're gonna go way
beyond your breaking point you're gonna
run until you vomit you're gonna study
until you fall asleep you're going to
push and push and push and then you're
going to push some [ __ ] more and when
you hit the limit you're gonna push
again beyond that you're gonna force
yourself into an adaptation response and
why because it's Malcolm X said the
future belongs to those who prepare for
it today so if you don't put the work in
today if you don't do the unending
back-breaking work of developing
yourself into something greater the
world is gonna pass you by the people
that are going to own it are gonna be
the ones that did that work and the one
promise that I can make you right now is
that somebody somebody out there is out
working somebody right now is doing the
things that I'm saying somebody right
now is doing the
of failing and getting up and getting
better and pushing themselves and
triggering that glorious adaptation
response that makes humans the apex
predator someone right now they're
putting in that work and if you don't
the future is gonna belong to them and
as Martin Luther King jr. said you can't
fly than one if you can't run then walk
if you can't walk then crawl but
whatever you do you have to keep moving
forward it's not okay to make excuses
it's not gonna slow people down it's not
okay to ask the world to stop so that
you can step out front it's not okay to
expect little of yourself and demand
great rewards the only thing that's okay
is to be in line with the way that the
world really works and if you want to be
great you've got to become capable of
greatness you've got to develop your
skill set you've got to take what you
have now and if that's crawling then
[ __ ] crawl but you drag yourself ever
forward to a vision of yourself that is
so clear and so specific that nothing
could
you off your path because you my friends
know exactly where you're going you're
willing to pay whatever price it takes
to get there and no matter what anybody
says no matter how many [ __ ] hecklers
come for you no matter how many people
try to fill dirt on you try to stop you
try to knock you down no matter how many
[ __ ] people come for you at night
while you sleep you will rise and you
will keep pushing forward and you will
get better every day and no matter how
many times people chop at you knock you
down knock you off the path you can get
back on you will crawl so you can walk
you will walk till you run and then you
will run until you fly and that my
friends is the only path forward so if
you want a [ __ ] future that makes you
happy if you want a world that you're
excited about get your ass out there and
earn it choice is one of the most
intoxicating things in your life it's
one of the most beautiful things any of
us are ever going to encounter but
hiding in that beauty is the most
destructive force imaginable because if
you want to get something done if you
want to do that thing that burns inside
of you you have to remember you can do
anything once you stop trying to do
everything
the key to really being successful the
key to doing something at a grand scale
the key to playing on a world stage is
to pick something to be able to stand in
a room with a thousand doors and shut
999 of them to have the balls to know
which path you're willing to take and to
exclude all others but Intel you can do
that you're never going to be able to
develop the skill set that you're gonna
need to perform because here is the
reality it isn't about what you think
you should have to put in it isn't about
the amount of energy and drive that you
think is reasonable as Carl von
Clausewitz said pursue one great
decisive aim with force and
determination
is how you bend the universe to your
real that is how you impress people that
is how you capture the human imagination
and if you want to do something
extraordinary and be remembered you've
got to get so good that you're
performing at a level that has never
been seen before that is the only path
to set the bar ridiculously high and
then surpassed all expectations you
can't put it down low and then beat it
and say well look at me people don't
give a [ __ ] they see through that you've
got to do something that leaves their
jaw a gate you've got to do something
that makes the hair on the back of their
neck stand up you've got to leave them
in awe but the only way to do that is to
get that good and the only way to get
that good is to pick one thing and go at
it with everything you've got