The older and more seasoned I get the more I’ve come to realize the only path to “success”, however you define that, is walking your own path.
I read and listen to a lot of material about people’s perspectives, or experience, on the most effective way to do this or do that to get from here to there. It’s fascinating and interesting to me.
Here’s where I’ve landed; you have to find what works for you. This has come from years and years and years of trying different things + hundreds of different books and podcasts about different topics and different people.
To make the point, let’s compare David Goggins and Rick Rubin, both of whom I respect and would consider to be “successful” in their own right.
Goggins, for example, is a former Navy Seal and probably run a billion miles at this point. He’s an ultra endurance athlete and his mantra is “stay hard.” The guy is willing to push the boundary of human endurance like few others ever have. And, he’s super intense, all the time.
Everything he does is with 100% effort and he’s constantly pushing himself to outwork everyone around him and be the best version of himself he can be. I admire what he does, what he’s overcome and the example he sets regarding what can be accomplished if you decide you want to do it.
Rick Rubin, also successful in his own right, takes a very different approach. He’s more soft spoken, much more relaxed, is in good physical health (now) but not extreme, and just has a very different vibe. His philosophy is more about being open so things can come to you and being attune to the Source to allow creativity to flow.
These are widely different ways of being and both work for them. If Goggins tried to be like Rubin he would likely hate it and if Rubin tried to be Goggins it would be the same, no good.
So, my point is, you just have to find what’s right for you (myself included). Try, experiment, test, evaluate, explore and be open. Some things might work, some things won’t, but that’s all part of it.
Just know there is no playbook, and whatever works for someone else probably won’t work for you, so the only path to “success” is finding your own path.
