What Does It Really Take to Be Great in Life?

TL;DR

Greatness demands courage, hard work, focus, consistency, higher standards, obsession, the ability to ignore opinions, a fighting spirit, and dedication. The average adult spends about one hour and 40 minutes a day on social media, which adds up to 128 days over five years. Shutting out distractions and treating problems as challenges turns wasted time into growth.

Transcript

you said you want to be great but your actions don't say great your actions say mediocre your actions are second-rate so you really want to know what it takes what it takes to be great it takes courage Kurtz to stand tall and fight for your dreams the courage to say yes when everyone says no yes to your dream yes to the late nights yes to the early... Read More

Key Insights

• Greatness is defined by actions, not stated intentions. If you say you want to be great but your actions say mediocre and second-rate, your actions are the honest answer about where you are actually headed.
• Consistency is what separates potential from results. You will never be great if you only work when you feel like it, and if you only give 100% when you feel 100%, you will never reach your potential.
• Higher standards mean demanding more from your life than anyone around you would even consider, including a higher work ethic, more self-education, and more training than the people surrounding you would think reasonable.
• Healthy obsession is a growth mechanism. Being obsessed with your goal, self-education, and improving every day pushes you out of your comfort zone and beyond what others thought was possible for your life.
• Social media consumes about one hour and 40 minutes of the average adult's day, which equals nearly 12 hours per week, over 50 hours per month, 616 hours per year, and 128 days across a five-year period.
• Every time you choose something over your goal you form a bad habit that gets stronger and eventually overpowers the goal. The counter is a habit of discipline, going all in, and integrity.
• Focus means saying no, not yes. Steve Jobs said focus means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are, so you can shut out everything but the most important thing right now.
• The mind is stronger than the body. Program your mind to always go one more round and push past perceived limits, and the body eventually adapts because growth only comes from resistance and struggle.

Questions & Answers

Q: What does it really take to be great?

It takes courage to stand tall and fight for your dreams and to say yes when everyone says no, real hard work, focus on one clear target that no setback can break, consistency rather than working only when you feel like it, higher standards than anyone around you would consider, a healthy obsession with improving daily, the ability to ignore the opinions of those with the loudest voices, a fighting spirit when you are down, and dedication to work on your weaknesses until they become strengths. As the video puts it, it is no big deal, just a million things and a lifetime commitment.

Q: How much time does the average adult waste on social media?

A recent study cited in the video found that the average adult spends around one hour and 40 minutes every day on social media. That is nearly 12 hours per week, over 50 hours per month, and 616 hours per year. Across five years that adds up to 128 days completely spent on social media. The argument made is to imagine replacing that wasted time with completely focused work on something you love, because the person you will be in five years is very different depending on which path you choose.

Q: How do you shut out distractions and stay focused?

If the goal is important enough to you, you will shut out all distractions: shut the door, turn your phone off, turn off social media, lock in, and get the job done. Successful people are focused people who can go into a space where they shut out everything and lock in on the task, the goal, and the dream in front of them. The video contrasts this with people who behave like a puppy with a bone, dropping everything important the moment a like, comment, text message, TV show, or night out comes along.

Q: What did Steve Jobs say about focus?

Steve Jobs said that people think focus means saying yes to the thing you have got to focus on, but that is not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully and be able to shut out everything but the most important thing you must do right now. The practical application given in the video is to get that one thing done with 100% of your presence and attention, giving it your heart and soul, which produces your best work and leads to your next best result.

Q: Why is it good that success is hard?

The difficulty is the best part because challenge equals growth, and you cannot and will not grow without challenge. Muscles in the gym and in life can only grow through resistance, struggle, and pushing limits: putting a little more weight on the bar, running a little further, extending your goals, learning a little more each day. Without challenge, life is dull and void of meaning. This is also what separates the average from the great, because the average run from hardship while the great run toward it and grow from it.

Q: How do you push past your physical limits?

Your mind is stronger than your body. When your body says no more, your mind can answer that it is in charge. If you program your mind to always go one more round, to always push past what you perceive is your limit, and to give more than anyone else would ever expect from you, then sooner or later your body realizes it has to grow along with you. Growth comes from resistance and expanding expectations, so you keep pushing until you break the barrier you need to break, then set a bigger goal and add more weight and more reps.

Q: How should you deal with problems in your life?

Change their names to challenges and find solutions. With the right mindset there is no such thing as a problem; there may be challenges and lessons to be learnt, but never problems. If you believe there are problems in your life, fix them rather than complain, or they remain problems until your dying day. If money is the problem, make more money until money is no longer the problem. If motivation is the problem, commit to finding a powerful reason and work on your motivation until it is no longer the problem.

Q: Why should you stop playing the victim?

The victim mentality keeps you stuck complaining instead of solving. You are not the only one with problems, and you would not be the only one in history who has worked through problems and found solutions. Solving them is not impossible; it just requires dedication, persistence, and hard work, and the video argues that is a lot easier than drowning in your old self. The alternative offered is to decide today that you want more out of your life, and to become the one with positivity, the one who makes things happen, and the one who does not give up.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Being great requires courage to say yes to your dream when everyone says no, real hard work, focus on one clear target that no setback can break, and consistency, because working only when you feel like it guarantees you never reach your potential.

• Distraction is the reason many people never reach their potential. The average adult spends around one hour and 40 minutes daily on social media, nearly 12 hours per week, over 50 hours per month, 616 hours per year, which adds up to 128 days over five years.

• Challenge equals growth. Muscles in the gym and in life grow only through resistance, so add weight, do more reps, extend goals, and push past perceived limits. Rename problems as challenges, reject the victim mentality, and work on the problem instead of complaining about it.