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Benjamin P. Hardy
Table of Contents
Introduction
Have You Passed Your Point Of No Return? . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 1
Facing The Facts And Avoiding Convention:
You Need A Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 2
How I Used Medium.com To Get My First
20,000 Subscribers In 6 Months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 3
The Fundamental Tools You Need To Build
And Grow Your List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Chapter 4
Make Good Art:
How To Get Editors And Publishers To Come To You . . .
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Chapter 5
Strategies For Rapid Content Creation
And Psychological Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Chapter 6
How To Become The Best In The World
At What You Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Introduction
Have You Passed Your
Point Of No Return?
Are you sure this is what you really want to do?
If so, why?
If youre not fully convinced this is what you want to do,
you should probably put this book down.
There is a pivotal moment all people must experience (multiple times) before they are ready to truly achieve their dreams.
The point of no return.
Have you crossed this point yet?
Is this your path in life? Or are you just testing the waters?
This book isnt designed for people just testing the waters.
Its for people who have passed the point of no return. They
are not turning back. This is their path. They will succeed no
matter the gruel and grind and failure it takes to get there.
Ive asked countless people about their point of no return
experiences. In fact, my PhD research is completely focused on
this defining moment. In my research, I compare people who
are actually entrepreneurs with people who one day want to
be.
Youd be surprised how big a difference there are among
these two populations.
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And another:
Its all psychological. Life is a psychological game. Okay,
for example, how many psychiatrist does it take to change
a light bulb? It takes one, but the light bulb has to want
to change. You can put a person on a diet and they will
never lose weight unless they want to lose weight. You can
feed them whatever you want they are going to cheat, they
are going to do whatever they do, theyre going to slack
off on exercise, unless you want it. You are never going
to achieve it. I think the biggest point is either go big or go
home, either shoot for the stars and aim for Pluto but if you
hit the moon, youre still doing a hell of a lot better than
most people. I think people dont aim high enough.
Far and wide, almost every person who had experienced
their own personal point of no return said it was an internal
thing. Yes, it can be triggered by external factors like crisis
or a lack of finances. But fundamentally, its a pivotal moment where a person changes how they see themselves and the
world. For those seeking to achieve their dreams, it is a selfinduced turning point that one never turns back from.
Another said:
There was no more of the sense that I wasnt a writer.
Before this point of no return I would be like, Im an aspiring writer. Im a freelancer want to be. Im learning, Im
a beginner. Stuff like that. Once I reached the point of
no return, I was like, You know what Im a writer. I am
a freelancer because that is what I am doing; and because
thats what Im doing, that what I am. There is no more
of this, Oh I am a beginner, be gentle to me because I am
a little beginner and you shouldnt be harsh. Now Im like,
Just give me the criticism. I need to grow and learn. I am
writing, this is something Im going to do.
Another said:
Yeah I would say my way of being about my business
transformed when I passed that point of no return. I got
more clarity. I got more passion. I should say I started
operating with more clarity, more passion, more momentum, more dedication, determination, discipline. You know
like all of the sudden Im less scattered and much more focused. Ive made a lot more progress since thats happened.
Because I think once somebody makes a decision, I think
thats really what youre talking about like when you say
point of no return, its like decisionto cut off of any other
possible option and commit yourself a hundred percent in
the future. Once youve crossed that threshold youre never
the same again in life. Its like everything suddenly in the
universe just lines up with everything that you need all of
the sudden. Kind of like Neo in the Matrix. All the sudden
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you can see the bullets coming at you and move out of their
way and stuff like that.
The most frequent responses to my question, What
changed for you after you had this experience. were:
Increased confidence
Increased commitment
Increased determination
of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues
from the decision, raising in ones favor all manner of
unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have
come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can
do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in
it. Begin it now.
You need to find your path. That is perhaps the most important thing you can do in your life. Until you do, youll
always be floating. Until you do, youll never be able to make
the impact you were meant to have in your life.
Your life has a purpose. You have unique talents and
abilitiesyour own superpower. Once you figure out what
that is, you will become unstoppable.
The most successful people in the world know their superpower and they focus on that thing. There is a test called
the Kolbe A Index that can tell you what your superpower is.
It costs $50 to take though. I am not being paid by Kolbe to
share this. This test is recommended by some of the worlds
top entrepreneurs.
If you dont want to spend $50, spend a lot of time reflecting on your life. Writing in your journal helps too. Prayer
and meditation are powerful ways to get personal insight and
revelation as well.
The Framework
In an interview with Josh Waitzkin, Tim Ferriss explained that
he helps people get to the top 5-10 percent of their industry
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Chapter 1
Facing The Facts And Avoiding
Convention: You Need A Platform
Approximately six months ago, I got serious about my goal to
become a professional writer. I had written an eBook and was
anxious to know how to traditionally publish it.
I decided literary agents would be my best source of advice. After all, they know the publishing industry back-andforthor so I thought. After talking to 5-10 different agents
about their coaching programs, it became apparent my questions would need to be answered elsewhere.
One particular conversation sticks out.
In order to even be considered by agents and publishers,
writers need to already have a substantial readership (i.e.,
a platform). I told one of the agents my goal was to have
5,000 blog subscribers by the end of 2015. She responded,
That would not be possible from where you currently are.
These things take time. You will not be able to get a publisher
for 3-5 years. Thats just the reality.
Reality to who? I thought as I hung up the phone.
car, you start to notice the same car everywhere. How does
this happen? You didnt seem to notice that everyone drove
Malibus before.
Our brains are constantly filtering an unfathomable
amount of sensory inputs: sounds, smells, visuals, and more.
Most of this information goes consciously unrecognized. Our
focused attention is on what we care about. Thus, some people
only notice the bad while others see the good in everything.
Some notice people wearing band shirts, while others notice
anything fitness related.
So, when you decide what you want, its like buying a new
car. You start seeing it everywhereespecially your newsfeeds!
What are you seeing everywhere? This is perhaps the clearest reflection of your conscious identity.
Chapter 2
How I Used Medium.com To Get My
First 20,000 Subscribers In 6 Months
I started blogging seriously in May of 2015. However, I didnt
want to solely publish at my own blog, since literally no one
except my wife knew it existed. So every time I published an
article on my blog, I copy and pasted it into Medium.com and
published it there as well.
Medium is a popular and innovative platform based in Silicon Valley. The readers (and writers) at Medium are interested in entrepreneurship, self-improvement, cool ideas, good
research, interesting stories, and lots more.
At Medium, content really is king. You may have a huge
platform or be well-connected, but those things only get
you so far at Medium. Only the best content consistently gets
pushed to the top, regardless of your current following. This
is an enormous advantage as what you write is completely in
your control.
So, if youre willing to write content so good it cannot be
ignoredhopefully every writers goalyou can use Medium
to launch your writing career and build your platform.
The remainder of this chapter will detail my story and
strategieshow in six months:
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From here on out, Ill dig into my writing process and some
of my strategies for writing valuable material.
Cognitive
Enhanced memory and focus
Conflict resolution
experiments, so why make long-term plans? Hed rather respond to the brilliant and best opportunities that arise, taking
him in now unforeseen directions.
Ive recently adopted Ferriss concept of doing short-term
experiments. This has changed my approach to work. For
example, a few months ago I stumbled upon a personal development article that had over 1,000,000 social shares. I decided to perform an experiment to attempt creating an article
that would also get 1,000,000 shares. The result was an 8,000
word article called, 50 Ways Happy, Healthy, And Successful
People Live On Their Own Terms.
Although the article hasnt been shared a million times yet,
the results were profound and unexpected. It drew the attention of an editor at TIME who asked if they could syndicate it at
the end of February. Additionally, the article attracted several
thousand new readers (including some of my favorite authors
& researchers) and subscribers to my blog. Lastly, it connected
me with a better web-developer and new coaching clients. All
from one short experiment that took a week to perform.
Experiments are a fun way to pursue goals because they
allow you to get innovative and bold. Experiments are shorttermand thus relatively low risk. They are your moon
shots. Why play small? Whats the worst that could happen,
you waste a few weeks or months and learn a lot while doing
it?
Trying to get several articles into the Top Stories On
Medium simultaneously was another experiment I tried in December.
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I get messages all the time from people who say stuff like,
Your articles arent like the normal listicle type articles. Yours
have more substance.
Not every article should be in list format. But why neglect what works? People love articles written as lists. Consequently, I frame a large portion of my articles as lists. And
to be honest, those are the ones that consistently do the best.
The numbers dont lie.
Within the flexible framework of a list, you have loads of
room for creativity. My list articles are packed with information and sometimes very long. There are no rules. Just
strategies that work or dont work. Listsif done wellwork.
Having great quotes and using research gives you credibility. It also makes your writing more well-rounded and powerful.
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Conclusion
So there you have it. I did it. Im doing it. And you can too.
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Chapter 3
The Fundamental Tools You Need To
Build And Grow Your List
If youve started an online business that creates content of any
form, youve probably felt weighed down by the enormity of
the learning curve. My goal is not to weigh you down any
further. Instead, I will share what I have done and let you use
my story in a way that makes sense to you.
I spent about a year learning about online marketing and
platform building before I mustered the strength to intentionally begin that process myself. Instead of doing activities that
would built a following, I wrote two books. Looking back, this
was just a way to keep myself from facing reality.
As expectedsince I didnt have a platformno one read
my two books except a few family members and friends.
Writing a book is cool. But writing a book that people read
is much better.
In January of 2015, I wasnt there yet. I wasnt ready to
make an impact with my writing. So I hid behind my writing
and felt completely justified doing it. I could tell people I had
written two books. Who cares if no one had read them, right?
Wrong.
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What future goals does this post help the reader achieve,
or use to lure them in?
Submit to Reddit
Submit to StumbleUpon
Post to Facebook
Post to Google+
Directory submissions
RSS directory submits
Forum comments
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Homebase
Most people believe you need to blog from your website. But
social media marketing guru, Gary Vaynerchuck, disagrees.
He argues you dont need a website anymore. Your Facebook
or Twitter account are your mini-blog.
Although I like the concept, to me it makes sense to have
a homebase to bring people back to.
However, when you first start building your platform, dont
blog primarily from your own blog. That is the slowest path to
growth. If no one is coming to your blog, why would you post
there? Your content will disappear into the internet vacuum.
You are far better off leveraging pre-existing platforms. No
matter the industry you are in, there are already platforms with
millions of targeted readers/followers you can utilize.
Because Im in the self-help industry, I started out by pitching articles to outlets like Lifehack.org, Addicted2success.com,
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About
Your about page is critical. This is where readers go next to
see what the blog is all about. This page should quickly and
clearly distinguish who the target readership is.
For example, Chris Guillebeaus About page says:
Welcome to The Art of Non-Conformity (AONC),
a home for unconventional people doing remarkable
things. Im Chris Guillebeau (pronounced Gil-a-beau).
Then your about page should make a promise. Again,
Guillebeaus blog further says:
The purpose of AONC is to share the story of how
to change the world by achieving personal goals while
helping others at the same time. In the battle against
conventional beliefs, we focus on three core areas: Life,
Work, and Travel.
My blogs About page says this (might be changed by the
time you read this):
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Welcome! This blog is for readers who know intuitively that they are on the brink of something big.
Theyve worked consistently toward their dreams and
reached the inflection point of exponential progress. In
the next 3-6 months, their lives will be radically altered
for the better.
If this sounds like you, youre in the right place.
The purpose of this blog is to help you get where
you want to be as quickly as possible by:
Distilling what really matters
As you read this blog, you will be inspired and motivated to take huge leaps in your life. You will reach
your ambitions radically quicker than you thought you
would. You will finder deeper meaning and purpose in
your life.
After the promise of the blog, it should have a clear introduction of you and perhaps even your story.
Content/Services/Products
Your homebase should also have easy to find links to your content, whether thats your blog or links to your articles/videos
elsewhere. Further, your website should provide an easy way
to find the products and services you sell.
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Social Media
There are people like Gary Vaynerchuck who are experts at
all social media platforms. But social media is what he does.
Unless youre a social media expert, dont lose focus by trying
to do them all.
Pick one or two social media platforms you want to CRUSH
IT at. Focus on those and forget the rest.
Doing this was extremely helpful for me. When I put my
attention on a few key places, I was able to focus more exclusively on creating content.
Although Pinterest, Snapchat, and Instagram would be
great for my business, I simply dont have the time to focus
on them. Perhaps one day when I can hire someone to spend
40 hours per week running my social media, Ill branch out.
But chances are, if youre like most people trying to build
a list, you are doing a lot of this on your own. If not, you
wouldnt be reading this book.
So, keep your strategy simple and sustainable. Be good at
a few things rather than mediocre at many.
Facebook Ads
Facebook ads have changed the marketing game. If youre not
using them, youre wasting a golden opportunity in the worlds
history of marketing.
For as little as $5, you can create a highly targeted ad that
goes into thousands of newsfeeds on Facebook. If you spend
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Chapter 4
Make Good Art: How To Get Editors
And Publishers To Come To You
Weve talked to this point about the tools, platforms, and
strategies. Those will only help you if you have incredible
content.
You may have the most compelling titles, but if your content isnt incredible, no one will read or share it. And certainly
no one will subscribe.
Think about it for a second. Why do you follow certain
blogs?
Why do you care what certain people or businesses have to
say?
When you start off, you have to deal with the problems
of failure. You need to be thick skinned, to learn that
not every project will survive. A freelance life, a life in
the arts, is sometimes like putting messages in bottles,
on a desert island, and hoping that someone will find
one of your bottles and open it and read it, and put
something in a bottle that will wash its way back to
you: appreciation, or a commission, or money, or love.
And you have to accept that you may put out a hundred
things for every bottle that winds up coming back.
I have two college friends, Kenzie and Harris. They got
married, dropped out of college, and worked hard to save
enough money to live on for a year. Then they quit their jobs
and spent that year posting Vines and Youtube videos of their
music.
For the first six months, they had little success. And they
were posting Vines everyday. But they kept posting. They kept
sending messages out into the world in their little bottles. Then
one day, they posted a Vine that blew up.
It blew up so big that it changed their lives. The day after
it was posted, they had close to a million Vine followers. They
were given professional contracts allowing them to now live off
their art. They were contacted by some of the biggest Viners
in the world to begin collaborations. One year later, they are
on a national tour.
Huge doors opened.
Because they kept going.
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Conclusion
Make good art.
That is your quest. The world is your oyster. All you need
to do is be true to yourself. Be true to the God-given gifts
within you.
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Chapter 5
Strategies For Rapid Content Creation
And Psychological Flow
The fear haunting all creatives is the same: the switch flips,
and suddenly youre not able to produce high value work. Its
the moment when you know you could produce something,
but nothing comes out of the faucet. It ispossibly second
to death, but maybe more than itthe worst fear for people
living a creative life.
In his essential book, The War of Art, Steven Pressfield explains that writers block stems from resistance. To Pressfield, resistance is the story you tell yourself which pacifies you
into not doing your art. Resistance could be self-loathing, procrastination, chronic distraction, poor habits, or justification
for pursuing other aims. Resistance often plagues people for
decades, keeping them from their lifes most important work.
The regretful sentimentsI wish I had and If only
are all too common.
According to Pressfield, in order to do the work you
should avoid resistance at all costs. But is he right? Seth Godin
argues resistance is to be embraced and pursued. How can that
be? For Godin, feeling resistance is a sign that you are on the
verge of creating something important. To Godin, embracing
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Phelps is in the water swimming, hes still hyped from his hip
hop.
You can create triggers for literally anything. Lately, Ive
purposefully crafted a trigger for our three foster kids when
we read scriptures in the morning. Just before we sit down
to read, I play a song called, Scripture Power, which the kids
love. This song gets them excited and in a good mood. Now,
they associate the song with actually sitting down and reading
scriptures as a family. What was once an arduous and distracted activity is now thrilling and engaging.
Ive also developed a pre-performance routine for my writing. Ive found intensive physical activityparticularly yard
workopens huge wells of inspiration for me. I go outside to
work for a few minutes and have to run back in to jot down all
the insights Im having.
According to Steven Kotler, there are 17 triggers activating
flow:
Elevated risk (i.e., the stakes are high)
When the challenge/skill ratio is right (i.e., youre challenged but not over-challenged)
Social concentration when collaborating with others
Shared, clear objectives
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Familiarity with collaborators such as having shared language and knowledge base
Blending egos, which is a form of humility wherein no
one in the group is hogging the spotlight
I too use this method in my writing. I design writing sessions for the sole purpose of creating outlines. With a pile of
outlines already structured, I can often return and write several articles in a single session. Without the outlines, I can
often lose motivation and focus after just one.
Ive even used this approach in outlining the contents of
entire books. I take a blank sheet of paper and write all the
chapters that would be in a book. With that framework in
place, I can brain dump and get a solid first draft in no time.
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Bill Gates and Stefan Sagmeister are only two among thousands (Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg) who rely on sabbaticals
for creativity.
In his landmark book, The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss
proposes what he terms, mini-retirements, which are a detox
from your routine lasting at least four weeks but preferably
three months or longer. You want a complete removal from
your day to day routine and day to day reactions, Ferriss says.
One of the main purposes of a mini-retirement is acting as a reset
button.
Sometimes it takes someone else to point out when you
need that kind of respite and renewal. At a time when I was
working harder than ever before, my wife decided we needed
a break. Per her suggestion, we spent a few months farming
on two organic farms in remote parts of Ireland. If you want
fewer creative blocks, abandon your routine for a time and get
some fresh air. Ill admit: the first month of detox was painful,
but the second was life-changing. Get away, and you could
find yourself coming back more creative than you were when
you left.
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the holidays are more about present exchange than the selfless
act of actually giving a gift.
So, how do we live our lives without obsessing over a specific outcome? How do we live authentically and allow life
to unfold organically? And how do we let love, rather than
reward, be our primary motivation for everything we do?
Flow
Flow is an optimal conscious state where you feel and perform at your highest level. You become completely absorbed
in what youre doingpure presence. Everything else in the
world falls away into utter insignificance as your sense of self
dissolves into a higher realm of connection. Every action you
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perform flows seamlessly into the next. You live 100 percent
unscripted, and in the moment.
To make flow a regular and fluid experience in your life,
let go of your attachments to specific outcomes. This does not
mean you dont have goals or ambitions. Rather, these ambitions dont define you. And more importantly, they dont
consume your mind while you perform.
Flow is also facilitated by accepting fully who you are, and
the work you feel inspired to do. Hold nothing back. Be bold
and vulnerable. Take risks. Trust in your higher power with
whom you are fully connected.
Lastly, embrace gratitude by living fully. Feel and connect
to the moment. This moment is priceless. Dont waste it by
wishing it was something else. It is a gift. It is your moment.
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Chapter 6
How To Become The Best In The
World At What You Do
It can feel impossible to move toward your dreams. You know
exactly what you want to do, but there are endless obstacles
in your way.
There is so much competitionthousands or millions of
people competing to do exactly what you want to do.
How do you get out of the rat race?
How do advance quick enough to not have your dreams
smashed into submission by society and imploded by reality?
How do you make the needed leaps to move beyond the
masses vying for a similar position?
After all, you have bills to pay and tons of other responsibilities. You only have a limited amount of time each day.
After work and everything else youve got going on, its easy to
justify waiting until tomorrow. Even if you have the raw energy to do your work, you may feel guilty breaking from your
relational obligations.
It truly can feel hopeless and overwhelming. Theres so
much to learn. It can be easy to doubt our own abilities. Maybe
we should just give up and accept reality for what it is?
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The Truth Is
Most of the competition are not hard to surpass. Theyre dealing with the same existential and practical challenges you are.
Their life isnt structured for optimal creative expression. They
are the primary obstacle in the path. Most will quit long before
they ever really beginalways remaining mediocre at what
they do.
With a few tweaks, youll quickly drop through a wormhole placing you in the top 5-10 percent in your field. The
challenge then becomes to move from there to the topwhich
movement is the real contest. Getting to the top 5-10 percent
merely requires a change in lifestyle. Getting to the top 1 percent requires a fundamental change in your being.
This post is a framework to quickly get you into the top
5-10 percent of your field so you can begin the real quest of
becoming the best at what you do.
Phase One will get you to the top 5-10 percent of your field.
Once youre at this level, you are getting paid enough for your
art to live on. This is key, as Paul Graham has said, Once you
cross the threshold of profitability, however low, your runway becomes infinite. He calls the lowest tier of profitability, Ramen
Profitable, which means a startup (or business of any sort)
makes just enough to pay the founders living expenses.
Infinite runway means you can now dedicate all your
work time to your work. You are no longer moonlighting
or squeezing time in the margins of your life. You can pay
your bills and eat Ramen. This is where Phase Two begins,
and is really the beginning of your artistic journeybecoming
the best in the world at what you do.
Lets begin:
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Get Coaching/Education
Take your dreams seriously. Most people dont. Take them serious enough to become amazing and move beyond mediocre.
Get education and coaching.
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Do It Because Of Love
In the end, theres nothing more important than deep connection with humanity. The love you feel for other people is an
experience that eclipses all others in life.
So much of training and personal progress is
introspectivefocused on the self. However, moving outward
and focusing on the needs of others provides new meaning for
your work. Become the best at what you do, not because of
the legacy youll leave, but because of the lives youll bless.
There is a four stage hierarchy of motivations.
At stage one, you are motivated by fear. Everything you
do is to avoid punishment or negative outcomes. According to
decision theory, this form of motivation is prevention focused.
At stage two, you are motivated by reward. Everything you
do is to get what you want. If you are religious, you follow the
commandments solely for the blessings it provides. If you are
in business, you do only that which you believe will get you
ahead. Thus, you are promotion focused.
Both stage one and stage two demonstrate extrinsic motivation, which is far less powerful than intrinsic motivation.
At stage three, you are motivated by duty. Youre going to
do what you believe you should whether you receive a reward
or not. You have no fear of punishment. You are intrinsically
motivated. But theres a lack of passion. Theres a lack of life
that will take you beyond human ability and reasoning.
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Conclusion
You can quickly get to the point where you do what you love
for a living. This will require hard work, sacrifice, and consistency. However, what got you here wont get you there.
Becoming the best involves transcending guidelines and following your instinct.
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