Effort and difficulty make you stronger, smarter and more resourceful.
That doesn’t mean you’ll always like it. You won’t. But when you understand,
you can be grateful for all the gifts they bring.
In my opinion, Carol Dweck from Stanford has probably created some of the most profound research in ultimate performance and superhuman achievement.
In her book Mindset she talks about what she calls a Fixed-Mindset versus a Growth-Mindset.
Simply put, an individual with a fixed mindset believes that all abilities are inherent and little can be done to change them.
Conversely a person who is growth minded believes that abilities are a starting point from which to continuously build and improve over an entire lifetime.
This harkens back to the age-old controversy regarding “nature versus nurture.”
In other words, are you the by-product of your heredity and genealogical traits? (Nature).
Or are you the by-product of your training, programming and conditioning? (Nurture).
I submit the answer is both.
With heavy emphasis on nurture—particularly when it comes to self-limitation, values and goals.
It’s an undeniable fact that there are certain genetic qualities that have an effect upon who you are.
No amount of supplements that give an athlete a so-called edge, are going to build an Arnold Schwarzenegger or create a Lance Armstrong.
No amount of voice lessons are going to create an Andrea Bocelli.
They have natural gifts that they realized and developed. I call this realization Beginning at the Beginning.
That doesn’t mean that Lance, Arnold and Andrea didn’t work. They did. They put forth heroic effort. They all confronted great difficulties as well.
But they put this effort and work into a field in which they had the predisposition to become masterful.
Beginning at the Beginning is a vital distinction.
And it has nuances that are tricky.
A fixed-minded person basically believes that Arnold, Andrea and others were just born with their ability.
Nothing could be done to change or improve upon it. It’s fixed. 
Period.
Talent is cheaper than table salt.
What separates the talented individual
from the successful one is a lot of hard work.
~ Stephen King
The growth-minded person knows that they have a certain ability and yet, that’s just the starting point.
From that point they must give everything they have to develop it.
If what you’re up to doesn’t take every single thing you have
then it’s probably not your quest. Go all in!
While Einstein obviously had natural ability in the fields of spatial intelligence and mathematics, had he not given everything to master those fields he would not have become masterful.
Had he listened to one of his early professors who labeled him a “slow learner; and hopelessly caught up in his own fantasies,” he would have stopped severely short of his potential.
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
~ Albert Einstein
Had he quit and not put in the effort when he flunked the entrance exam to Zurich Polytechnic, the world would have been robbed of his legacy and impact.
Only one who devotes himself to a cause
with his whole strength and soul can be a true master.
For this reason mastery demands all of a person.
~ Albert Einstein
The fact, is that we’re all hardwired for mastery.
Learn why a leader has hunger for endless growth and improvement.
But you must find your area of unique genius and gifts first.
Then you must go all in.
There’s no other way.
You must give every single ounce of energy and effort you have to become great at what you’re here and gifted to do.
Effort and hard work are the gifts that masters embrace.
They know that most people won’t.
Therefore, it narrows the field; and it puts them in a class all their own.
Do you know why you’re here?
Are you willing to go all in and embrace effort and difficulty as a part of your journey to mastery?
Get busy.
Stay Awake, Love Life, and Be Epic!
James
