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    “You don’t get to call yourself an expert until you’ve put in the work – and the market decides, not you.” ~ Gary Vaynerchuk, Crushing It

    Gary Vaynerchuk Quote on Energy and Shifting from “Defense” to “Offense” During COVID-19

      “Whatever energy you put into something will manifest itself in equal amounts when it comes out.”

      Gary Vaynerchuk, Crushing It

      Beyond the Quote (81/365)

      Rather than go on defense and pray and wait and hope that everything turns out okay for you and your family—go on offense!  Time is our most precious commodity and if you have an abundance of it from the COVID-19 crisis, then it’s time to utilize that time and make something happen.  And I’m not talking about panic buying and stocking up on your toilet paper.  I’m talking about taking initiative and making moves that will leave you—not behind or even in alignment with where you were before the crisis—but AHEAD.  And the only way to get ahead is to shift from ‘damage-control’ defense to ‘abundance-mindset’ offense.  Here are some ideas:

      Read More »Gary Vaynerchuk Quote on Energy and Shifting from “Defense” to “Offense” During COVID-19

      Ryan Holiday Quote on Producing Good Work—Despite The Challenges

        “Work is finding yourself alone at the track when the weather kept everyone else indoors.  Work is pushing through the pain and crappy first drafts and prototypes.  It is ignoring whatever plaudits others are getting, and more importantly, ignoring whatever plaudits you may be getting.  Because there is work to be done.  Work doesn’t want to be good.  It is made so, despite the headwind.”

        Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy

        Beyond the Quote (69/365)

        Why do all of this work at all?  Why show up when it’s raining and cold?  Why push through writing tasks when Netflix is one click away?  Why keep working when you’re getting praised and approved of for what you’ve already done?  Why not stay indoors, become complacent, relax, and soak in the compliments you’ve already received?  …Well, because that’s not how your best work comes to life—that’s why.  And that task of bringing to life your best work, may be your most important calling on this earth. 

        Read More »Ryan Holiday Quote on Producing Good Work—Despite The Challenges

        Steve Jobs Quote on Focus and Working Hard To Keep Thinking Clean

          “That’s been one of my mantras—focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

          Steve Jobs

          Beyond the Quote (41/365) Part 1: On Focus

          The ability to focus, or more clearly stated, the ability to block out distractions—especially in today’s world—is absolutely critical in producing the best work of your life.  Think about it.  Distractions are the things that take your attention elsewhere—away from what it should be/ could be doing.  And when your attention is over there, it’s certainly not over here—focused on the deep, thoughtful work that requires long chains of uninterrupted time for thought, flow, play, introspection, and execution.  And the more that your attention ends up over there in distraction, either deliberately or unexpectedly, the work you could be doing over here gets sidetracked and lost.

          Read More »Steve Jobs Quote on Focus and Working Hard To Keep Thinking Clean

            “You have a nature.  You can play the tyrant to it, but you will certainly rebel.  How hard can you force yourself to work and sustain your desire to work?  How much can you sacrifice to your partner before generosity turns to resentment?  What is it that you actually love?  What is it that you genuinely want?  Before you can articulate your own standards of value, you must see yourself as a stranger—and then you must get to know yourself.  What do you find valuable or pleasurable?  How much leisure, enjoyment, and reward do you require, so that you feel like more than a beast of burden?  How must you treat yourself, so you won’t kick over the traces and smash up your corral?  You could force yourself through your daily grind and kick your dog in frustration when you come home.  You could watch the precious days tick by.  Or you could learn how to entice yourself into sustainable, productive activity.  Do you ask yourself what you want?  Do you negotiate fairly with yourself?  Or are you a tyrant, with yourself as slave?” ~ Jordan Peterson, via 12 Rules for Life (Page 90)

            Can’t Hurt Me [Book]

              Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins

              By:  David Goggins

              From this Book: 37 Quotes

              Book Overview:  For David Goggins, childhood was a nightmare – poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse colored his days and haunted his nights. But through self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work, Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight young man with no future into a US Armed Forces icon and one of the world’s top endurance athletes. The only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, he went on to set records in numerous endurance events, inspiring Outside magazine to name him The Fittest (Real) Man in America.  In Can’t Hurt Me, he shares his astonishing life story and illuminates a path that anyone can follow to push past pain, demolish fear, and reach their full potential.

              Buy from Amazon! Listen on Audible!

              Not enough time to read/listen to the whole book? Check out the 12 minute Blinkist version of Can’t Hurt Me and get the key insights here for free.

              Post(s) Inspired by this Book:

              1. 34 Intense and Powerful David Goggins Quotes from Can’t Hurt Me
              2. The 40 Percent Rule — An Excerpt from Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
              3. David Goggins on Overcoming Self Doubt and Unapologetically Chasing Your Dreams [Excerpt]
              4. David Goggins Quote on Callousing Your Mind and How I Ran A Marathon Without Running Training (Beyond the Quote 235/365)

                “It doesn’t always go your way, so you can’t get trapped in this idea that just because you’ve imagined a possibility for yourself that you somehow deserve it.  Your entitled mind is dead weight.  Cut it loose.  Don’t focus on what you deserve.  Take aim on what you are willing to earn!” ~ David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me

                  “My work ethic is the single most important factor in all of my accomplishments.  Everything else is secondary.  To me, a forty-hour work week is a 40 percent effort.  It may be satisfactory, but that’s another word for mediocrity.  Don’t settle for a forty-hour work week.  There are 168 hours in a week!  That means you have the hours to put in that extra time at work without skimping on your exercise.  It means streamlining your nutrition, spending quality time with your wife and kids.  It means scheduling your life like you’re on a twenty-four-hour mission every single day.” ~ David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me

                    “Some criticize my level of passion, but I’m not down with the prevailing mentalities that tend to dominate American society these days; the ones that tell us to go with the flow or invite us to learn how to get more with less effort.  F*ck that shortcut bullsh*t.  The reason I embrace my own obsessions and demand and desire more of myself is because I’ve learned that it’s only when I push beyond pain and suffering, past my perceived limitations, that I’m capable of accomplishing more, physically and mentally—in endurance races but also in life as a whole.  And I believe the same is true for you.” ~ David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me

                      “Visualization will never compensate for work undone.  You cannot visualize lies.  All the strategies I employ to answer the simple questions and win the mind game are only effective because I put in work.  It’s a lot more than mind over matter.  It takes relentless self-discipline to schedule suffering into your day, every day, but if you do, you’ll find that at the other end of that suffering is a whole other life just waiting for you.” ~ David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me

                        “The reason it’s important to push hardest when you want to quit the most is because it helps you callous your mind.  It’s the same reason why you have to do your best work when you are the least motivated.” ~ David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me

                          “Genes can’t make you successful if you’re not doing the work.  Yes, it’s possible that the ripped trainer at they gym has better genes, but if you haven’t put in the same reps, it’s impossible to say if you have been dealt a better or worse genetic hand.  Until you work as hard as those you admire, don’t explain away their success as luck.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

                            “I am just an average man, but by God I work harder than the average man.” ~ Winston Churchill, via The Way of the Seal