I think a lot of us overthink success. Myself included.

We read books, watch videos, and hire mentors thinking there’s a certain path or strategy to winning at life, when we find out everything we learn shares the same foundation.

Doing the work.

Steven Pressfield puts it simply: “Put your ass where your heart wants to be.”

In his book titled the same phrase, he explains how we spend too long preparing rather than just sitting our bodies in the environment where success takes place.

Meaning, if you want to be a writer, don’t read books or take courses on how to be a writer, sit down in front of a computer and write.

If you want to be a vlogger, then go out and travel and create new experiences worth vlogging about.

It all starts with putting yourself out there. Not preparing yourself for when you will be. Don’t get me wrong, preparation can be a good thing, and sometimes even necessary. But it’s not enough to just have your heart in it. Your body and time have to be there too.

And for most people, they don’t do this because they’re typically afraid. Whether that’s being afraid of the unknown, failure, embarrassment, loss, or pain, it all boils down to fear.

But Steven makes it known that he’s not talking about, big, decisive, encompassing action. He knows Rome wasn’t built in a day. He even went as far as saying you’re allowed to stop working if you’re tired. Because his mentality is, you’re in this for the long haul.

It’s the consistent action—even for at least one hour—of sitting down and writing, going on the field, studying, creating, or drawing that will determine whether or not you’ll succeed.

All it takes is at least one hour a day. It doesn’t have to be the most quality-filled hour. But as they say, it’s the days you don’t want to do something are the ones that mean the most.

It’s those days that you ‘don’t feel like it’ are what’s going to determine how bad you want what you say you want. So make an effort to put your body in that environment every day and realize the fear you’ve been imagining for so long might’ve just been in your head the whole time.

Until next time,
Isaiah Taylor

Dive Deeper

What I’m Currently Reading - I’m now reading Mission Ready by Derick Johnson. A guide on destroying limiting beliefs and how to train your mind to start dominating your own mission in life.

Quote Of The Week - “There are times when even to live is an act of bravery.” — Seneca