#1158 You Can Achieve Greatness

In our last couple +1s, we did some gardening with Kennedy, fixed our roofs together and we got ready to land on the moon.

Now…

To find that moonshot wisdom, I did a quick search of the 596 PhilosophersNotes I have on my Mac.

“Kennedy moon.”

First result: The Note on Black Hole Focus—a fantastic book by Isaiah Hankel on “How Intelligent People Can Create a Powerful Purpose for Their Lives.”

I did a quick little “Control-F: Kennedy” to find the Big Idea in which I referenced the moonshot.

It’s a good one. 🤓

Isaiah tells us: “You can achieve greatness. No matter where you are in life right now, there is something you can be uniquely incredible at. But before you can be incredible, you must believe that you can do anything. That’s the first step. The next step is a little harder; you must decide what you want to be incredible at.”

Today’s +1.

Let’s take a quick pass at those two steps.

Step 1. Know you can achieve greatness.

Seriously. KNOW it. Self-Efficacy 101. “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” etc.

Step 2. Decide what you want to be great at.

As Isaiah says, this part is a little harder but, let’s be honest, it’s not *that* hard—just requires some courage to go with what you’re currently leaning toward and then test, adapt, etc.

Which reminds me of Gary Vaynerchuk and Carlos Castaneda.

First, Gary Vee. I laughed as I read this passage from his book called #ASKGARYVEE. (The book is laid out as a series of questions and his responses.)

Q: “I have a ton of strengths. What’s the best way to drill down on the best and move forward at a faster pace?”

A: “Shut the f*** up, pick the one you like best, and start winning.”

HAH! Thank you for simplifying, Gary. 😲

And, as we discussed not too long ago, Carlos Castaneda puts it this way in The Wheel of Time.

First, he establishes that: “Anything is one of a million paths. Therefore, a warrior must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if he feels that he should not follow it, he must not stay with it under any conditions. His decision to keep on that path or to leave it must be free of fear or ambition. He must look at every path closely and deliberately. There is a question that a warrior has to ask, mandatorily: ‘Does this path have a heart?’”

I like it.

Then, he says: “But how will I know for sure whether a path has a heart or not?’ ‘Anybody would know that. The trouble is nobody asks the question; and when a man finally realizes that he has taken a path without a heart, the path is ready to kill him. At that point very few men can stop to deliberate, and leave the path.”

Ouch! Tough but true.

So…

How will YOU give us all you got?

We need it from you now more than ever before.

Love and let’s do this.

TODAY.