People naturally admire accomplishment, and yet only a few accomplish what so many aspire to. Jordan Peterson argues that humans are aiming creatures, so all you need is a worthy goal and work hard toward that goal. Victor Frankl, however, proclaims that purpose drives humans in all life stages, so all you need is a purpose worth living.

Setting goals indeed became fashionable, yet many people don’t feel accomplished in life despite having reached some goals in life. While certainly less popular, acting upon a specific purpose comes with the vexing paradox of contributing meaning without accomplishing much, which renders the actual accomplishment quite meaningless.

People accomplish things regardless of goals, purpose, dreams, or aspirations. Some argue that it is because of everyday survival because staying employed remains the precondition of preserving an existence. That is true to some extent but only scratches the surface since some people are more driven by survival than others and, equally valid, others are more driven by chasing success for its own sake than others.

And then, there are the outliers, those people who achieved the seemingly impossible despite all odds. David Goggins suffered from sickle cells, asthma, obesity, and a congenital heart defect. Despite these conditions, he joined the military and became an Air Force Tactical Air Controller and later a Navy Seal. Following his military career, he completed over 60 ultra-marathons, triathlons, and ultra-triathlons.

His secret? Master your mind!

How do you master your mind?

Three critical techniques have passed the test of time. Olympic winner Lanny Bassam shares the first one: If you learn from failure, you learn to fail. Don’t do that. Instead, you learn from your success to learn how to succeed. Also, imagine yourself doing the things right you did previously wrong so that, once you in a similar situation again, you get it right. Lanny won the Olympic Games only after learning from his best training sessions while eradicating one error after another. Past his second Olympic win, he went on to win 50 more national and international championships before training other athletes who won the Olympic Games. His secret is worth repeating:

Learn from your success best to become your best.

The second one comes from David Goggins: Do what you like the least and do it often until you have mastered it. When he was obese, weighing around 300 pounds, he disliked exercising, but he did it anyway. Initially, David Goggins couldn’t swim a mile, but swimming was required to enter the Navy Seal Training, so he did it anyway and mastered it eventually. His big secret? When you want to quit, do just one, one more, and one more.

The third one comes from Dr. Myra White, who teaches at Harvard Medical School. Her research into how ordinary people become superstars shows that we all have the potential to become superstars in what we love to do. Yet, few convert that potential into actuality and become a superstar. Dr. White researched Steve Jobs, Jack Welch, Warren Buffet, and Lady Gaga, among others.

When looking at all these extraordinary achievers, a particular pattern became apparent. They all became successful by creating a personal success flywheel in which one success follows another. These people somehow managed to reinforce success to become even more successful.

The big secret is simple: Ignite your success syndrome by writing down your daily achievements. One success a day, small or big, begs the next one.

All these extraordinary people share in common that they hit a roadblock at some point in life and managed to overcome it. When you learn from your best, do whatever you need to do, and write down your daily accomplishment, at some point, you unavoidably reach the critical mass at which the make-or-break moment occurs. Some people mentally break down, give in, and feel they can’t go further. For good reason because all your worst fears, self-doubts, and insecurities will hit you hard and paralyze you.

The truth, however, is that fear is a signal that things will happen, and that is your most reliable indicator to double down and go further. However, whether things are happening depends on whether you can overcome the fear that tells you to act. People who came a long way know that well, and at that point, life becomes all about overcoming those fears. When you hit that roadblock, all those insecurities creep in, and you feel stuck, the big secret is to ask yourself:

What do you let go of and move ahead to accomplish your life?

Obviously, it takes some painful changes to let go of those personal fears, doubts, insecurities, and overall unsuitable mental models, but once done, the road is clear. Rarely a one-time act solves the issue, but a continuous practice of letting go of whatever holds you back becomes required the more you advance.

In retrospect, very few things amplify your success more than writing every day down what you have accomplished w.r.t. what life expects of you and how you use that to achieve your next significant step in life. Once you have accomplished enough that is meaningful to you, the more you seek out even more demanding challenges.

Eventually, you transition from success to significance by moving away from succeeding in your life towards enabling others to achieve theirs.

I trust you are going to succeed.

Marvin F. L. Hansen

History:

• First published: May 2, 2020
• Last Updated: June 9, 2020
• Republished: Jan 1, 2023
• Moved to personal blog on March 16, 2024

Sources:

“The Superstar Roadmap: How Ordinary People Build Extraordinary Careers,” Dr. Myra White.

“With Winning in Mind” 3 Ed., Lanny Bassham.

“Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds,” David Goggins.

“Forgive and Let Go of Anger,” Heather Vincent Mir