The Damnation of Complacency

There are two types of people: those who say they can't and those who say they can't YET.

And that is what makes the difference between high achievers and ordinary people. High achievers have an insatiable desire to outdo themselves, and it shows in their work.

Your mindset must be,

"I will improve myself until I can do it and I will refuse to be content with my current abilities."

To do something no one else has done, you must refuse to conform to the standard and set out to do the impossible.

You will be called insane even by yourself, but that is the price of entry to being labeled a genius.

The alternative is to become content with your situation and give up on your dreams.

Complacency will deprive your life of breath itself.

You will lose all independence and become one of the flock.

To lose independence is to lose your identity.

You become just like everybody else,

and it is no longer you but society living through you.

You become a vine of a bigger living organism, but you die.

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with that, but you must remember this letter is written for the select few who awake and yearn for more.

The ones who refuse to conform.

And if you belong to this group, don't believe that you were born into it or that your membership is permanent. You owe it to yourself and the rest of society to refuse to conform to it because you live at the edge of what is possible.

You are the salt of the earth. It is through you that society advances.

You need to refuse conformity.

That means refuse all satisfactions that allow your contentment with the current situation.

It is painful and harder to deny yourself contentment and seek further improvement, but it is the only thing that will allow you to become great.

That is why most people fail because they don't understand that a life of greatness is simply a life of self-inflicted pain for the greater good.

A life of sacrifice. Martyrdom (which we will speak about in a future letter).

Most people steer away because they think that greatness is comfortable. They believe that they will just one day become great, and all will be perfect, and they will be content.

But that is a lie.

The road to greatness is unending, and the act of walking is what makes you great.

Stopping is complacency.

Greatness is a path of great pain, and until you realize you won't aim for that.

Imagine thinking the gym is supposed to feel like a spa. You would never find it because surely this painful activity could not be what you are looking for.

If you seek comfort, you will end up in hell, for it is lined with pillows, and there is plenty to eat, but you do not live, and death has come to you while you are still awake.

Do not be fooled that death can only come once you stop breathing. Even in life, you may die.

In The Great Divorce, a book by CS Lewis, the inhabitants of hell are carried to heaven on a bus, and most decide to go back because they cannot adapt to everything being perfect.

The pain of becoming alive again is too much for them to bear, so they decide to stay dead.

The path is painful.

It makes no sense that you would walk it willingly.

Others will ask you why you take on so much responsibility.

Why choose to do something unnecessary?

Why not just live the rest of your life seeking comfort?

Either you die by losing all independence and becoming a single entity with society, or you can live by refusing to conform and improving who you are, painful as it may be. And that is life.

And life is painful, but it is real.

People will make fun of you, and you will have to plug your ears.

Your anxieties will torment you, and you will have to silence your thoughts.

The road to greatness is full of demons, and they will camp in your mind.

But you must walk it because only through your own advancement can you advance the rest of humanity.

This way, you will begin to break down your self-imposed limitations and open the door to your own potential.

But for the sake of your Sunday afternoon, I will save that for next week.

This newsletter is filled with the principles, mindset, and philosophy that have helped me achieve success.

I hope that through sharing these I will be able to impart unto you the tools I have used to grow.

Please feel free to reach out I am always eager to connect with like-minded people (the select few).

This newsletter is phase one of establishing an online platform on which I hope to provide value.

Content will be free so stay tuned.

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