Lose yourself in the art:

Lose yourself in the art. Commit to the process. Enjoy the grind. That’s where everything comes from. The fame, money, and fortune all come from the process. They come from waking up every day and showing up for yourself.

Watched this interview today with GSP, one of the greatest UFC fighters in history, and Lex Fridman. (Side note: Lex is an awesome podcaster and storyteller. Hope to meet him one day). In this clip, he mentions a great Russian wrestler who has talked before about how wrestling is an art.

You have to love the process because everything comes from the commitment to the work. Kobe always talked about this and why I looked up to him so much. He showed up for himself every day because he always knew he could be better. Basketball was an addiction to him. Even though he was at the top, he could always be better. In his mind, someone is outworking you all the time and if you’re not putting in the work, you’re going to be left behind.

That’s how learning feels to me. There’s always more to learn. If you’re not improving everyday, you’re letting down yourself. You’re also losing to your competition. You have to be obsessed about the goals because if you want to be great, you have to sacrifice. You have to stay committed to the process, even through all the failure.

When I started reading several years ago, I didn’t know where it would take me. I didn’t know where I would end up or even if all the reading was going to be worth it. Now I know that it’s such an advantage. Why? Because knowledge compounds. Learning compounds. Writing compounds. All these things I started doing every day and committed to doing consistently, no matter what was happening externally, are compounding over time. It’s been 2.5 years and I still feel like I’m at the beginning. I know I’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible.

You have to believe you can get somewhere before you get there. If you never believe you can do something, you won’t do it. So first it starts in your head. Once you believe something bad enough that you get your subconscious to believe your goals, your mind will start to show you ways to reach that goal. That’s what’s happened to me. When I first wrote down my crazy goal, I didn’t know if I was ever going to get there.

Now even though it’s been 2.5 years on, my mind has shown me opportunities, whether consciously or unconsciously, on how to get there. I know now if I stay the course and commit myself to the process, the goals will come. But it’s not the goals that are important. Never forget that. It’s the process.

Lose yourself in the art and look how far you’ll go.