Before reading any further, stop for a second, and let me ask you this: What do you think is the first step towards becoming great at something?

Some might think it's by beginning your journey in whatever endeavor one pursues.

But starting something is incredibly easy. Most start something new all the time.

But few keep going.

And even fewer keep going after a series of failures.

And plowing through despite failure after failure no matter what is in my opinion also the first step towards greatness.

And that's hard. Incredibly hard.

In fact, I think it's essentially impossible to become great at something without passing this first test. The Universe just does not work this way. The Universe does not hand out prizes to people who do not deserve them.

You've most likely heard about the story of Edison and his struggles with the not-so-cooperating lightbulb.

How many people would've given up after the first few dozen tries, let alone hundreds - let alone thousands!

And this is the first step - the ability to persevere through adversity.

Becoming great involves many more steps. And probably a sprinkle of luck as well.

I deliberately brought in the aspect of luck, because it is impossible to not talk about it. It's important to talk about it because, for many people, luck is instead the major factor.

But as my old friend OG Seneca once famously said:

"The best wrestler," he would say, "is not he who has learned thoroughly all the tricks and twists of the art, which are seldom met with in actual wrestling, but he who has well and carefully trained himself in one or two of them, and watches keenly for an opportunity of practising them."

I'll leave you with this quote. I think it deserves to be read a few times to really let it sink in and grasp how that relates to luck.

So, don't give up, just keep on going. Put the blinders on. Cover your ears so you don't hear what anyone says. And put one foot in front of the other. If you think you could do it, you can.

Until next time

k.