Isolate for Greatness
Sacrifices must be made
We waste so much opportunity on meaningless distractions and the petty needs of others. Yes, empathy and humanity matter — but even that needs to be kept in check if you want to reach greatness.
The calculus is simple: if you want the train to go far you need to throw weight off the wagon. Not everything is dead weight, but much of it is.
ISOLATION IS POWER
You cannot achieve greatness if you don’t isolate.
There will always be someone close to you needing your time. They are going through a breakup, they lost their job or they are just plain bored.
Remember: There’s only one of you and hundreds of others looking to draw from your energy. Your energy and time are limited.
For more on this dynamic, read Emotional Colonisation & Toxic Dynamics
TIME WASTED
You may think this perspective is too harsh and even anti-humanist. But it’s also real. How much time have you wasted on others?
Very successful people understand this: they need all the time they can get to work on their craft. And that means sacrificing the time they would have for others.
Remember: On the path to greatness, other people are a problem.
ANTI-POLITICAL
You must find the right balance between isolation and exposure if you want to do things for yourself. And in that process you can’t care what others say or what their expectations of you are.
You have to accept being anti-political and undiplomatic to win this battle. You can’t be tied down by what they say or think about you.
I repeat: for the train to go far, some people need to be thrown off the carriage.
You were not put on this earth to be the dumping ground of others. And you can’t care how they react when you start fending for yourself.
Remember: You are here for YOURSELF — you are not responsible for everyone else.
GREATNESS
But of course greatness depends on your perspective. It all depends on what you want.
So I can’t tell what greatness looks like for you, but I can give you some general rules to help you get closer:
Getting big things requires getting small things right first.
Discipline and consistency are required ingredients.
Sleeping early and waking up early is a life hack.
Stop when you are tired. Rome was not built in a day.
Do things in life different.
Follow your highest path.
Romanticise your life.
Act despite fear.
Protect your energy.
Remember: you only live once