The Psychology of Greatness: Why You Must Be Willing to Be Bad First

So last week I was having a conversation with a client and And everything is coming into focus for him.

So a few years back, he was very successful doing what he was doing, but he saw a different way to do things that would be more impactful and more aligned with his values, his morals, his ethics, his standards.

So he started to make that shift and it's all happening for him It's all begun and he's at the very base of the mountain looking up right now and he told me that he's been noticing thoughts of like fear and insecurity and this question of is this just delusion of grandeur and And he's like, any suggestions, any advice? Like, what would you say to that? And this is not mine.

I heard this somewhere else, but it was very useful to me.

And my advice to him, and it really landed with him as well, was be willing to risk being absolutely awful at things on the way to greatness.

And he kind of giggled and he's like, actually, that helps a lot.

So when we have a vision for something like it's very easy to say, oh, if I did it this way, this way, this way, that would happen.

And that's very safe.

It's very safe to to stay just kind of complaining and saying that you could do something different without doing something different.

I really admire people like this.

This client is a perfect example of this that are willing to risk the shift.

So he's been taking actions towards this big shift.

And now that is actually happening, like it's coming into focus.

It's so exciting.

And as it gets even closer, he's been noticing that he's even a little bit more afraid.

Like, what if I was delusional? What if I can't do this? What if I won't be great at this? And the truth of all of that is you're going to suck.

At least that's the kind of language I like to use just to bring in humor and curiosity and just this willingness to learn.

So this growth mindset, this learner's mindset to the game.

So just be willing to suck until you don't.

And along the way, you're going to get feedback.

You're going to get criticism.

You're going to get critiques.

And it's all just amazing data.

So put in the reps, acquire the skill, and then one day you'll be spectacular.