You Didn’t Come This Far to Only Come This Far

I received the below in an email today from James Clear, author of Atomic Habits. It articulates my most core of beliefs: that if something really matters to you, so much that you dedicate yourself to it — be it a day, a month, a year, or even a decade — you can indeed bend the will of the world. You can achieve almost any outcome if you are absolutely dedicated to that outcome. So many give up before they get there, but I am reminded of the quote “you didn’t come this far to only come this far.” Often, you just need go a bit further to see the amazing directions that your life will take.

I will let Sam Altman say it more powerfully, but I think this is a core principle of life. Check out this amazing video and never underestimate the power of persistence.

"A big secret is that you can bend the world to your will a surprising percentage of the time—most people don’t even try, and just accept that things are the way that they are. People have an enormous capacity to make things happen. A combination of self-doubt, giving up too early, and not pushing hard enough prevents most people from ever reaching anywhere near their potential.

"Ask for what you want. You usually won’t get it, and often the rejection will be painful. But when this works, it works surprisingly well. Almost always, the people who say “I am going to keep going until this works, and no matter what the challenges are I’m going to figure them out”, and mean it, go on to succeed. They are persistent long enough to give themselves a chance for luck to go their way."

Source: Sam Altman How To Be Successful