Discover the heaviest burden you can bear, then bear it. This idea was recently popularized by Jordan Peterson.
This is heroism.
And if you catch yourself wishing for ease, remind yourself that ease is a psychological Potemkin village.
If it is easy, it probably has already been done.
If it is easy, it probably lacks high demand.
If it is easy, it probably doesn’t stand out.
If it is easy, it means you’re not growing as you pursue it.
If it is easy, it means you’re not challenging yourself.
If it is easy, it means you’re not developing new skills.
If it is easy, it doesn’t excite you.
If it is easy, it doesn’t excite your team.
If it is easy, it doesn’t excite the world.
Don’t let ease tempt you. Don’t fall for its false promises. What you gain in ease, you lose in meaning. What you gain in ease, you lose in excellence.
Everything worth doing is difficult.
Every exciting movie has a difficult and significant problem at the core of its plot.
Every exciting company aims at solving difficult and significant problems.
Every exciting leader inspires people to tackle difficult and significant problems.
Pursue difficulty. Overcome difficulty. Repeat.
This is the proven path to excellence, as close to a recipe as we’ll ever get.
