The Dirty Secrets Of Success

Lost In The Algorithms — Odyssey # 63

You say you want to write, hit the gym, start a business, or maybe serve your country, but words are the half-hearted promises you make after three too many drinks.

When morning comes, it’s just you and the snooze button in an endless dance of avoidance.

Everyone’s looking for a shortcut, a magic pill that morphs you into Hemingway, gives you the abs of an underwear model, or the discipline of a Navy SEAL without breaking a sweat. But let me tell you, shortcuts are like one-night stands — thrilling at first, but ultimately, unfulfilling.

Here’s a quote that always kicks me where it hurts: “There is no substitute for hard work.” That’s Thomas Edison, a guy who knew a thing or two about the grind. The real juice of life, the real gains, come from aligning what you yap about at parties and what you actually do when the sun’s up and the world’s watching.

Most people aren’t aligned; their actions are scribbles, while their words are neat typeface on a crisp piece of paper.

That dissonance? It’s why they’re stuck and flap their gums about what they’ll do “someday.” But someday has a way of turning into never.