GREATNESS IS BORING
In every great action movie, there is a training montage.
The music swells, the hero lifts heavy things, runs up mountains, and gets knocked down only to get back up. In three minutes of screen time, they transform from underdog to champion.
We love the montage because it skips the truth.
In real life, there is no background music. In real life, the work doesn't take three minutes; it takes a decade. It happens on Tuesday mornings when it’s raining, you’re tired, and nobody is watching.
This brings us to Rule #4 of NO DRIFT:
Boring Wins.
We live in a dopamine-addicted culture. We are constantly hunting for the "hack," the secret shortcut, or the new strategy that makes success feel exciting. We think that if the work feels monotonous, we must be doing something wrong. (I wrote about this in my book, Keep Chopping Wood)
This is a trap.
Amateurs look for excitement. Professionals look for consistency.
The Drift happens when you get bored with the basics. You stop doing the simple things - the daily workout, the weekly date night, the monthly saving - because they don't feel like they are working fast enough. You seek novelty, so you drift off course looking for a new path.
But the path to the top isn't complex. It is just remarkably repetitive.
"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." - Bruce Lee
Greatness is not about intensity, it is about continuity.
Intensity is doing it once to post it on social media. Continuity is doing it every day for ten years because that is who you are.
To live above the line means we understand that the magic pill we are looking for is hidden in the work we are avoiding. We doesn't need a new map; we need to keep walking the path.
The Audit: Look at your routines this week. Where are you getting bored? Are you looking for a new diet because the current one is "boring," or are you just failing to stick to it? Are you looking for a new business idea because the current one is "boring," or are you just unwilling to do the unsexy work of scaling it?
Stop looking for the fireworks. Fall in love with the boredom.
Do the work.
Live above the line.
For you,
Kevin
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