Table of Contents:
If you believe success is gained overnight, stop reading.
I’m not here to convince you otherwise. I’m here to help those in it for the long term gain success over “many nights.”
If you believe success is attained through countless nights of hard work, read on.
Imagine you’re playing for the championship in your sport of choice. You’re losing big at half, and this is the speech your coach gives you:
“We’re in hell right now, gentlemen, believe me. And we can stay here, get the shit kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb out of hell, one inch at a time. Now I can’t do it for you. I’m too old. I look around, I see these young faces and I think, I mean, I made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can make.
I pissed away all my money, believe it or not. I chased off anyone who’s ever loved me and lately, I can’t even stand the face I see in the mirror. You know, when you get old in life, things get taken from you. I mean, that’s part of life. But you only learn that, when you start losing stuff.
You find out life’s this game of inches. So is {your sport} because in either game, life or {your sport}, the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step too late or too early and you don’t quite make it. One half second, too slow, too fast, you don’t quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They’re in every break of the game, every minute, every second.
On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch because we know when we add up all those inches, that’s going to make the fucking difference between winning and losing, between living and dying.”
Life’s a game of inches.
Either you see the opportunities and “take that inch,” or you’re passive and wish life were different. I live by seeing and fighting for every inch. Because, in the end, they add up to a meaningful life and career.
How do I “fight for every inch”? Through habits (my protocol), virtue chasing (opposite of signaling), and unconditional love.
I see you eyeing the last one. How the hell is love going to help me? Take it from John, a disciple of Jesus, “Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” – 1 John 4:16. But wait…
No matter what you believe, stick with me. God living in me would mean peace, joy, and life. If I define success as material wealth or how many women I can bag, then this won’t translate. But if living a meaningful life is your goal, living in peace and joy would help get you there. So by living out of unconditional love, I can make the most of each inch by being my best self.
Another way love facilitates growth (inch by inch) is through the unconditional aspect. When loving yourself is not hinged on anything, you can easily grow and learn from mistakes. You are better positioned to get to the eventual success you’ve defined for yourself. Love for yourself and others is core to maximizing your life.
The next way we fight for every inch is through virtue chasing. Virtues are those positive things the ancient philosophers thought were worthy of being strived after (chased). Wisdom, courage, discipline, love, hope, curiosity, gratitude, and zest are a few. By striving for discipline, we show up daily and fight for every inch. By deploying hope, we are able to stay strong when others would retreat. Each virtue helps us fight for every inch in front of us.
Finally, with habits, we can sustainably fight for every inch. I call those daily habits my protocol, and they help me autonomously move toward my future vision. Without applying force, I can capture the opportunities in front of me and avoid negative situations. It is hard to take advantage of this concept without daily habits.
Next, I’ll share a few habits I and others use to fight for every inch:
What does a great day look like for you?
Have you spent any time defining this? And then putting actionable steps behind it? I didn’t for the longest. Then I came across Brian Johnson’s work with the app Heroic and realized the power of having a daily protocol.