“Ostinato Rigore” is a motto that Leanardo Da Vinci himself stood by, the term generally means “stubborn rigor, or tenacious application.” For those that don’t know, Da Vinci was most famous for the Mona Lisa painting and the Last Supper. His work is so inspirational that he is credited as the inventor of the tank, helicopter, parachute, and flying machine, regardless of not attending school and though these claims can be disputed, it still stands that he is one of the most intelligent men that has ever lived. Despite his achievements, if there’s one thing we might learn from Da Vinci, it’s that he believes in the power of persistence. But, this isn’t a post about persistence, there are many self-help books out there that can teach you about the power of persistence. Before we talk about what makes you successful in a noisy world, it’s best to define what success is and then what we can do to achieve that success.
The most widely accepted view of success comes in monetary terms, meaning, we view the richest people on earth as successful because we can measure them by their net worth. For example, if you were asked if Elon Musk ($270bln), Jeff Bezos ($157bln), Bill Gates($108bln), Larry Ellison($104bln), or Warren Buffet ($99bln), successful, you would most probably say yes. Now, these are all highly respectable figures who made a change to the world one way or another, but let’s not forget that success is not entirely defined by net worth.
Net worth is just a measurement of success in monetary terms. Success can be measured by using a specific metric based on the category in life. The way I categorized my life is as follows: Health, Wealth, Career, Relationships, and Spirituality, in no specific order. Different categories in life have different metrics of success, and the accumulation of the total performance is what makes up how successful I am of a person as a whole.
One of the major problems existing in the 21st century is the noise around us. You go to the supermarket and you’ll find that there are different categories in each section and those categories are divided into different types. More choice leads to choice overload, and that can result in stress and an undefined approach. Let’s not go too far, as a social media marketing agency, we know how noisy the digital world can be.
Take a look at Instagram, as you scroll through the page, then different algorithms can take you through a web of interactive images and videos, jumping from one content to the next, and before you know it, an hour went by just by looking at reels, images, and ads. What that means is that we are revolved in a world of clutter, quite literally, and, the only way to go through, is to go past. Focus on one important thing at a time and block out the noise.
“Victory belongs to the most perservering”
– Napolean Bonaparte
The Power of Compounding
Small things add up, and they multiply. This applies to almost everything in life, from finance to health. If you want to be healthier, watch your macros. If you want to be richer, watch your investments. If you want to be stronger, watch your lifestyle. That snack that you have between the meals, or that sauce you add to your steak or that soda that you have on the side, can add up to a bunch of calories. A day goes by and it’s okay. A week goes by you’ve gained an extra pound. A month goes by it’s a bit more than a pound. You keep it up for a year and now you have to buy a new wardrobe.
That’s the power of the compound effect. The opposite is true as well, the power of compounding can act negatively or positively depending on the direction that the energy is being exerted. Let’s say you have been living a sedentary lifestyle. You stay at home the entire day watching TV, not a care in the world. A commercial comes up and you decide to get up and use the bathroom for a little break. You look yourself in the mirror and see that you’ve let yourself go, and think yes, now is the time to make a change. You decided you want to turn it all around. You’ve decided that you want to work out, eat a little bit healthier, get your finances in check, and be happy (because living a life with no meaning does bring misery at the end of the day). But okay, great! You’ve made the decision. So, what’s next?
Start Somewhere and Move Up Slow — a Sustainable Approach.
After registering to be a member at the gym, remember to not go too hard too fast, you’ll end up burning yourself out and giving up all-together. Making the decision was an important step, going to the gym and registering is the second most important step, as it shows that you are willing to commit, but the final step, and is the most crucial to your success, is the actual commitment and work being put in.
Say, for instance, you go to the gym on day one and you haven’t been working out for a few years, it doesn’t make sense to go on your first day, and run and lift heavy weights, even if you were a pro-athlete prior.
What does make sense, is showing up, getting a feel for the gym, walking on the treadmill, lifting really light weights, and getting a feel of the workout and then going back home after and doing it again the next day but adding a little more intensity. Do this for a month, your body will naturally want to do more, and will also have more energy to exert on your workouts. Do it for a year, and you’ll see changes in your strength, stamina, and your overall health.
Practice, Practice, and, Practice Some More.
Have you ever wondered what makes the world’s greatest athletes, or greatest anything for that matter, extraordinary in their craft? It’s that they practice their craft day in, day out, on one thing at a time, for a long time. What does that mean for you? Well, there has been great research into what makes someone a master in their field, and the consensus states that you need at least 10,000 hours to spend on your skills in order to reach mastery (You can check out Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers to read more into it). That’s about 1 year and 51 days in total, but that’s not an ideal number. Let’s set some close-to realistic expectations, if you spend 8 hours per week, 5 times a day for a year, which is the norm for a 9-5 job, that’s 1,920 hours spent on your craft per year.
To reach 10,000 hours then, you need to work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for more or less 4 years, to become an expert at your craft. That’s a lot of hours. But, here’s the good news, that’s only if you want to be a master at something, but if you really just want to learn something new, it’ll take you about 20 hours.
Now you’re probably asking, “are you really saying I should spend 10,000 hours to be an expert? I’m here to learn about success, I didn’t think it’ll take that long, I need to be successful now!” Well, there’s no shortcut to it, we are not designed that way, there are those who are born exceptionally gifted at birth, but the vast majority of people need to work hard to achieve greatness. Spend your time wisely, and focus on the things that accrue benefits in your life, including assets and good health. Make it a lifestyle to focus on one thing at a time, something that you’re passionate about (I know cliche, but it’s true nonetheless), and go about your life by bringing order from chaos.
