3 Minute Monday
Hi friend,
I got asked my best advice for achieving success on the internet the other day.
It got me thinking about where the biggest competitive advantages lie.
And I realised something…
Consistency is even rarer than talent and enthusiasm.
(Share this on Twitter)
Think about yourself…
How many times have you had a burst of enthusiasm for a new hobby.
(Basically every January 1st in the gym)
Or think to when you started a new task and realised that you actually have a natural knack for it.
These situations come along less frequently than we might like, yet still far more frequently than we would predict.
In my experience, consistency is the least common trait of all.
Doing something challenging and worthwhile at the same time every day is incredibly rare.
It’s seen as the realm of professional athletes, top flight musicians and zen masters.
This is why consistency is the perfect competitive advantage opportunity.
Few people are able to regularly do one thing for long periods of time.
A higher number of your competitors will be talented or enthusiastic than consistent.
This means that simply by not stopping, you will separate yourself from everyone else.
Another beautiful advantage of consistency is that you’re in control.
You don’t get to choose your talents.
Or your motivation level.
But turning up every day is entirely within your power.
And by doing that you will develop your talent and build motivation anyway.
The way this is specifically effective on the internet is through leverage.
Most niches online end up being oligopolies.
A few big sharks take up most of the attention.
And then everyone else picking up the scraps.
This means it’s inevitable that progress will be slow at first.
Just keep going.
It takes 10 years to become an overnight success.
And if it came easily, it wouldn’t be worth anything anyway.
So don’t pray for talent or motivation, pray for the strength to keep going.
MODERN WISDOM
I do a podcast which has had 9 million+ downloads. You should subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
This week’s upcoming episodes:
Monday.
Jonny & Yusef help me complete our mandatory end of year review where we look at the biggest lessons we took from 2020, while wearing xmas jumpers.
Thursday.
Nada. It is Christmas Eve after all.
Saturday.
Chris Sparks breaks down how to complete the perfect end of year review and set goals for the new year, complete with an accompanying worksheet you can download for free.
THINGS I’VE LEARNED
1.
Shoulder pain can be easily fixed.
John M Keesch is a shoulder pain expert.
According to him, hanging from a bar for 30 seconds 3 times a day will fix up to 99% of shoulder pain.
2.
Loneliness is bad for your health.
Feeling lonely will damage your health and lifespan the same as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
If you’re lonely, you’ll have a:
30% higher chance of heart disease.
40% higher chance of dementia.
A higher chance of stroke.
And a lower chance of stroke recovery.
This is mostly due to the chronically increased cortisol and inflammation associated with loneliness.
3.
Drugs can stop you from being gay.
SSRI’s are being used to reduce libido by gay men in orthodox Jewish communities.
These men essentially need to make a decision between staying in their community or following their sexuality.
Some are choosing to take an SSRI which dampens down libido.
These drugs can’t redirect sexual impulses, but they can kill them altogether.
Horribly messy from an ethical perspective.
Is a man’s religion, family & community where his true “self” lies?
Or is pursuing his sexual desires and leaving his family & community behind what he should do?
The same tactic is being used by heterosexual extreme-feminists who don’t want to be attracted to men.
And also by people who are attracted to children.
I’ve got a full length podcast on the ethics of Love Drugs and Anti-Love Drugs coming in the New Year.
LIFE HACK
Take A Tech Sabbath
Don’t use your phone on a Sunday.
I’ve managed to do this for around half of the Sundays in 2020.
Almost everything that you need your phone for on a Sunday can wait until Monday.
It’s a great opportunity to remember what life is like without that constant dopamine drip.
Plan a walk, sink into a big book, go to the gym.
If you’re behind on work, even just writing on your laptop will be more efficient without your phone distracting you.
Big love,
Chris x
Listen to me on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Say hi on Twitter or Instagram.
PS
I learned that my Masters Degree is increasing my Tinder likes…
