Uncomfortable Truth: About Being The 1-5%.

There is a reason only a minority of people is truly excellent in what they do. It’s no coincidence there is only a 1-5% range of people in whatever field or aspect who are truly magnificent. Explanation is very easy, actually.

Everyone says they’re going to do it. But for the 100 that say is, there is only 50 that start. Of those 50 there are 25 of them who give up when it doesn’t go as smoothly as expected. Of those last 25 there are 20 more who give up when things get really hard. There are only 5 who keep going.

There are only 5 who keep trying, who keep working on their craft and who keep training, improving, even when everything on both the in- and outside is hurting and everything seems to be working against them.

Being extraordinary at anything comes with a prize. You’re going to have to prove you’re serious about it, about being extraordinary. Whether it’s by studying past midnight every night because you want to graduate with honors, whether it’s learning your grammar because you really want to be a journalist one day. Maybe it’s running when it’s -20 degrees outside, maybe it’s getting up early to exercise before work and dragging yourself to a night class after.

It’s hours and hours of practice while your friends are having fun, while your family misses you and while your partner is alone.

It’s training, working and doing everything you need to do even when you don’t feel like it. It’s living up to your own expectations because even though others think they’re unreasonable and unrealistic, you know you’re the one who has it right. You know that if you want to be the one in the 1-5% range, you have got to keep your standards that unreasonably and unrealistically high.

Saying that you want it is not enough. Prove it. Imagine life standing there with a condescending smile, dangling the things you want over your head like a pair of shiny car keys. Come and get it. Show me how high you’re willing to jump, show me how high you are willing to learn to jump. Once you show that you can jump, that you can keep jumping, that you don’t expect to be lifted or buy a trampoline and that you’re willing to use your own fucking legs until they break, that you’re willing to jump for however long it takes, that’s when you deserve what you’re jumping for.

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6 comments

  1. I just graduated, and as many others right now, I just can’t find a job… Your article motivates me a lot! Just keep going and work hard, the job is waiting for me somewhere 🙂

  2. Helemaal waar. Ik denk altijd als je iets echt wil, kom je er wel (of het nou in de vorm is die je voor ogen had ofniet). Natuurlijk heb ik het hier over doelen, niet over dingen die je helaas niet kunt veranderen (het verlies van iemand bijv). Ik ben zelf ook wel een echte doorzetter (and proud of it)!

  3. saying that you want is not enough——>>true, maar als je dus echt iets wilt, ga je vanzelf, zonder er bij na te denken, dingen doen die ervoor zorgen dat je datgene krijgt wat je echt wilt.

    je snapt me wel