No matter how much motivation you get one morning, you are just never going to solve anything of significance in one day. You are never going to make a life change in one day either. You may have just realized that you need to change and be different or to start doing something better—but try as you might, you just cannot escape this one reality: Time is required.
I know what you are thinking—wow, that was a silly and obvious observation. This is not an earth-shattering revelation. Everyone knows it takes time to become successful, it takes time to make a change, or time to learn something, or time to build a relationship with someone. Everyone knows this, right?
I actually don’t think so. I think most of us, including myself, have a belief that we can make monumental changes or transformations happen right now. We believe inherently that we can just flip the switch and become a better person. We believe that if we just call someone up, we can kindle that relationship we’ve been starving for months. We have it in our heads that we can get fed up with something, come up with a plan, and fix it. It’s only after realizing that it’s not that easy after a few weeks that we get sad and miserable because we learn what we should have known all along—these things take time.
Another way to state this idea is that patience is required when doing anything significant. If you could actually achieve something of real value in one day, then I hate to say it—the thing you are achieving is not valuable. If you can do it that quickly, then everyone can do it, and therefore this shortcut you are taking is not going to amount to much. You are not only ignoring the ingredient of time, but you are wasting it as well. I believe that anything significant takes at least one year—365 days in a row—to achieve. Most will take longer than that, but you can generally consider that if you are trying to accomplish something of great value, then you must put at least one year into the effort before you can expect real results.
This is easy to understand but difficult to believe. We just don’t want to accept this, so we constantly make quick plans, design systems, and spin our wheels trying to find a way to do it faster. There may be efficiencies to be gained, but only after you have mastered the process—and you cannot be good at anything unless you have spent at least a year doing it. Even then, a year is not enough, but at least after a year you will have a better frame of reference. There’s nothing wrong with just jumping in on something if the mood suits you, but if you think you are going to be awesome right away—think again.
I own a chess club, and I see young people come into the club all the time with an aversion to losing. They want to pick up the game and win right away. They learn quickly that chess is extremely unforgiving. The game makes no concessions for any issues, challenges, or problems you have in your life. If you are not good at it, then a player of greater strength will beat you easily. So, the newbie chess player loses over and over again. They either get discouraged and quit because they are frustrated that they cannot win, or they realize that the only way to win is to commit the time. Those who commit the time get better—there is no escaping this truth.
This is true in all aspects of life, not just chess. It might be easier to fake it in other disciplines. Chess tends to be unforgiving—you simply cannot fake this skill, and therefore it acts as a great equalizer. The incorrect idea is that chess players are good because they are innately smarter than someone else. Although there may be some truth to this, that is only noticeable at high levels of play. The reality is that better chess players are usually the ones who have put more time in. Thus, the same holds true in our own lives.
You would never claim to be a great guitar player after just buying a guitar, downloading an app, and trying to practice for one day. That would be ridiculous. However, it is surprising how many things we try to do in our lives where we expect instant results. It’s the same as expecting to be a great guitar player in a day. You are not going to be a good salesperson in a day, a great speaker in a day, a great designer in a day—the list goes on. Yet, for some reason, we all lose a sense of reality when we want something bad enough. If you really want something, then work at it every day for at least a year, and then check back in with yourself to see if this is something you really want to pursue. If you are not willing to put in the time, then just forget about the aspiration.
Just because you can conceive of the thing does not mean you get to have the thing. I love myself some Napoleon Hill like any other new-age hippie, but seriously, what a bunch of nonsense we’ve got people to buy into. You can’t just write it down, visualize it, and put it on a board on your wall. All that stuff is just silly mind games. The reality—the cold, hard reality—is that you are not going to get anything you want if you do not put concerted and concentrated effort toward it for a long period of time. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there is no shortcut to greatness. There is no fast path to wealth, no simple solutions, and certainly no get-rich-quick schemes that work. Just accept it: bow your head, push your shoulder to the wheel, put on the good old-fashioned collar of hard work, and just put in your time. You might get lucky along the way—good for you—but for the rest of us? It takes time.
At the end of the day, it’s not about finding the easiest path or hacking the system. It’s about dedication. It’s about showing up again and again, even when it’s hard, even when it feels like you’re making no progress. Success, whatever form it may take for you, is a byproduct of consistent effort over time. The sooner we embrace that, the sooner we can truly get to work—and maybe, just maybe, start enjoying the journey.
