This post is a continuation of my previous post - you don’t have to read it to enjoy and benefit from this one, however it does kind of build on the first part.
So, in case you want to fully comprehend where I’m coming from, check it out here:
How to make yourself worth more by aligning your genes, passions and other people's money (part 1)
We are born with a predisposition for certain things - those things have been developing and improving for many generations through the "natural selection competitions" that our genes are undergoing all the time. I am a great fan of hard work and the approach that hard work(=skill) beats talent, especially after reading "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle
However after years of hard work in certain areas of my life, I have come to believe that certain people have such an astounding natural advantage thanks to their genetic predispositions, that no matter how hard you work, you will not be able to beat the hard work that genes have been doing on behalf of their hosts for many lifetimes - at least not in this lifetime :)
In other words, I totally agree with Kevin Durant on this:
Why hard work can not really beat real talent
You can of course still win in certain (actually most) cases, even though technically someone might be "better" than you. This is especially true in cases where it's mostly a matter of personal taste, personal needs and successful marketing - for instance everything that has to do with art, beauty, business.
You see most things are a matter of preference - influenced by peers, awareness, culture, age, state of mind, advertising and many, many more non absolute subjective variables making it very hard to proclaim an absolute winner unless numbers are involved.
But... When it comes to outperforming an individual that:
- has a superior genetic constellation in a specific skill
- a skill which also happens to be naturally pleasant and enjoyable to him or her
- plus, provided he or she also happens to be diligently cultivating it
you are totally doomed to die trying and never actually outperform them.
Why?
Well, because they seem to have a life of passionate hard work + hard working genes which is infinitely more powerful than just simple day-to-day hard work with genes that are less fit for a task - since apparently, the latter's genes have not been qualifying for the specific task in the past few millennia as well as those of the more talented dude or dudess :)
As we all have only 24 hours a day, genes that have accumulated hundreds of thousands of hours in specialized practice through different generations, and thus undergone beneficial self improving evolution, can not easily beaten by an average hard working Joe. Impossible, rather.
Why?
Because no matter how hard he tries, he is still lagging generations behind the "superior gene owner".
But...
Here comes the amazing part - are you ready?
Ready?!?
Cool. Relax bro :)
You are not competing with any specific individual!
You are not competing with any specific individual, unless you are in a competitive sport branch of course. If yes, well, make sure you were "built" for that sport, otherwise you are doomed to be an average and unhappy sportsman in comparison to those that were lucky enough to be put in the right sports with the right genes.
In 99% of cases however, it's mostly about human psychology, good people skills, team work and so many human variables (like the place you were born in, the level of awareness your parents had, events you had to go through etc), that all the above is a huge oversimplification that need and should be taken with a considerable pinch of salt.
Winning the "Ovarian Lottery"
Warren Buffet calls this unpredictable human equation of crazily random and chaotic variables, winning "the ovarian lottery", stating that had he been born in the wrong country, to the wrong parents, in the wrong times, he would have probably ended up a miserable and mediocre man.
Although later he realized he was passionate about people, teaching and preaching - while growing up, he never really excelled at anything other than numbers & business; luckily the US offered him enough opportunities to make the most out of his area of excellence, especially after he realized he must develop people skills and attended Dale Carnegie's seminars.
Other than that, he was very scattered, physically weak, unattractive and extraordinarily sloppy.
Finding a girl that would even date him once (= a girl that wanted his genes) was a rare celebration that at best, occurred only a few times a year and ended on the spot. Kissing a girl seemed like a mission impossible, let alone having sex with her.
And still, look at him - he is one of the richest men in the world, was happily married to a beautiful woman that brought him 3 children that brought him grandchildren, and his genes are being happily passed on :)
Plus, our knowledge and understanding of genes and how they are influenced, are very partial at best, so - you know - let's not get lost in overthinking science. Let's just get practical here.
You are on a personal journey of mastering your strengths
So practically speaking, you are not competing with anyone - at least not until you find your areas of potential excellence which are largely dictated by your predispositions toward certain things.
Rather, you are on a personal journey of discovering your best strengths, combining them with passion and mastering them in your, personalized way.
If you don't aim for your personalized mastery and get into competition mindset too early, you might end up working too hard on something that was not supposed to be your thing in the first place.
Competition can be very beneficial at the right time, but it does not begin there.
I mean, first get to the right tournament you know - compete, second.
Just the desire to beat someone or to prove something to someone might get you started with competing even before you realize in "what" you are competing.
And this by the way, is an excellent way to be misled into some very deep and unnecessary time-wasting shit.
You will ultimately learn from it, but it might not be worth the price.
The thing is, you will learn from everything and anything, so better learn from something that has the highest return on investment. literally and in all its senses:
- financially - being rewarded with an ever growing flow of cashflow
- emotionally - feeling thrilled and excited most of the waking hours
- mentally - being confident and thankful most years of your life
- physically - allowing best conditions for your body to thrive through your lifetime
Some examples of “preconfigured to win in X”
Imagine that David D'or would be stuck in doing parkour while he could become a singer that would sing like this and conquer countless hearts with his extraordinary voice and passion for singing:
Or imagine Vladimir Polianskii would be stuck in singing trying to be a Justing Bieber, while he could have followed his cat-like prowess and become one of the best youngest parkourists in the world:
And what if Gary Vaynerchuk had actually followed his childish dreams of becoming a rapper, while he could have become such an inspiring entrepreneur that simply loves rap?
They would all learn a little bit of something from the "wrong" paths, but their mastery would continue to lie in a very different direction.
Listen to what Garry Vee actually has to say on "finding your thing", which most young people are actually so anxious to do - usually, ahead of time - that they actually mess up themselves by following some very wrong misconceptions:
How do you find those things?
- Try out a bunch of different things that interest you (NOT what your parents want you to)
- Follow your curiosity and the desire to master your strengths (NOT pays you the most money)
- Search for clues that will help you identify the fields that you have been genetically "preconfigured" to win in
In the 3rd part, I will describe some of the best ways I learned through personal experience, for finding your strengths and genetic predispositions (tapping into your childhood is a great place to start from)
I believe discovering things that you are naturally good at, is one of the best feelings one can experience in life :)
Until then, let me know your thoughts/questions and click follow to be notified when the 3rd part is up.
Cheers ;)