You’ve seen the "overnight success" stories. They’re everywhere on your feed. Someone makes a million bucks in a month, or a creator goes from zero to a global icon in three weeks. It’s intoxicating. It makes us think there's a secret door we haven't found yet. But honestly? Most of that is total nonsense. When you actually sit down with people who have stayed at the top for decades—think of folks like James Clear or even the legendary Kobe Bryant—the story is always the same. They just put in the work.
Execution is messy. It’s boring. It's the part people skip because it doesn't look good in a thirty-second highlight reel. We live in a world obsessed with "hacks" and "shortcuts," but if you look at the data on long-term career success, the outliers aren't necessarily the most talented. They’re the ones who didn't quit when the novelty wore off.
The Boring Reality of Putting in the Work
We have to talk about "The Dip." Seth Godin wrote a whole book about this, and it’s basically the most honest look at what putting in the work actually looks like. At the start of any project, it’s fun. You have adrenaline. Then, you hit the middle—the part where the results aren't matching the effort yet. This is where 90% of people walk away.
Success is rarely a linear path. It’s more like a flat line that suddenly spikes after years of invisible progress. Take MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) as a prime example. People see the 100-million-dollar sets now, but they forget he spent years talking to a handful of people on YouTube, analyzing every single frame of his videos just to get a 1% increase in retention. He was putting in the work when there was no paycheck and no fame.
It’s not just about "grinding" until you burn out. That’s a mistake people make. They think working 20 hours a day is the goal. It’s not. The real work is the deliberate practice—the kind of stuff Anders Ericsson studied. It’s about doing the hard things you aren't good at yet, over and over, until they become second nature.
Why Your Brain Hates the Long Game
Biologically, we are wired for instant gratification. Our ancestors needed to eat now because they didn't know if the next meal was coming. That’s why your brain screams at you to check your phone instead of finishing that spreadsheet or practicing your craft. To actually put in the work, you have to fight your own neurochemistry.
Dopamine is a hell of a drug. When you post a "coming soon" graphic on Instagram, you get a hit of dopamine. Your brain feels like you've already achieved something. But you haven't. You've just talked about it. This is what psychologists call "social reality." When you tell people your goals, you're actually less likely to achieve them because your brain feels satisfied by the praise alone.
Real progress happens in the dark.
Think about the concept of Compound Interest. It applies to skills just as much as money. If you get 1% better every day, you don't just get 365% better in a year. Because of the way compounding works, you end up 37 times better. But for the first six months, you won't notice a thing. You'll feel like you're failing. You'll feel like you're wasting your time. You aren't. You're building the foundation.
The Difference Between Being Busy and Putting in the Work
Don't confuse movement with progress. I know plenty of people who "work" 12 hours a day but accomplish nothing. They’re answering emails. They’re "networking." They’re tweaking the font on a website that has no visitors.
That isn't putting in the work. That’s procrastination in a suit.
Deep work, a term coined by Cal Newport, is the actual engine of success. It’s the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. Most people can’t even do this for thirty minutes anymore. If you can train yourself to do four hours of deep, focused work, you will outperform "busy" people who work eighty-hour weeks of shallow tasks.
- The "Busy" Trap: Constant notifications, multi-tasking, attending meetings that could have been emails, feeling tired but having nothing to show for it.
- The Real Work: Turning off the phone, solving the hardest problem first, embracing the frustration of learning a new skill, and staying consistent when nobody is watching.
Talent is a Head Start, Not the Finish Line
We love the myth of the "natural." We want to believe some people are just born with it because it gives us an excuse not to try. If they’re "gifted" and I’m not, then it’s not my fault I’m not successful, right?
Wrong.
📖 Related: Comparison Shopping Explained: Why Your Brain Loves a Good Deal
Look at Jerry Seinfeld. He’s one of the most successful comedians in history. Does he rely on "natural wit"? No. He famously used a wall calendar and a red marker. Every day he wrote new jokes, he put a big red X on that day. His only goal was "don't break the chain." He was putting in the work for decades, even after he was a multi-millionaire. He still does it.
Even in high-tech fields like software engineering or AI development, the "genius" programmers are usually just the ones who have spent the most time debugging. They’ve seen the errors before. They’ve put in the hours.
Navigating the Burnout Myth
Now, I’m not saying you should destroy your health. There is a toxic version of "hustle culture" that suggests sleep is for the weak. That’s actually counterproductive. If you’re sleep-deprived, your brain can't consolidate the skills you learned during the day.
Putting in the work means being a pro. And a pro looks after their tools. Your brain is your tool.
The most effective people I know have strict boundaries. They work intensely, then they shut it off. They prioritize recovery because they know that's how you stay in the game long enough to see the results. It's about sustainability. If you go 100mph and crash in a month, you've lost. If you go 60mph for ten years, you're unstoppable.
How to Actually Start Putting in the Work Today
If you’re feeling stuck, it’s probably because you’re looking at the mountain instead of your feet. You’re worried about the 5-year plan when you haven't even finished the 5-minute task.
💡 You might also like: Is Cargill Publicly Traded? What Most People Get Wrong
Stop looking for the perfect system. Stop buying more courses. Stop "researching" how to start.
The secret is that there is no secret.
- Pick the one thing that actually moves the needle. Not the easy thing. The hard thing. The thing you’ve been avoiding.
- Set a timer for 90 minutes. No phone. No tabs open that aren't related to the task. Just you and the work.
- Accept that it will suck at first. Your first draft will be bad. Your first code will have bugs. Your first sales call will be awkward. That’s not a sign to stop; it’s a sign that you’re actually doing it.
- Do it again tomorrow. Whether you feel "inspired" or not. Professionalism is doing the work even when you’re not in the mood.
Success is a lagging indicator of your habits. Your current life is a reflection of the work you put in six months ago. If you want a different life six months from now, you have to change what you're doing this afternoon.
Actionable Steps for Long-Term Growth
To move from talking about it to actually doing it, you need to audit where your energy is going. Start by tracking your time for just three days. You'll likely find that hours are leaking into social media or "pre-work" (planning to work).
Eliminate the fluff.
Identify the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for your specific goal. If you're a writer, it's words written. If you're in sales, it's calls made. If you're an athlete, it's reps completed. Focus entirely on those metrics and ignore the "vanity metrics" like likes or followers for a while.
The world is full of people who are waiting for the "right time" or the "perfect opportunity." While they're waiting, the people who are putting in the work are the ones who will be ready when that opportunity finally shows up. It’s not about luck. It’s about being so good they can’t ignore you.
Build a schedule that protects your work time. Don't let other people's priorities (their emails, their "quick questions") dictate your day. Own your time. The more you protect it, the more you can produce.
Finally, find a way to enjoy the process. If you only care about the trophy at the end, you’re going to be miserable for 99% of the journey. Learn to love the "clank" of the weights, the rhythm of the keyboard, or the silence of a deep study session. When the work itself becomes the reward, you’ve already won.