June 19, 2023
Deciding To Be The Best In The World
This week on TBOA, Rochelle and I ask the question:
What if you decided to be the absolute best in the world at what you do—how would it change your day-to-day moves?
(NOTE: In this episode, we talk a lot about Seth Godin’s book The Dip. When Rochelle and I recorded it, we didn’t know that Seth was going to join us for an interview. With both recordings in the can, we decided to release the interview with Seth first and today’s episode after. Apologies if it seems a bit weird!)
Talking Points
What if you decided to be the absolute best in the world at what you do—how would it change your day-to-day decisions and moves?
Jonathan and I argue that that decision is critical to being able to weather what Seth Godin calls “the dip”:
Why navigating the dip (the desert you have to cross to get to Mecca) is so much easier when you have decided to be the best in the world.
What does “best in the world” mean for you—and what are you willing to commit to achieve it?
How that decision translates to revenue and picking the right next moves—even (especially) when they’re hard.
Choosing where to place your bets when faced with turning point decisions.
Why the “glorious quest” nature of some missions allows you to tap into energy you didn’t even know you had to get through obstacles.
Quotable Quotes
“It is sort of a call to arms to be more than mediocre.”—JS
“The dip is kind of like the desert that you have to cross to get to Mecca. And on the other side are all the riches you get from doing the hard, dirty, nasty work of the dip.”—RM
“If you’re spending all of your time doing this thing, you need to have a way to put Cheerios in the bowl.”—JS
“You’re willing to do it because it’s worth it. It’s worth it in terms of your emotional connection to the outcome. It’s worth it in terms of the transformations you deliver to your ideal people. It’s worth it in terms of the business you can build for yourself and the revenue that you can make.”—RM
“It’s like every decision you make is a bet. There’s no guarantee, right? So it’s a bet.”—JS
“It’s not like you only have one chance in your life to do this one big thing. You have multiple, multiple chances.”—RM
“It’s just going to come back to focusing down on a demand that is so specific that you can reasonably decide to be the best in the world at this very specific thing and then use the excitement of that to carry you through whatever dips you encounter (which you will).”—JS
“You’re not like the Renaissance person who knows a lot about a few things and a little bit about a lot. You’re someone with deep knowledge—and that makes you really valuable.”—RM
Sharing is caring!
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with a few friends who might find it useful. Thanks!
Can you help?
Has TBOA helped you in your journey to authority? If so, please rate and review the show on iTunes. Doing so helps folks like you find the show, and it helps us book more big-name guests like Seth Godin, Jill Konrath, Joe Pine, James Clear, Adam Davidson, and more.
Yours,
—J