hide

Read Next

The Weakest of the Great Men of All Time

Me.

A few years back, I was getting complacent. I was a successful entrepreneur, in the top 1% for my age. Whenever I compared myself to people similar to me, it wasn't even close. I worked more, accomplished more, produced more, did more meaningful things, was traveling the world. I read more books, did more writing, was generally healthier and more disciplined, spent my time well. I was the top 1% for my age, and even better than that if you measured me against people from similar backgrounds.

I think it's easy for people who are doing great to get complacent. You look at the general sloth and laziness and complacency of most people, you see that you're achieving greatly, and you feel like you're so far above that. You give yourself a pat on the back. "Ah, yes, I'm doing great!"

I had a shift. I don't remember the exact day, but one day I thought to myself -

"I'm not going to compare myself against people my age any more. I'm going to start comparing myself to the greatest men of all time."

The Way Out is Through

Maybe 10-12 years ago, I was a big Nine Inch Nails fan. I mostly listen to different music these days, but I still like The Fragile quite a lot and go back and have a listen sometimes.

Probably my favorite track on there is the first song on the second disk - "The Way Out Is Through"

All I've undergone I will keep on

Underneath it all We feel so small The heavens fall But still we crawl

All I've undergone I will keep on