The mythology of success often emphasizes natural talent over consistent effort.
Research reveals a different story. The highest achievers aren’t necessarily the most gifted – they’re the ones who commit to showing up day after day.
What separates legends from everyone else is their relationship with difficult beginnings. Where others see overwhelming challenges, they recognize temporary obstacles that yield to persistent action.
This edition explores how this mindset manifests across different domains – from transforming careers through simple questions to solving critical problems others have ignored.
The science is clear: excellence isn’t born from sporadic brilliance but from systems that produce consistent quality. Legends understand this fundamental truth.
These stories illuminate how ordinary people achieve extraordinary outcomes not through superhuman abilities, but through their unwavering commitment to doing the necessary work.
What could you accomplish if you approached your biggest challenge with this legendary persistence?
The More You Do It, The Easier It Becomes
The first repetition is always the hardest.
I’ve found this to be true whether writing books, building habits, or developing new skills. Beginning feels impossibly difficult, but persistence creates a compounding effect.
Consider how this plays out: The initial resistance to starting a workout routine isn’t just psychological – it’s physiological. Your body literally fights against the new demand.
But a remarkable thing happens with consistency. Not only does performance improve, but the perceived difficulty dramatically decreases.
This creates an inverse relationship between experience and effort. As ability increases, required willpower decreases.
Legends understand this fundamental truth: they don’t need infinite motivation. They just need enough to push through the beginning phases when resistance is highest.
The pain of discipline is temporary, but the results can be permanent. And in the end, it’s much easier to tolerate than the pain of regret.
Arunachalam Muruganantham - The "Menstrual Man" of India
A man obsessed with sanitary pads changed the lives of millions of women.
When Arunachalam Muruganantham discovered his wife couldn’t afford commercial menstrual products, he saw beyond the immediate problem to a systemic issue affecting millions of Indian women.
What’s remarkable isn’t just his invention but his refusal to abandon the work despite devastating personal costs. His community rejected him. His family left him. People called him mentally ill.
Most would have quit. Muruganantham persisted for years, testing prototypes himself when he had no other options, teaching himself English to read research papers.
The true revelation came after he succeeded. When offered lucrative buyouts, he declined them all. Instead, he created a business model that empowered rural women to produce pads locally, transforming a health solution into an economic opportunity.
Legends like Muruganantham remind us that transformative impact doesn’t come from exceptional talent or resources – it comes from the willingness to consistently do the work others won’t.
Do the Thing
A programmer and writer who goes by Loopy, on the difference between preparing to do it and actually doing it:
“Things that aren’t doing the thing:
- Preparing to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
- Scheduling time to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
- Making a to-do list for the thing isn’t doing the thing.
- Telling people you’re going to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
- Messaging friends who may or may not be doing the thing isn’t doing the thing.
- Writing a banger tweet about how you’re going to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
- Hating on yourself for not doing the thing isn’t doing the thing.
- Hating on other people who have done the thing isn’t doing the thing.
- Hating on the obstacles in the way of doing the thing isn’t doing the thing.
- Fantasizing about all of the adoration you’ll receive once you do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
- Reading about how to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
- Reading about how other people did the thing isn’t doing the thing.
- Reading this essay isn’t doing the thing.
The only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing.”
(above excerpt from James Clear’s 3-2-1 Newsletter)
To your creative success…
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About Josh
Josh Linkner is a New York Times bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, venture capital investor, professional jazz guitarist, and a globally recognized innovation expert. To learn more or to explore a collaboration, visit JoshLinkner.com
