Top 11 Things the Best 'Were Willing To Do' From the First 111 Episodes

Key takeaways

Authenticity and self-awareness are foundational for top performers, who choose to show up as their true selves.
Building strong relationships, mentors, and community enhances resilience and success.
Serving others and focusing on team growth can accelerate personal and collective achievement.
Obsessing over mastery and continuous improvement outweighs chasing immediate results.
Willingness to publicly fail, embarrass oneself, and face rejection is essential for growth.
Being intentionally present maximizes performance in the moment.
Enduring pain and discomfort is necessary for achieving greatness.
Playing the long game and practicing delayed gratification build sustainable success.
Doing extra, consistent work—beyond the minimum—is key to standing out.
Lifelong humility and openness to learning are crucial, no matter the level of success.
Showing up every day with discipline and persistence is the single most important factor in reaching top levels.

Summary

Introduction and Celebration of Milestones

The episode begins with the host celebrating the achievement of 111 episodes and over 600,000 downloads. The focus is on sharing key insights learned from interviewing top performers in various fields over three and a half years. The host emphasizes the importance of routine, self-improvement, and community in achieving success, acknowledging the support of listeners.

Methodology of the Top 11 List

The host explains how they used a large language model to analyze responses from 81 distinguished guests, including athletes, coaches, leaders, and military personnel from five countries and 20 sports. This analysis identified the recurring themes and the most impactful actions that distinguish top performers, removing personal biases and highlighting universal traits.

Profile of the Guests and Their Experiences

Guests include Olympic athletes, Hall of Fame sports figures, military leaders, and successful entrepreneurs. The host highlights that these top performers have faced failures and setbacks, endured criticism, wrestled with self-doubt, and experienced embarrassment—yet they continued to push forward, demonstrating resilience and grit.

Top 11 Things Top Performers Are Willing To Do

The core of the episode is the detailed breakdown of the top 11 actions that successful individuals consistently practice: 1. Self-awareness and authenticity: Knowing oneself deeply and showing up genuinely. 2. Building relationships and community: Surrounding oneself with mentors and supportive teams. 3. Service and team first leadership: Helping others succeed and focusing outward. 4. Obsession with improvement: Prioritizing mastery and growth over immediate results. 5. Courage to publicly fail: Embracing rejection and mistakes as essential for growth. 6. Intentional presence: Focusing fully on the task and being present. 7. Pushing through pain: Enduring discomfort and seeing it as part of success. 8. Playing the long game: Practicing delayed gratification and investing for future rewards. 9. Doing the extra work: Going beyond the minimum with consistent effort. 10. Humility to learn: Remaining a lifelong student and open to feedback. 11. Relentlessly showing up: Maintaining unwavering consistency and discipline.

Main Themes and Lessons for Listeners

The episode underscores that all these behaviors and disciplines are entirely within an individual’s control. Success is depicted as largely dependent on habits—showing up daily, persisting through pain, and continually learning—to craft excellence over time. The host emphasizes that anyone can adopt these practices and that they are simple yet powerful ways to transform dreams into reality.

Show notes

Over the last 3 1/2 years we've asked every guest the same final question, "What have been the things you've been willing to do, that maybe others haven't, that has helped you have success up to this point?" In this episode, we recap the Top 11 themes that we've uncovered from the 81 different answers to that final question.

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