Welcome back to this week’s 5 Bullet Friday. Here are this week’s 5 points:
1. It’s natural to be negative
We are the descendants of pessimists. All the optimists got eaten by tigers when they wandered out of the village in search of food thinking they’d be fine. Fortunately for us, the imminent threat of danger is no longer prevalent in our lives. Unfortunately, the caveman part of our brain doesn’t know that. We’re wired through thousands of years of evolution, it’s in our DNA, so it’s natural for your brain to go to the worst-case scenario (that actually means you’re probably pretty smart). Just be aware that’s your caveman’s brain, and it’s 2019. You’re allowed to be optimistic now, you won’t die. When you get negative thoughts catch yourself, correct yourself, you’re not a caveman anymore; you’re smarter than that.
2. Be a Team Player
Everyone is selfish, team players are just smarter about it. In his book The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins explains that it’s in our DNA to be selfish, we’re biologically coded for survival. What some (smarter) animals figure out though is that developing trust in your community, team, tribe, etc. will actually ensure your survival/success because they’ll be willing to help you, when you’re willing to help them. An individual that has the community rooting for them is much more likely to succeed than that same individual with the same skills who’s got the community rooting against them. Sports are a great example of this. Look at Antonio Brown and Tom Brady. Antonio Brown is by far the more gifted athlete of the two, but Antonio Brown cares more about Antonio Brown than the team. Tom Brady took a pay cut with his last contract so the Pats had more money to sign receivers for him to throw the ball to. Tom Brady is selfish. He’s just smart about it. When he takes a pay cut, they get better receivers, they win more games, maybe a Super Bowl, and he gets more money in endorsement deals. Be a team player, you’ll win long term.
3. There’s No Substitute for Experience
It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, if you want to get good at it, it’s going to take practice and repetition. Imagine playing Fortnite with a 12-year-old. I’m not sure about you, but they’d probably dominate. It’s not because they’re more talented, skilled, or smarter than me, it’s because they’ve logged hundreds or thousands of hours playing Fortnite. At times I’ve found myself frustrated when I’m not good at something I have little to no experience with and would tell myself “Well so and so is good at it! Why do I suck?!” It’s because they’ve put the time in and I haven’t, yet. If you find yourself getting frustrated and you’re not crushing something new remember the analogy of the 12-year-old and Fortnite, there’s no substitute for experience, get to work!
4. The Ride of A Lifetime
Robert Iger’s (CEO of Disney) new book. It shares what he’s learned throughout his career and tells a bunch of cool stories behind the scenes of Disney. I’m only a few chapters in and I’m hooked. If you’re a Disney fan you’ll love this book, if you love learning about successful people you will too. Check it out!
