What I learned from my cross country coach...

3 Thoughts

I.

If you don't think you can, that's a mindset issue.

If you actually can't, that's a skill issue.

Unless it defies the laws of physics, it's either a mindset or a skill issue.

II.

One of the most difficult lessons I had to learn while writing my book was sitting with boredom.

Reading a 1,000 page biography to find one tiny anecdote isn’t inherently interesting. Rewriting a sentence for the 19th time isn’t always fun. Planning the launch months in advance with no assurance that it will succeed isn’t the most exciting.

Every time I feel discouraged, I remind myself:

Every extra effort you make upfront leads to 10x the outcome on the backend.

It’s worth it.

III.

Taylor Swift was 15 when she signed her first record deal.

Kobe Bryant was 17 when was drafted into the NBA.

Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook at 19.

Winston Churchill published his first book at 23 and his second at 24.

The 4 youngest signers of the Declaration of Independence were in their 20s.

"You're too young" is just an excuse they use to keep you from going after what you want.

Hurry up. You can do great things.

2 Quotes

I.

Author James Clear on how to choose a career path:

“The 4 qualities of a great career:

1) I enjoy it
2) I’m good at it
3) I make good money
4) I’m around fascinating people

Answer in reverse order:

1) Where are fascinating people?
2) In what ways can I make money with them?
3) Which ones am I good at?
4) Which ones do I enjoy?”

II.

Steve Jobs on high agency:

“When you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world, try not to bash into the walls too much, try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money. But that’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader, once you discover one simple fact, and that is, everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.

The minute you understand that you can poke like and actually something will pop out the other side, that you can change it, you can mold it. That’s maybe the most important thing - is to to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you’re just gonna live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it. I think that’s very important and however you learn it, one you learn it, you’ll want to change life and make it better, cause it’s kind of messed up., in a lot of ways. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”

1 Game-Changing Idea: Work Capacity

I ran cross country in high school.

Freshman year, our coach gathered us after the first practice and said,
"From now on, you’ll be running at least 3 miles a day. Every day."

Another freshman raised his hand and asked,
“Aren’t you worried about overtraining?”

“Sure,” coach replied. “But you can’t build volume by avoiding volume.”

That lesson has always stuck with me.

Your ability to recover from running itself is trainable.

The more miles you run, the more miles you can run.

Volume increases capacity.
Work builds work capacity.

That’s true in running.
And in life.

Until next week,
Jay “Volume Negates Luck” Yang

Ps. You’re welcome.

We crossed 200,000 followers on Instagram last week!

Grateful for your time and attention.

Let’s keep getting after it! 💪

Pps. I’m on a mission to get this book into the hands of more students and young professionals.

If you know a professor, teacher, or someone who runs a community of ambitious young people—hit reply and let me know.

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