2 min read
One of my favorite ideas from author Steven Pressfield is to “put your ass where your heart wants to be.”
He says that in order to get that thing your heart wants, you need to put your ass in the right place.
If you want to be a runner, place yourself on the track.
If you want to be a painter, stand before an easel.
If you want to be a writer, sit at your desk.
Many people overcomplicate things. To be a runner, most people first try to buy the best running shoes. Or buy a Fitbit. Or research local running groups. Or watch videos and read articles on training plans.
Nothing wrong with any of these things. But to be a runner, you have to run. You have to put your ass on the track (or trail, sidewalk, road, etc.), not in a store or in front of a computer screen.
By doing all the other stuff in preparation to run, you’re avoiding the hard stuff: running. It’s the hard stuff that leads to results, though.
The same idea applies to writing. I often receive emails from aspiring bloggers asking how I write every day.
It’s simple: I sit at my desk every morning. I type blog posts on my laptop. Sometimes they’re good, sometimes not. Either way, I hit publish. Then I do the same thing the next day. And the next. And the next…
Each morning I put my ass where my heart wants to be.
The key to any of my writing success so far is entirely due to the fact that I sit and write consistently. It’s not due to my site layout, domain name, social media strategy, or anything else.
Progress relies on doing simple, mundane things day in and day out for a really long time. It’s not a sexy approach, but it works.
Same idea applies to any area I want to improve upon in my life.
I want to continuously get in better shape, so I go to the gym six days a week.
I want to become a better programmer, so I sit in front of my keyboard every day.
I want to become more knowledgeable, so I drive to the library often to get new books.
I want to grow my net worth, so I sit and read blogs and books on finance.
The way to get anything you want in life is to do the mundane, simple, often hard work of putting your ass in the right place over and over again.
Zach is the author behind Four Pillar Freedom, a blog that teaches you how to build wealth and gain freedom in life.
He quit his day job as a data scientist in 2019 because he was able to earn enough income from profitable websites to replace his salary. He now teaches people how to start and grow their own profitable websites from scratch in the Income Community.
Zach's favorite free financial tool he's been using since 2015 to manage his net worth is Personal Capital. Each month he uses their free Investment Checkup tool and Retirement Planner to track his investments and ensure that he's on the fast track to financial freedom.
His favorite investment platform is M1 Finance, a site that allows him to build a custom portfolio of stocks for free, has no trading or maintenance fees, and even allows him to set up automated target-allocated investments.
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“Progress relies on doing simple, mundane things day in and day out for a really long time. It’s not a sexy approach, but it works”.
So very true! It took me a while to come up with a plan and today it’s simply a matter of following it, and waiting. I like the progress, simply wish it was quicker. 🙂
I second TJ’s comment.
It is interesting Zach how such simple things can get turned backwards on us all. Tom
Wiser words have never been spoken.
You daily writing habit is admirable.
Dom
Really grateful to u for this post. Sincerely doubting my ability so thank u