Ashton Nichols

(2 min. read)

Why are there so few people at the top of every field? Why do those people at the top contribute the most to said field?

There seems to be a common trend for those who are dominant figures in their disciplines, which is that over time, their time and effort have been maximized and optimized to put them at the top of their respective group.

People like Elon Musk, Larry Fink, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, etc., work harder and more efficiently than almost anybody else in their profession.

To illustrate, below is a graph of two identical people starting at the exact same level in a profession. However, there is one key difference between the two.

Person 1, as indicated by the red line, is how most of us operate when learning a skill or entering a profession. 

We initially see a small bump in productivity and outputs in our work as we learn more about the discipline, yet once we have learned the bare minimum needed to be proficient, our inputs usually stay the same and slowly depreciate over time.

Person 2, as indicated by the green line, are those who actively invest more and more into the subject that they pursue and find themselves rising along with their efforts.

These are the people who instead of just learning what they need to get by, they exponentially put more effort into their learning, actively innovate, connect with others, and try to elevate the field beyond its current state.

Instead of consuming knowledge and skills purely for their own benefit, they apply them to a higher degree than they could before, and repeat this process until eventually they start to distinguish themselves as experts and visionaries.

Elon Musk became a master of rocketry and engineering, and pushed SpaceX to become the global frontrunner of space aeronautics.

It started out privately funded by Musk himself, the team created much of their own parts and materials, and the company faced numerous close calls with bankruptcy.

But the willingness of Musk and his team to input MORE time, MORE resources, MORE dollars, and MORE energy at numerous times when everything seemed to be falling apart, is the difference between the greats and everyone else.

SpaceX didn’t become the best because of its technology and engineering, but rather because Musk was willing to push the boundaries of traditionality for the greater purpose of human space colonization.

And because of this, the industry experienced new innovations and achievements at a rate not seen since the space race during the cold war.

So how do we transition from person 1 to person 2?

It’s simple:

1. Increase the volume of input – No one can regress by doing more.
2. Optimize your work – Learn as much as you can from other experts in the field and your own trial and error.
3. Be blind to non-constructive criticism – People who tell you that you can’t do something will always be right… until you do it!
4. Pivot when needed – Pivoting isn’t quitting, quitting is when you stop, pivoting is when you find a new strategy.

By having these four values as the foundation of your beliefs when it comes to mastery of a field, you will already have the mindset of the top people within that sphere.

The most successful people in the world know that in order to be the best at what they do, they simply have to GIVE MORE time, energy, and passion.