“I think you’ve got to pay the price for anything that’s worthwhile” - Vince Lombardi
In 1995 there was a blockbuster workout video “8-minute Abs” by fitness trainer Jaime Brenkus that proposed that 8-minutes of intense exercise is all that is required to have chiseled abdominal muscles. In the time crunched world we live in, we all want more results for less effort. Predictably, Brenkus' video was a huge marketing success selling $20 million in VHS sales in less than 2 years. But for the 8-minute Abs workout to produce results it actually requires significant additional effort and discipline in the form of disciplined eating, cardiovascular exercise, as well as rest and stress management.
In a similar vein of thought in 2007 Internet marketer Tim Ferriss published a book called “The Four Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich.” The premise of the book is to create a business idea and quickly automate away all of the work through on-line outsourcing to provide a “muse” business that provides cashflow with very little effort. In truth, it can take thousands of hours of effort and experimentation to create a viable business that provides value to customers and cashflow to the business owner(s). The “four hour work-week” is catchy marketing clickbait but oversimplifies what success actually takes.
All of us want more for less. But it’s not enough to have a clever idea, or a “performance hack.” You need to put in the work for success!
The good news is that each of us have the capacity to put in the necessary effort for success. The two main things that you need are:
(1) a specific goal you are focused on and
(2) time & effort put towards that goal.
Don’t overthink it - know what you are focused on and “get in the reps!"