A Newsletter -- What It Takes To Win -- On Focus

 

Twitter: Orange Book on facing Reality

Talent comes with painful training. Wealth comes with stressful risks. Peace of mind comes with brutal self-reflection. Intelligence comes with grueling mental efforts.
Love comes with demanding commitment. Nothing great happens without friction. Figure out the price, then pay. — Orange Book

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What It Takes To Win

Mastery takes time— 7 to 10 years, roughly. Whether you’re building a robust business, getting in exceptional shape, or overcoming your suffering, it’s a relentless pursuit. It is NOT peaceful or easy. It is years of brutal struggle. In fact, the depth of your mastery usually mirrors the intensity of the lessons you have to endure.

Everyone dreams of being rich, fit, or happy, but few are patient and resilient enough to stick with the grind for the next 7+ years. The truth is, we often compare ourselves to those who have endured unimaginable hardship to achieve greatness, without fully acknowledging the pain they’ve had to face along the way.

If you’re willing to commit to 7-10 years—or even more—of consistent, unrelenting effort, there’s a 90% chance you’ll reach your goal. But if you aren’t prepared to embrace the brutal reality of what it takes, you might as well let go of the dream and settle for mediocrity. It may sound harsh, but it’s the truth.

Admiring someone else’s success is pointless if you’re not willing to put in the same work. In fact, it’s toxic and will only bring misery. You can have what they have, but only if you're ready for the journey, no matter how long or painful it may be. And if it truly matters to you, the struggle won’t deter you—it’ll fuel you.

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Thomas Edison On Focus

You do something all day, don't you? Everyone does. The only trouble is that they do it about a great many things and I do it about one. If they took the time in question and applied it in one direction, to one object, they would succeed. Success is sure to follow such application. The trouble lies in the fact that people do not have an object, one thing, to which they stick, letting all else go. Success is the product of the severest kind of mental and physical application.

Energy: The Real Currency of Success

 By Cancelo Alvarez

Energy — that internal force most of us had in abundance in childhood — becomes rarer in adulthood. And yet, adulthood is when we need it most.

One of the most eye-opening, yet basic truths I recently discovered: The professionals, the icons, the best creators we look up to — are simply the most energetic individuals — most productive, most curious, most consistent — mentally & physically. And then, we cannot help but call them talented, brilliant, intelligent.

But here's the heart of the matter: Anyone can be curious, anyone can be consistent. It just costs a tremendous amount of energy. Which the winners & creators are willing to pay.

And as a result - they build incredible speed, which, over the years, widens the gap — like a marathon — where we all begin as a large group but finish scattered around — the winners & leaders of the pack miles & years ahead. 

It is energy, it is eagerness, best articulated as: 

The most glowing successes are but the reflections of an inner fire.

So — dear reader, in pursuit of ambitious goals — it is less talent, luck, or intelligence that will get you there, but energy, volition, courage to act.

The courage to ask again after rejection — the energy to run this week, again — the volition to create on a blank piece of paper again after throwing the draft in the dustbin.

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This article was inspired by these two profound reflections on what separates those who achieve extraordinary things from those who don't:

When you think something’s impossible, consider this: people who achieve extraordinary things are willing to endure what others won’t.

Take SpaceX. In 2002, most experts said private companies couldn’t build orbital rockets. Musk accepted years of failure and ridicule that others wouldn’t.

What you call impossible is often just pain you’re unwilling to endure. — Shane Parish ⭐

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"I have a theory: if you put in 80%, you get back 80% back. But if you put in 100%, you get 1, 000% back. The last 20% is where the magic happens. Because almost nobody is mad enough to go all in. Only a perfect storm of delusion, obsession and a pinch of childhood trauma makes that extra 20% possible. It's the part where you keep going long after logic says retreat. Where your biggest weakness becomes your biggest strength: an inability to stop. Because at a certain point, success isn't about talent or luck. It's about who's willing to suffer for the longest. Pain is the filter. Few pass it." — Seif El‑Sahly

Relentless

“There is no such thing as a quantum leap. There is only relentless consistency – and in the end, you make it look like a quantum leap.” — James Dyson

People often see success as sudden — a breakthrough, a stroke of genius, a ‘quantum leap.’
But behind every so-called overnight success is a long, unseen grind.
It’s the relentless repetition. The failures. The revisions.
The quiet determination that compounds when no one is watching.
What looks effortless in the end is actually the result of effort no one saw.

Dyson reminds us: persistence is the true engine of progress —
not magic, not talent, but the steady return to your craft.
Again and again. Until the leap becomes inevitable.

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Peter Thiel: “You should focus relentlessly on something you’re good at doing, but before that, you must think hard about whether it will be valuable in the future.”

Thiel’s advice cuts through hype like a blade.
It’s not enough to be good at something — the world must care about it tomorrow.
Don’t just chase passion or skill. Chase future relevance.

This means thinking strategically, not just emotionally:
Where is the world going? What problems will need solving?
*Focus like a laser on where your strengths meet future demand.
That’s where real success lives. That’s where you become irreplaceable.

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Key word: Relentless.
Do not be afraid of winning.
Do not be afraid of hearing your name called for extraordinary performance.
Do not be afraid to stand out in a positive way.

Some think this kind of attention is arrogant or selfish —
but little do they know: when you win, when you outperform, when you stand out for good reasons,
you’re actually doing it for yourself, you’re arming yourself against depressive thoughts.

Because here’s the truth:
Excellence isn’t just for applause — it’s an antidote to inner darkness.
When you rise, you’re repelling self-doubt.
You’re making your heart deep and wide —
capable of strong emotion and keep perception. 

All this — is for yourself. To enjoy living with yourself.
Because you make yourself proud.

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“Life is short. But life is also long. You have to live with choices.”

Choose extraordinary results —
forged through energy and self-belief —
not hesitation and regret.

You only get one shot at this.
Be relentless.
Be proud to stand tall.

Cancelo Alvarez 

Moments Beyond the Usual

 “Sometimes, it only takes one decisive day to get the life you want, but it takes a whole decade to be ready for that one day.” — Orange Book 🍊

It will take something unique, authentic, and competent in you to bend fate into your favor. I assure you — I implore you — it can be done. Not only because others have done it before you and are doing it as we speak — but because you also have the basic conditions for extraordinary performance: time to practice, awareness to focus, and the heart to persist.

Remember — everything you have experienced until this moment has shaped you — and remember too, that we come from completely different backgrounds. And though the classroom and society’s strategems group us into inauthenticity for half our lives, still:

There are moments in our lives, there are moments in a day, when we seem to see beyond the usual. Such are the moments of our greatest happiness. Such are the moments of our greatest wisdom.

Find these moments — capture them — journal them — and understand them. Those moments of happiness, of clarity and wisdom — they are the actual building blocks of the life you pursue.

Gather all your pain and victories and use them as fuel and tools. Your background is uniquely yours because your future can be uniquely yours — if you choose to:

Study while they party.
Save while they spend.
Plan while they wait.
Believe while they doubt.

And do this consistently. You need not become a robot of concentration or a dull, serious person. But you must awaken that untamable, resilient, brave spirit within you — the Godly and Angelic voice in your chest — and listen. Spend your time wisely, intentionally. That’s how you begin to deserve success — not through perfection, but through persistence and purpose.

Because truly — it only takes one decisive day to get the life you want, but it takes a whole decade to be ready for that one day.
Or more... or less.

Cancelo Alvarez 

Chat GBT Founder, Sam Altman, On Productivity

 Original - click on the picture. 

Elaborated: 

What you work on:

• Direction matters more than speed — picking the right thing to work on is most important.
  • Or look at it like this: “You should focus relentlessly on something you’re good at doing, but before that, you must think hard about whether it will be valuable in the future.” — Peter Thiel
• Develop strong independent beliefs about the world.
  • Things to consider: Which industries serve humanity most - hinder humanity most — what to invest your time and money on — how to overcome societal peer-pressure & expectations not grounded in facts or relevance for the individual — how to raise compassionate & strong children - -why we fear death — how politics work.
• Leave enough time in your schedule to think about what to work on.
• Delegate based on what people like to do and are good at doing.
  • Delegation is a skill — ask a colleague to do (for you) something they enjoy - and they won’t even notice you’re delegating.
• Consider a major job change if you don’t like what you’re doing for a long period
  • Not for the lazy and emotionally unstable. First give your very best effort and then decide if it’s not your kind of job - otherwise, the job is not the issue, but yourself - busy looking for shortcuts that don’t serve the goal. Liking every post about ‘working smart’ when you’ve never really given your all in any task.
• Surround yourself with smart, productive, happy people who don’t belittle your ambitions.
  • Not for the lazy — no use looking for smart & productive people if you yourself have no worthy goal.
• Compound growth works in careers, small gains over 50 years create massive differences.
  • Another way to look at it: “You don’t need to be the fastest learner, you need to make your mind about the few things that you really want to do, and execute with a much longer timeframe than most people. There isn’t much competition left after the first few years. After a decade, it almost feels lonely.” — Orange Book

Prioritization

• Three key pillars:
  • Get the most important shit done – Dedicate 2–3 focused hours daily to your highest-impact projects.
  • Don’t waste time on stupid shit – If something feels like a waste (e.g. forcing yourself through a boring movie or pointless meeting), trust your gut & leave.
  • Make lots of checklists – Use to-do lists to offload your brain. Whether it’s a high-stress week or a slow day.
• Use written lists for yearly, monthly, and daily goals.
  • To build a house, you need bricks. Identify the "bricks" of your big life goals and make sure you're laying one every day.
• Re-transcribe lists frequently to force thinking about priorities.
  • Example: You have 10 things on your to-do list for the week. By Wednesday, new demands have likely surfaced. Take time to review and rewrite your list — are these new tasks truly moving you forward, or are they just distractions?
• Avoid most meetings and conferences due to huge time costs.
  • The worst thing you can do is fail to ask this simple question to your boss: “Do I really need to be in this meeting.” — Asking intentionally tells them you value your time.
• Keep 10% of schedule open for chance encounters and new ideas
• Schedule meetings for 15-20 minutes or 2 hours, not the default 1 hour.
• Value your time appropriately - don’t spend hours to save small amounts of money
• Focus on optimizing your year, not your day.

To be Continued: