I’m just an average Joe. But do I want to stay that way? Hell no.

Don’t get me wrong. My life has been pretty awesome up until now. I could continue living just as I have and my life would still look pretty great to many people.

But while appreciating the present is important, settling kills us inside.

We live in a world of constant evolution. Technology has been changing the way we act, we think and overall how we live. And while we have gotten used to this constant change around us, we complain our life itself isn’t evolving that much.

We all have goals and those are often based on having been inspired by X or Y person. Gosh, they are good, heh?

I’ve been writing for more than 8 months and I can see I have improved. That’s a fact. But another fact is that I’m still awful at it.

The “famous” people we see in the world around us are often considered to have talent. But what is it exactly?

Talent doesn’t exist

Well, it’s not exactly true. There are people who are simply good at what they do from day one.

But if you’ve heard about them, it’s because they have worked to reach above that level they started at.

Oh yes, they may have started from a higher standpoint than the one you started at. But it’s the work they have put in which made them that good.

If you really want to be great at something, you need to put in the hours.

Look far ahead

The people you admire started long before you ever even thought of doing what they are doing. Maybe even before you were born.

They stayed patient. Looking to the future and improving little by little so that their efforts would compound into a greater set of skills and knowledge.

If you’re hoping to accomplish what they did in half the time, that’s not a problem at all!

Just remember that “half the time” certainly still means years of work.

But yes, you’re right. So people are just so good from the start they reach the top faster than the rest of us. However, if you put in twice (or more!) the amount of work, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t be able to get there and even above.

It takes sooooooo long

That’s the sad news of the day. Again, if it’s going to take years, you’ll feel like you didn’t accomplish anything for a long time.

And while you will see improvements at the beginning, you will start to stop noticing them. After all, after a certain amount of time, they start to become more subtle and those are often noticed months or years later.

This is why it is crucial to stay confident. If you want to improve so bad, if you want to become the best (or even just “great”) at something, you will need to keep having faith in yourself.

The whole world around you is trying to get at something. But for every 1000 or 10,000 people who will try, only a few will make it become a reality. (Don’t hold me on the above number, it’s just an estimate.)

Most people will give up. You shouldn’t.

Be a part of those going forward, improving themselves and having the patience to wait for it to show results.

If you want to, you can do it. And if you want it real bad, then outwork even those other people who didn’t give up!

Patience is crucial but most people will start settling for the small amount of improvement they are doing.

If you keep looking for ways to improve your improvement, to work for more hours than the rest, to analyze your feedback more than the others, to practice more, you can beat everybody.

Those with talents may get there before you. But your hard work will pay off in the long run.