Two Mountains
and the quest for the top
Series: Unprompted
A courageous reminder of your own humanity in a world of too many machines.
Two mountains stand next to each other. One is only slightly taller than the other.
You’re standing on the shorter peak.
You could spend your entire life trying to jump the gap.
Or you could realize that the only way to climb the higher peak is to descend the first.
The Incremental and The Categorical
Elite performers in any domain understand that incrementally different outputs are often achieved through categorically different inputs.
You don’t usually get an A+ by just doing more of what gets you a C.
Making more money isn’t always a question of working harder at the same job. But maybe working harder to find a new job. Or maybe having no job at all for a time.
You want higher grades.
More money.
Less stress.
More freedom.
But the work required to get more or get less isn’t always a question of more or less itself. It’s not always further down the same road. Sometimes it’s a different road altogether.
To the Winners
Winning is often a case of closing the gap. Turning an 85 into a 98. Getting your $70,000 to six figures.
But what if you had to take a 0 all the way to a 98?
What if you had to go from dead-broke all the way to $100,000?
Sometimes your view from the top of one mountain keeps you from seeing the clearest path up the second.
Don’t assume the lower peak is on its way to the highest.
Sometimes the fastest way up is first back down.
All the best,
— David Kennedy