What Billionaires, Celebrities, High Performers Have in Common
Tools for Titans is a long book of interviews in which high achievers talk about how they rose to the top of their fields.
All of us want to be successful, but we rarely have direct access to the people at the top of their fields. Elite athletes, writers, and investors have many broad things in common. Hard work and passion are givens. Iron wills are obvious.
But what about the details?
Tools of Titans is a collection of interviews that Tim Ferriss conducted of juggernauts of different industries. They range from elite athletes to comedians to hedge fund managers. Regardless of the field they’re in, interviewees offer actionable details about what it takes to reach high levels of success.
One Decision, One Goal
Late in Ferriss’ section of “health” gurus and elite athletes, he includes an email he received from Christopher Sommer. Sommer is a renowned gymnastics coach and bodystrength trainer.
Ferriss asked for advice about pushing through the disappointment that comes from constant practice and no visible results. Sommer’s last paragraph in his email response is bolded in Ferriss’ book:
“If the commitment is to a long-term goal and not to a series of smaller intermediate goals, then only one decision needs to be made and adhered to. Clear, simple, straightforward. Much easier to maintain than having to make small decision after small decision to stay the course when dealing with each step along the way. This provides far too many opportunities to inadvertently drift from your chosen goal. The single decision is one of the most powerful tools in the toolbox.”
Ferriss was disappointed that despite the weeks he’d spent on Sommer’s exercises, he wasn’t seeing results. Sommers had to remind Ferriss that strength increases would take time, and that Ferriss should focus on the long-term goal of strength gain instead of the short-term goals of mastering certain exercises.
Having one goal to recommit to each day isn’t just about focus. It’s about maintaining motivation to keep chasing the same goal. Instead of making each step of a project its own goal, keep your — and your team’s — eye fixed on the end goal.
Know Your Norms so You Can Break Them
Neil Strauss is a best-selling author and entrepreneur. While much of his advice revolves around writing, this chapter begins with a conversation that Strauss had with a “billionaire friend” of his. The billionaire said the difference between people who are billionaires and who aren’t is:
“‘The biggest mistake you can make is to accept the norms of your time.’ Not accepting norms is where you innovate, whether it’s with technology, with books, with anything. So, not accepting the norm is the secret to really big success and changing he world.”
This isn’t a free pass to detach from reality. There are practices in your industry that are commonplace for a reason.
However, you shouldn’t be afraid to notice when the most common ideas are practiced out of habit instead of for reasons that can be tied back to the real world. Elon Musk built SpaceX, because he worked out how to build or source each rocket’s component more cheaply than the rest of the industry. His math and logic were sound, but he was still (briefly) laughed at for proposing a rocket company.
The world is large, and it changes quickly. Don’t be afraid to shatter norms that no longer make sense.
Turn Your Smartest People Against You
General Stanley McChrystal is a retired four-star general in the U.S. Army. His biggest claim to fame was as commander of Joint Special Operations Command, the special forces branch that, under his leadership, killed the leader of Al-Qaeda.
McChrystal had a long answer about how to create a “red team.” A red team is designed to test a plan that otherwise seems bulletproof.
“Sometimes you’re actually skipping over real challenges to it, or vulnerabilities in it, because you just want it to work. As we describe it, sometimes a plan can end up being a string of miracles, and that’s not a real solid plan. So red teaming is: You take people who aren’t wedded to the plan and [ask them,] ‘How would you disrupt this plan or how would you defeat this plan?’ If you have a very thoughtful red team, you’ll produce stunning results.”
Ethical hacking is a great example of red teaming. Tech companies will often put bounties out for hackers who can discover and exploit a software’s vulnerability. Companies will reward the best developers to find their vulnerabilities to implement patches without malicious hackers harming customers.
Don’t limit your best performers to coming up with sound plans. Use your best performers to poke holes in and improve your best plans.