What is It That No One Else is Willing to Do?

My father has said that he made a successful career because he did what no one else was willing to do. In his case, he works long hours outside, leaving the house at sunrise and coming back after dark. Usually, this includes weekends too.

As another example, Bobby Fischer, arguably the best chess player of all time, was up against the best Russian chess players in the 1960s. At that time, the Russians were dominant in chess, and no one seemed to offer them much of a challenge. No American seemed to have a shot against them until Bobby Fischer.

One of the ways Bobby Fischer was willing to do what no one else did was that he decided to learn Russian. Many of the best chess books were written in Russian since many of the best players were there.

Fischer was already one of the greats without knowing Russian, but it seems that learning the language helped to push him to a higher level. He was able to learn from chess books that most Americans would have never read.

In 1972, at 29 years old, Fischer beat Boris Spassky and became the world champion. It was the first time a non-Russian had won the title in 24 years.

His story is sad after this, but I think he still serves as a good example for today’s post.

Today, ask yourself:

What is it that no one else is willing to do?

Are they unwilling to…

• work overtime?

• get their hands dirty?

• learn a new language or a computer language?

• dedicate themselves to getting better every day?

• sacrifice some of their free time?

• work on the toughest problems?

• interact with people who they disagree with?

• try something new?

• risk looking like fools?

What is it? What is it you could start doing that most people around you are unwilling to do?

Maybe you will think: “If no one else is willing to do it, then why should I do it?”

You don’t have to, but sometimes it pays off to venture onto trails no one else wants to go on. Maybe they are scared, complacent, or entitled. If these are qualities you have also taken upon yourself, you may also draw firm lines about what you are unwilling to do.

However, if you want to stretch yourself and see if you can grow and evolve, one way to do that may be to do what no one else was willing to do or go where no one else was willing to go.

If you are troubled about taking a great leap, then start with one simple action.