The greatest predictor of success is consistency.
Putting in the time every day, every week, every month, and every year fundamentally shapes your story. Achieving this is one of the hardest practices to maintain. We get tired; we get bored; we get distracted; we are challenged by competing priorities. And while it’s important to remember to pace yourself to avoid burning out, it’s also important to be consistent.
This week I want to focus on what is arguably the most fundamental element of success. I hope you’ll find something in the newsletter that helps you find the fuel to keep going ❤️🔥
Please note: this newsletter adheres to Daniel Miessler’s AI Influence Level (AIL) Zero
💭 A few quick thoughts
Consistency > Natural Talent; it empowers you to surpass those who are gifted, because at some point they will stop improving – but you won’t.
Habits shape outcomes over the long run; what you eat each day, how frequently you exercise, how well you sleep, how often you read a book, and how much you practice will determine the length, trajectory and arc of your life.
Chop Wood, Carry Water; transformation doesn’t come from the action itself – it requires being mindful, aware, and present every day.
📚 From the bookshelf
Chop Wood Carry Water by Joshua Medcalf. “Dream BIG. Start small. Be ridiculously faithful.” The real secret to success is that last part. Strive to be consistent and faithful to the process.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson. “Who you are is defined by what you’re willing to struggle for.” It is through persistent struggle to improve that we go beyond our limits.
They Hang Me in Tokyo by Allan West. “If it is worth making, it is worth making well. If it is worth making well, it is worth making to last.”
😊 Recently enjoyed
Navigating the Cybersecurity Economy ft. Mike Privette. The ZER0 SIGNAL podcast has been releasing absolute bangers since launching back in August, and has quickly become a regular show I listen to each week. P.S. I sat down to chat with Conor and Stu on episode 3 of the show to discuss trust in AI systems.
Why Language Models Hallucinate. “a non-hallucinating model could be easily created, using a question-answer database and a calculator, which answers a fixed set of questions such as ‘What is the chemical symbol for gold?’ and well-formed mathematical calculations such as ‘3 + 8’, and otherwise outputs [I don’t know].” What they’re describing here is becoming more widely known as Small Language Models (SLMs), which I suspect will be the next evolution in this technology space.
Boring is good. “a mature technology doesn’t look like magic; it looks like infrastructure. It gets smaller, more reliable, and much more boring. We’re here to solve problems, not look cool.” The shift to Small Language Models (SLMs) is coming; they’re going to be way more consistent and reliable than what’s out there now.
🤔 This week’s question
What skill(s) are you consistently practicing?
Every day I make time to for reading.
It is one of the greatest habits I’ve rebuilt and maintained in my adult life, as it causes me to be constantly exposed to new ideas, challenges, and opportunities. According to my Kindle, I’m now on week 139 of a reading streak - and it would likely be much longer, except that I chose to spend time reading a paperback more than two years ago.
Above all else, this habit has given me access to information that is often totally out of reach for many people today. Developing the patience to sit and read each day has exposed me to new ways of thinking, and has been the cornerstone for developing a myriad of other skills in my life.
What skill(s) are you consistently practicing?
Let me know what you think.
– Keith