How to Get More Effort

The title is really a question more than an answer. I feel in life things often come down to who puts in more effort. Sure, being exceptionally talented can help you succeed. But it’s not enough, nor does it really guarantee success by any means. There are a lot of talented smart people who don’t “make it”. Singers who sound great but don’t record enough etc.

I think the real dividor is effort. When I worked at Meta I used to wonder why Google or Microsoft didn’t come and eat our lunch. They were much larger, had thousands of very good engineers, and already had working org structures etc. Although starting network effects had obvious impact, I think the real reason was that Facebook wanted it more. When Google+ launched Facebook became a 24/7 company. The office was open on the weekend with catering, and the carpark was full. They simply out-worked the competitors. “Carthago delenda est”

Similarly in war, although technology matters, at the end of the day it’s really how many lives are you willing to commit. It didn’t matter how skilled Nazi engineers or leadership was. The USSR was simply willing to throw bodies until there was nothing left.

Even for fields like music, those who are diligent to try and try again (learning from their mistakes) are really the winners. It’s the continous submission of effort that take you to the top.

Things I have tried

Since effort basically controls how good your life is you’d think everyone would constantly be trying to figure out how to get more effort. There are three main things I think help find effort:

• Timekeeping/reminders

  • This definitely helps to a point. Having a schedule or plan, having your phone notify you etc. With running etc this really helps.

• Social queues

  • Being part of a startup, company, club etc. This varys in effectiveness from person to person. But if you are working on something important to more than just yourself (IE having a child) you are more likely to try.

• Internal want/need/hunger

  • This is the least reliable and most unfair part. I believe the amount of effort you can put in is highly genetic. You are born with some tolerance / ability to just bash your head against the wall and try. This is where effort is generated from and it’s only true source.

  • A stupid example of this might be how you handle discomfort. I jump in the cold sea from time to time. I don’t actually like the feeling (I’d argue I hate it), but I love the feeling of overcoming the resistence. That is not something I chose. It is something I am.

In the world

So what can you do with this? Maybe squeeze out a little more of everything you’ve ever wanted. How well you do your job, the life you provide for your partner, how physically fit you are. All need effort. And there is a limited quantity.

Despite being genetic to start, I do think that you can min-max it some extent. We definitely do not use our full potential. Some tricks and shortcuts help, and over time you can build up more tolerance for effort. But you are not Batman, and you need to come to terms with that.