#6 You don't need to justify your success to anyone

Most of the time I write, I write for someone else. Someone who I know, someone who asked me something, or someone from my past. This time I write for myself. I need to hear this more than you. You don't need to justify why you have what you have to anyone. No one deserves an explanation of how hard you worked, how much you tormented, how lucky you got, or how you made your own luck. No one deserves the truth but you. Let it be a mystery. Let it sit as unresolved. Let that someone, "curious to know", not get their answer. Because no one wants an answer. What they truly want is justification that whatever you achieved, they could've if they didn't have their excuses to hide behind. What they want is a weapon to brush off the stings they get from your success. What they want is not information, not advice, no. They want to feel okay with themselves for not trying. That is why they want to see behind the curtain. The moment you make them feel you're human, you will lose what you had. Here's what you had: Grit. Discipline. Ruthlessness. Work ethic. Introspection. Intelligence. Unwavering delusion and self belief. I could go on. The point is, these things, however normal they sound, are NOT NORMAL. In a class of 50, 2 might have this. They are abnormalities formed by your trauma, your childhood, your scarcity, your very soul the way it has been configured. When you explain to someone who doesn't GET it, you expose your very powers to judgement. And whatever society can see, it will judge. It will root it out of you. It will try to MAKE YOU NORMAL. YOU DIDN'T GET ALL THE WAY HERE JUST TO BECOME NORMAL, OR TO BE JUDGED BY PEOPLE WHO'VE NEVER WORKED FOR SHIT. YOU CAME HERE TO WIN. The next time someone asks, "What's your secret?", "What would you tell someone starting out?", "How do you stay so consistent?", "Where do you find the time?", "What do you do differently?", "How do you stay motivated?", "What's your routine?", "How did you learn all this?", "How do you not burn out?", "Did you always know you'd end up here?", "How long did it take you?", "What's the one thing that made the difference?", "If you had to start over, what would you do first?", "How do you deal with self-doubt?", "What gave you the confidence to go for it?", "Was it worth it?", "How do you know what to focus on?", "Who helped you get here?", "What's your edge?", etc. (bunch of examples so you can detect exactly when you get asked something like this, this is applicable practical advice... not just motivational) Just say, "I don't know man. I just got here." Just, let these words come out of your mouth, and then zip it. I know you know the answer. I know exactly what you'll say when you want to explain and "help" them. They don't need it. Just, repeat after me, "I", "don't", "fucking", "know". And no, you're not being dishonest. This is the most honest answer you can give. The real answer (the abnormal work ethic, the configuration) can't be transferred ANYWAY. So you're really not withholding anything useful. Save your breath. And use it in work. (the log ended really well here but I wanna add something more so here we go) Part 2: All of this, hiding your "secret", is temporary anyways. The only reason you even get asked that is because you haven't achieved enough. The distance between you and the questioner is not much. There's an explainable gap still. Look at the greats. Look at Napoleon, Alexander, Marcus, Julius, Tesla, Newton, Einstein, Turing, Rothschild, Rockefeller, Ford, Edison, Musk. Would they still get asked, "how'd you do it?". The gap is enormous. The gap is unimaginable. That's why they are considered great. There's no point of jealousy or envy or greed. There's not enough material, not enough words to build a bridge over that gap. Aim for it. Aim to climb that gargantuan mountain people have stopped looking up towards because they hurt their necks in doing so. In this life or the next, we'll get there. See you in the next one. Neil Lunavat