365 Days With Self-Discipline: 365 Life-Altering Thoughts on Self-Control, Mental Resilience, and Success

Day 61: On Extreme Actions

You don’t get extreme talent, fame, or success without extreme actions.

—Derek Sivers

 

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It’s important to approach your goals in a sustainable way, thinking in

terms  of  months,  years,  or  decades  instead  of  mere  days  or  weeks.

However,  at  the  same  time,  taking  extreme  actions  can  pay  handsome

dividends, too.

Balancing  between  the  extreme  and  more  sustainable  approach  is  a

difficult art, but in essence it comes down to taking extreme actions during

a  relatively  brief  period  of  time,  while  ensuring  that  your  actions  are

sustainable over the long term.

For example, when my first book became a bestseller, I stuck to a strict

publication schedule to benefit from the gained momentum. I launched my

second book (on which I had been working since I finished the first draft of

my first book) a mere three weeks later. My third book went live in another

two weeks, and my fourth was released three weeks after the previous one.

From there, I slowed down my pace, but I still managed to release at

least four new books each year. In the short term, my actions were extreme.

And precisely because of that, I was able to build a large following quickly.

However, after an initial sprint, you need to slow down to go the distance—

and that’s when I transitioned to a little less extreme approach, but one still

exhibited by few authors .

Are  you  taking  extreme  actions  to  gain  momentum  and  separate

yourself  from  the  ones  who  don’t  have  the  self-discipline  needed  to  push

themselves  hard  for  a  short  period  of  time?  How  can  you  intensify  your

efforts  for  a  couple  of  weeks  or  months  to  maximize  your  results  before

transitioning to a more sustainable and less extreme approach?

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