Do It Today: Overcome Procrastination, Improve Productivity, and Achieve More Meaningful Things

Repeat The Basics
And there’s only one way to improve the basics, by
repetition. You get stronger by lifting weights, rep after rep.

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You build stamina by performing anaerobic exercise. We all
know that. But how about your mind? How do you become
mentally stronger? And why does it even matter? The
answer is simple: Everything starts with the mind. Steven
Pressfield, the author of The War of Art, said it best:
“Long-term, we must begin to build our internal strengths. It
isn’t just skills like computer technology. It’s the old-
fashioned basics of self-reliance, self-motivation, self-
reinforcement, self-discipline, self-command.”
But my challenge was always: How do you do that? I know
how to get physically stronger. But I never knew how I could
get mentally stronger. And whenever people told me “it’s all
about life experience” I always thought there was a better
way. Let’s be honest, who wants to wait until they are 70 to
get mentally strong?
Some things can be done faster, especially if you keep
repeating the basics. Because that’s when we screw up
most of the time. We think we know everything.
Stay A Beginner
How often do you think to yourself, 
“I already know that”?
If
you’re like most of us, quite often. One thing we have to
remind ourselves is that the people who think they know
everything are the biggest losers in life. I meet people all
the time who think they know everything. And I don’t even
mention people on the internet. A lot of commenters always
want to show how smart they are and that this is “so
obvious.” Well, that’s not how the greatest people in the
world approach things. Muhammad Ali once said that:
“It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And
once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to
happen.”

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When you repeat the basics, you don’t only become great;
you will 
stay
great. It’s a challenge that all high performers
face. I repeat the basics of many things in my life: Fitness,
philosophy, kindness, business, writing. For example, I re-
read my favorite books on Stoicism every month to exercise
my mind. I regularly grab The Elements Of Style by Strunk
& White to repeat the basics of simple and effective writing.
If I don’t repeat these things, I simply forget about my
philosophy for life or how to write good articles. That’s how
our brain works. Without repetition, we forget things easily. I
always look at myself as a beginner. That’s one of the first
(and most important) lessons I learned from my
mentor. He’s now in his seventies and still considers himself
as a student of life.
I have the same approach to business. I always go back to
the question of, 
“what is the purpose of a business?”
I can
tell you that if you answer, “to make money,” you need to
repeat the basics.
It’s very simple: Figure out what the basics are in your field.
And repeat them. Keep it simple. There’s no bigger waste of
time that repeating bad, wrong, or negative things. That’s
the only thing you should be mindful of. Don’t take advice
from people who haven’t successfully done something
themselves.