Can you say you are working to be the best you can be at everything you do?
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“I’m the best there is at what I do.”
This little nugget of wisdom comes from Wolverine of the X-Men, played from 2000 to today by Hugh Jackman. Years before though, I discovered him in the pages of Marvel Comics, The Uncanny X-men and it was May of 1981 and I was eleven years old. I picked a comic book up from the stand and this short, hairy guy with a cigar in his mouth, and kicking some tail-feathers said, “I’m the best there is at what I do.”
Of course at that time, it was about kicking super villain butt. It always kind of stuck with me. Years later I always asked, “Am I the best I am at what I do every day? Do I live with my values driving me towards an undeniable purpose of what I’m trying to accomplish?”
You need to focus on persevering and ensuring everything you do is aligned with your purpose and that you’re putting all of your effort into it.
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I’m the best there is at what I do means that the effort I put in to everything, and I do mean everything has all the passion, drive and focus that I can possibly muster. Are you living with your own purpose every day? Are you the best there is at what you do? If not, why not? What hindered you from being the best you are at what you do? Are you trying to improve your education? Take a class, learn from a book, pay a coach. There are variety of things you can do to be better and reach the goal.
None of us are perfect. The proclamation, “I’m the best there is at what I do” was always challenged by people trying to pull Wolverine down and conquer him, but you know what? He kept fighting, getting back up. I always remember the images of him with bullets, arrows and who knows what else stuck in him and looking disheveled, having been beaten up, and guess what? The end result was he persevered and came out on top. The important thing is the perseverance that got him there.
That’s what you need to focus on. You need to focus on persevering and ensuring everything you do is aligned with your purpose and that you’re putting all of your effort into it. Listen, if you’re in the entrepreneurial space, if you’re an employee, a father, or a husband, if you’re doing this half-assed you’re not going to succeed. That’s for those looking for a lotto win, those people who are looking for overnight successes. Being the best comes from effort, A LOT of it.
You know what? I’ve been married for fifteen years, and with fifteen years of hard work, I’m raising beautiful children and creating a life with my wife one day at a time. I’m succeeding at being best father, husband, businessman, writer, and podcaster I can be. Every day I do something incrementally to move myself forward. Can you say the same? Are you the best at what you do, above all else?
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Photo: nevilzaviri / flickr
Wonderfully inspiring article. Thanks for sharing!
“I’m the best there is at what I do,” is only the first half of Wolverine’s catchphrase. The other half is, “…but what I do best isn’t very nice.” And I think therein lies an important corollary to what you’ve written: it’s important not to let the struggle to achieve your goals prevent you from asking whether you’re pursuing the right goals. Wolverine wrestles with that question constantly (even more in the comics than in the movies), which is really what makes him a hero and not a villain. (If you think about it, “indestructible, berserk, killing machine with knives… Read more »
Thanks for the reply Morgan, and I couldn’t agree more. My focus was to be on the introspection of achieving your highest self. The drive or initiative for what we have to do is another story. I know my own dark side has twisted that motivation and that similar to Mr. James Howletts journey, finding purpose has been a lighthouse to a more righteous rogue.
Besides I love getting all heady about Marvel characters for some reason!