The single most effective way to be the best at what you do

Daniel P. Donovan
3 min readDec 21, 2019
Photo by Drew Graham on Unsplash

So you want to be the best?

The big numero uno?

The one who stands above the rest — skilled, talented, and useful?

It’s actually a lot easier than you might expect.

In fact, once you know how it’s done, you likely won’t believe it.

Either way, it’s true.

You really can be the best at what you do — or at the very least, more proficient and competent than most.

All it takes is a little effort and commitment.

Here’s what you gotta do.

First, decide what it is you want to master. Do you want to be a great writer? A great painter? Do you want to be the best at making hip-hop beats? Perhaps the hottest cook in any kitchen?

This shouldn’t be hard.

Typically, everyone has something that calls for them. You’ll know what it is. It’s that thing you’ve got a knack for… that you really love and can’t get enough of, even though you probably don’t spend nearly enough time doing it. We all want to be better at something.

Got it? Good.

Now the important part.

What you need to do next is, you need to find and set aside an hour each day. That’s it. Just one measly hour. Don’t be a buffoon and tell me you can’t find an hour in a day. That’s poppycock and I won’t have it.

If you really want to be the best at what you do, you’ll find this hour.

Untold fortunes are depending on it.

Maybe you’re staying up an hour later in the evenings. Perhaps you’re waking up an hour earlier in the mornings. I don’t care how you do it, just do it.

Then, what you’re going to do with this hour is, you’re going to devote it exclusively to that one thing you want to be better at.

Paint for an hour.

Write for an hour.

Make beats for an hour… study cooking for an hour… play the guitar… knit some socks… read some books… sing and dance… it doesn’t matter.

What matters is that you spend your hour doing that one thing.

And, if for some reason, you’re not feeling up to the task, do it anyway!

Power through it. Get it done. Put in the work day after day after day.

Why?

Because you’ll be the only one doing it.

No one else is going to put in that kind of effort.

You’ll be part of a select few who work on becoming better every day.

And I’m not just whistlin’ dixie over here.

It’s exactly what I’m trying to do, too — hence why I’m writing this.

Sure, this piece might not be the best article on the web. It might be full of errors and need corrections galore.

But that’s not the point.

The point is that I’m showing up, and I’ll continue to show up each day.

Each day, I’ll be better. Each day, I’ll be more experienced. Each day, I’ll be putting in the work while everyone else just wishes their lives away.

1 hour a day — that’s it.

Find it, commit to it, dig in and get the work done.

You’ll be amazed how far this simple act can take you. And who knows, you could even end up becoming one of the best along the way.

One last thing…

If you liked this article, click the👏 below, and share it with other people so they can enjoy it as well!

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