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At the heart of everything, I realize that I’m just a brick-layer.

Tuesday, December 22, 2020
  • Writer's pictureK
“Rome wasn’t built in a day but they were laying bricks every hour.”

"The problem is that it can be really easy to overestimate the importance of building your Roman empire and underestimate the importance of laying another brick. It’s just another brick. Why worry about it? Much better to think about the dream of Rome. Right?


Actually Rome is just the result, the bricks are the system. The system is greater than the goal. Focusing on your habits is more important than worrying about your outcomes. Of course, there’s nothing necessarily impressive about laying a brick. It’s not a fantastic amount of work. It’s not a grand feat of strength or stamina or intelligence. Nobody is going to applaud you for it.

But laying a brick every day, year after year? That’s how you build an empire."

[Excerpt from James Clear]

 

I've seen too many people attempt to be "heroes" in their organisations. They seek the recognition, adulation, whatever you call it. But a five-minute fame is short-lived. At the end of the day, it is about whether you and the company can bring home the bacon. That's all that matters.


In a fast moving and digital world that seeks instant gratification, patience and foresight, are two highly underrated attributes amongst the young and inexperienced.

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