111. The Only Human Who Can Do It

“I’m the only human who can do it.”

That’s what a young Anakin Skywalker said in response to someone inquiring about his unique abilities as a podracer.

He was a confident young man, clearly destined for greatness, but some were naysayers. When confronted about the future of his gifted padawan learner, Obi-Wan Kenobi proclaimed that “Anakin’s abilities have made him… well… arrogant.”

If you don’t know the story, young Anakin became the most feared villain the galaxy had ever seen and became Darth Vader. Arrogance was hardly the only problem. However, in the end, he did, in fact, turn out to be the chosen one. The one to overthrow the Sith and bring balance to the force. The only one capable of such a thing.

Great stories are written about characters that are uniquely capable of impacting the entire world. Frodo was uniquely capable of destroying the one and only ring of power, Harry was the only one who could kill Voldemort and Ironman was born to wield the infinity stones and defeat Thanos when no one else could.

Those are fantasies, but every one of you has a real story to tell. Only you can write it, and we know how the great ones go.

You are uniquely capable of fulfilling your potential. Therefore, make sure it feels that way.

In a nutshell, this is why I’m no longer a real estate agent. I couldn’t sell myself. I didn’t believe myself to be uniquely capable of helping you buy and sell real estate. I knew that if you used any number of other agents from my office, you would get the same service and the same result. Sure, I wanted you to hire me, but the job could be done sufficiently even if you didn’t.

I was not going to be the only human that could get the job done at a high level, so I was not motivated.

On the other hand, I don’t hesitate the tell anyone that the best personal training in the world can be found at Warehouse Gym Co. I know all the ins and outs of the personal training industry, and I know the experience we deliver, and I come to that conclusion.

Does this make me… well… arrogant?

Absolutely.

But I couldn’t serve our clients if I thought there was a better option elsewhere. If you’re looking for personal training, you can come to our gym, or you can go somewhere worse, and if you choose the latter, I sleep like a baby at night because of my conviction.

There’s no way I could continue to put in the work with the same level of enthusiasm if I thought you could do what I’m doing.

So let me ask you this: what are you uniquely capable of?

Whatever it is, be convicted of it. Vigorously believe that it’s important that you’re doing the work no one else can.

If you don’t know what you’re the best at, don’t worry about defeating villains or taking over the world, just start where you are.

Do you have kids? Grandkids? A spouse? A dog? Do you have anybody who relies on you to show up today? Start there.

Do you own a business or have a job? Start there.

No one can do it like you can do it. Can they? Can anyone else step up and be the father to your kids that you can be? Can anyone else make the same impact in the company that you can? I mean if you really gave it your all, could anyone come close to serving like you could?

The answer has to be no. We have to believe we’re capable of greatness if we’re going to keep trying. Sure, you might not have the resources or the experience or the network or the geography or the health history or the or the or the…

But you have the best pricing strategy for what you sell. You give people the best bang for buck. You have more attention to the details that matter than anyone else possibly could. You could be more focused, more compassionate, more creative and more innovative than anyone if you gave it your all.

So give it your all.

Just know that greatness isn’t guaranteed.

I’m not Anakin Skywalker. Disney didn’t buy the rights to my story. The conviction I mentioned is entirely unproven. If our gym shut down, it might not be a week before everyone forgot we were ever there. It’s just not productive to think like that, even though it’s true.

That’s what’s tough about all this. I don’t know how many times I’ve read that everyone is replaceable, but probably as many as I’ve seen real world examples. Is it reasonable to believe that I’m the exception? I don’t think so, but I’ll keep telling myself I am regardless.

The reason, as I see it, that I can do this, is because I’ve found something that I’m good at, which also happens to be something I can always get better at. I’m passionate about what I do, and I care, so wanting to get better and believing I will comes naturally.

But what if you’re not passionate about what you do? Well, try getting ridiculously good at it and see if passion develops. Learn as much as you can and see how far you can go with what you’re doing and see if passion develops. Maybe it won’t, but I bet you won’t mind your efforts when you see the rewards of it.

It might not be in the same lane, but when you start to give it your all like only you could, opportunities will find you. I’m not saying you’ll become a Jedi or an Avenger, but I’ll bet that if you start to tap into that sense of unique capability, you’ll find yourself closer to your ideals, and I’ll bet it will happen sooner than you think.

— Cody

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See you next Thursday.

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