The Increase Your Impact Newsletter is your Monday morning edge, created for growth-minded individuals. Each issue is a 2-3-minute read that delivers actionable strategies and powerful stories straight from my work with the world’s top performers. I 'd love to have you join my weekly email list and join thousands of others who are striving to get better, just like you.
IYI Newsletter: when the path is hard
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Approximately a 2-minute read Good Morning! There's a moment that happens in almost every serious pursuit, regardless of whether you're in professional sports, a student, an executive, or even at home. It's when the path becomes seemingly too difficult to bear. It's when you realize you underestimated how hard the journey would actually be. I once spoke with a professional athlete who was in the middle of this exact part of his path. He said things had gotten tough, and he wondered how much longer he was willing to keep going. I would have done him a disservice by trying to help him make the path easier. Instead, I asked a simpler and more direct question: "Are you going to quit?" He said no. His answer set the tone for the rest of the conversation. During hard times, once quitting is off the table, complaining stops being useful. It's understandable to be frustrated, but to channel your effort productively, ask yourself: what am I going to do about it? The Manure PrincipleAn analogy I like to use during these times is around cow manure. Not a glamorous image, but a useful one. The richer and more nutrient-dense it is, the better crops grow. They thrive because of manure, not in spite of it. The same logic applies to anything worth building in yourself. Growth as someone pursuing their dreams often runs directly through the stuff that stinks: setbacks, boring repetition, criticism, failure, seasons that don't go your way. That's not a detour from the process. It's the needed, critical part of the process. The struggle you're in right now may turn out to be the very thing that makes you capable of what comes next. Why the Hard Part Is the PointIf the path were easy, everyone would walk it. The difficulty you're facing isn't a flaw in the system; it's what separates the people who genuinely want something from the people who only like the idea of wanting it. The hardship you're going through functions as a filter. It reveals whether you're truly committed or just hoping for an easier path to getting what you want. So if you're in a difficult stretch right now, the instruction isn't to escape it or find a shortcut. It's to grow through it. Let the struggle do its work. The takeaway: When things get hard, the question worth asking isn't "why is this so difficult?" It's "what am I going to do about it?" Everything else is just noise. See you next Monday! Justin If you are interested in working with one of our process coaches or booking a keynote presentation for your organization, reply to this email, and we'll connect! If this email was forwarded to you and you want it to come directly to your inbox, click here to subscribe |
Justin Su'a
The Increase Your Impact Newsletter is your Monday morning edge, created for growth-minded individuals. Each issue is a 2-3-minute read that delivers actionable strategies and powerful stories straight from my work with the world’s top performers. I 'd love to have you join my weekly email list and join thousands of others who are striving to get better, just like you.
Approximately a 2-minute read Happy Monday! As you may know, I'm a huge fan of asking effective questions. I love crafting the right question at the right time for the right person. Here are some common questions many of the people I work with ask themselves: How do I become great? How do I become a better leader? How do I reach my potential? How do I get to the next level? On the surface, those are great questions. They can help you think bigger, clarify what matters, and point you in the...
Approximately a 2-minute read Good Morning! I remember my middle school teacher teaching us about blind spots in science class. It felt like a magic trick. I couldn't understand how my eyes couldn't pick up the dot right in front of my face! We have blind spots not only in our vision, but also in how we lead and interpret situations. They come in the form of the following: Believing that a player is "just not coachable." Thinking the team is aligned because nobody is saying otherwise....
Approximately a 2-minute read Good Morning! Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about ambiguity. Not in some abstract, philosophical sense, but in the way it quietly shows up in everyday life when we are not completely sure what we are doing, why we are doing it, or whether we should fully commit to it. One definition of ambiguity is "a lack of exactness, " and that word, exactness, has been sticking with me because I’ve noticed how much hesitation and indecision can come from simply not making...