When I was younger, I was a real Type A personality.
I mean, you couldn’t tell it from the state of my ROOM necessarily (I know you’re reading this mom. Please stop laughing hysterically).
But I wanted to be the best SO freaking badly.
The highest grades. The best goalie during soccer time at PE. First chair clarinet.
I even managed to achieve all those things… at least for a minute or two. It wasn’t long before some other overachieving asshole came along and knocked me off my perch.
And that’s the funny thing… when you think about it, there’s really only ONE person who can be the best. Whether it’s the best clarinet player at your little podunk Texas school or the best clarinet player in the whole damn world.
There can only be one.
And when you’re competing against everyone else, odds are there’s always gonna be someone just a little better.
I mean think about it… there are more than 7 billion people on this planet.
I can’t even imagine how hard you’ve gotta work to be the absolute #1 uncontested BEST at something with 7+ billion people breathing down your neck.
And even when you cut it down to 70k, or even 70 or even 7…
It’s still really hard to be the absolute best.
The odds just aren’t in your favor.
It’s way more likely that you’re somewhere in the middle… with someone (or someones) who gets it just a little faster, does it just a little better.
But by the same token, there’s always gonna be someone just a little bit worse. They’re not quite getting it, or they haven’t been in the game as long…
And given those odds, I’m not so sure I care about being “THE BEST” anymore.
Being the best seems like a LOT of fucking work. And at this point in my life, I’m not looking to add anymore work. In fact, I’m actively looking to remove work from my plate.
So I’m not worrying about whether I’m the best copywriter or marketer or writer anymore.
Am I the best version of ME that’s currently in existence? Am I constantly focusing on little improvements and getting better on a daily basis?
Hell yeah I am. That’s what I’m working on right now.
So you can try for the best if that’s what floats your boat.
I’m perfectly happy with “pretty damn good”.