Ep 608 | If You’re Not Going to Do It Well, Don’t Do It at All

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast. We believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. There is a quote I recently came across that I thought our No Days Off nation would really value, and that quote comes from a woman named Amelia Boone. I'll talk a little bit more about Amelia here in a moment. But Amelia said, "If you're not going to do it well, don't do it at all." If you're not going to do it well, don't do it at all. Now, nothing all that special about that quote. You've heard things like that before. But when I dive a little bit deeper with respect to how Amelia meant it, I think it might matter to you. Because at first glance, that quote kind of sounds like something your high school coach might say to you, something your coach might scream from the sideline. In reality though, I actually think it's one of the most misunderstood pieces of wisdom that again, you may have heard. So let's unpack it a little bit. Let's talk about Amelia Boone and what she really meant. And let's talk around how you can use this idea to stop dabbling, to start focusing a little bit more, and to truly go all in on what you're built to do. So, Amelia Boone is not just a high performer. She's kind of a, dare I say, a freak among freaks. She is a multiple-time world champion in obstacle course racing. She's been on the podium, I think, 50+ times in some of the hardest endurance events on this planet. And she also, in her free time, is a corporate attorney at Apple. So she trains before she goes to court hearings. She runs mountains and things of that nature before she goes to work. She lives in the zone where most people break, and yet she keeps coming back for more. So, she's a pretty special individual. And when she was asked about how she approaches her life, she said that the line I shared almost kind of offhandedly in that, "If I'm not going to do something well, I just don't do it." And it wasn't because she's afraid to fail, but it was because she refuses to waste time on things that she knows she'll never actually commit to mastering. Let me say that again. I want to make sure we're clear. It's— she's making the statement that if she can't do it well, she's not going to do it at all. She makes the statement not because she's afraid to fail, but because she refuses to waste time. Her time is, you know, very limited. She refuses to waste time on things that she just knows she's never going to actually commit to mastering. Now, what does this actually mean? When I got to thinking about it, what does it mean? I think that this is not about being perfect. This is not about avoiding hard things. It's not about quitting when you're uncomfortable. What I take it to mean is it's about choosing your battles. It's about knowing your lane. It's about, I would call it ruthless prioritization, of excellence, of focus. Because mediocrity, even in the smallest of doses, can be really, really expensive because it dilutes your energy and it, it clutters your calendar. It stands in the way of your edge. So when you agree to things that you're just okay at, you're actually saying no to the things that you actually, you truly could be elite at. And I think that that's the cost that most people never really count. I think this shows up in business all the time. In business, you tend to get paid in proportion to the, the size of the problems that you solve. So if you're spending your time dabbling, you know, maybe building a bunch of landing pages that don't convert, or testing out different CRMs without actually committing to one, or launching all these different revenue streams with no real backbone or foundation. You're not actually a business owner, you're kind of a juggler, and eventually you're going to drop everything. I think the best businesses don't do everything well, they actually do a few things exceptionally well, and then they double down on those things. In other words, uh, Chick-fil-A doesn't serve 200 menu items. Uh, Apple doesn't necessarily try to build the cheapest phone. Amazon, which started with books, didn't even start with AWS. You're not supposed to be great at everything. You're supposed to be great at, at what matters. Again, you're not supposed to be great at everything. You just got to be great at what truly matters. So in business, that's how it shows up. I also think it shows up in leadership. I think leaders get stuck when they try to be superheroes and operate outside the scope of what they're more expert in. You know, leaders get stuck when they start saying, "I should run the meetings and I should write the copy and I should handle every fire." No, I actually don't think that that's accurate. I think you should lead from your strengths and you should build around your weaknesses. When I say build around, I mean systems or bring in other people around those areas that you're just not exceptional in. I think the best leaders that I know have a rather narrow range but a really deep mastery. They know where they excel, where they shine, and they don't apologize for outsourcing or delegating the rest. Trying to be okay at everything will actually make you excellent at nothing. In health, if you're gonna train, you have to train with intent. You can't half-commit to a diet you're gonna abandon in a couple weeks. You can't tell yourself you're starting a new routine and then skip, you know, the first 4 days. Mental reps matter just as much as the physical ones. Every time you break your word to yourself, you train your identity. You train yourself as, I'm someone who quits, or I'm someone who tolerates average. Instead, I'd encourage you to flip that. I'm someone who does what I said I'd do. I'm someone who trains on purpose. I'm someone who plays to win. That's mental fitness. That's identity construction. And I think that's what Amelia Boone is really talking about. And lastly, I think we can apply this, this concept to relationships. If you're going to be in someone's life, actually be in it. Don't say you're present and then scroll on your phone during dinner. Don't say you're all in and then leave when, when it gets tough. Don't keep one foot out the door just in case. Your attention is finite. Your time is finite. Your loyalty is finite. So, you either bring your full self or just don't bother showing up because halfway is worse than actually being gone because it gives this illusion of presence while delivering what I would say is kind of this experience of absence. So, to wrap this up today, Amelia Boone with her statement didn't mean do everything with excellence. What she meant was to pick what matters, commit to doing it well, and if you can't, walk away from it. Solve for it in a different way. Another system, another person, whatever it may be. That's not quitting, that's focus, that's clarity. And I think it's how high performers buy back their time and their energy and their greatness. So, here's your challenge around this topic. Today or this week? I want you to list 3 things out that you're currently just doing at an okay level. 3 things that you're currently just doing just okay, okay? Then I want you to ask, would I be better off quitting this and doubling down on what I do best? Would I be better off quitting 1 or 2 or 3 of these things and doubling down on what I do best? And then lastly, actually act. Cut something. Say no. And then recommit that energy to where it counts. You do not need more goals. None of us here at No Days Off need more goals. We just need more, more focus and probably a little bit more discipline. We need more courage to stay in our area of expertise, stay in our lane. And then just drive like hell. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off podcast. Thank you so much for listening, and remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it.