What We’re Made to Do: Life Is Way Too Long AND Way Too Short… (Heroic +1 #1,372)
17 Dec 2025 · 0 min
Brian Johnson explores why success demands commitment to one goal. He cites Mark Ruffalo's years of rejection, James Dyson's 5,127 failed prototypes, and the Angry Birds creators' persistence, arguing life is too long to quit and too short to keep changing direction.
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Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic plus one. In our last plus one we talked about some eye popping stats from Mel Robbins great book, the five second Rule. As you may recall, we discussed the fact that the company that created Angry birds created over 50 unsuccessful games before they created Angry Birds. The three time Oscar nominated actor Mark Ruffalo went to almost 600 auditions before he landed a role. And the creator of the Dyson vacuum cleaner worked on over 5,000 prototypes before he nailed it. My head exploded multiple times. We wrapped it up by quoting Mel who tells us to play any game you have to start to win. You'll need to keep going if you want to make your dreams come true. Get ready for the long game. Angela Duckworth, the world's leading scholar on grit, tells us basically the exact same thing. She tells us, and I quote, life is relatively short, so don't labor under the delusion that you can keep switching your focus from goal to goal and get anywhere. Jim Collins, the world's leading scholar of business grit and greatness, tells us basically the exact same thing as well. He tells us, and I quote, life is way too long to give up early and way too short to be derailed from what we're passionate about and made to do. And that's today's plus one. One more time, think about what you really want to create in your life. You got it. Seriously, what's the one thing you really want to achieve in this phase of your life? Haven't achieved what you set out to achieve yet? Perfect. Win or learn. And learning is winning. Shine a flashlight on what's working. Shine that same flashlight on what might need a little work. Whoop it and try again. Remember to play any game you have to start to win. You'll need to keep going if you want to make your dreams come true. Get ready for the long game start. Keep going.
Today, we hope you enjoyed today's heroic plus one. For more ancient wisdom, modern science and practical tools to help you flourish in energy, work and love, head to Heroic us where you can get started on your heroic journey for free.
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