I used to call Joe a genius – everyone did. At school we all thought of him as an incredibly “gifted” guitarist and he’s since gone on to travel the world making a very good living at what he loves to do. Joe and I became good friends toward the end of high school, and that’s when I learned the truth. I stayed over at his house one night and was awakened at 6am on a Sunday morning by the harmonious strum of his acoustic guitar. “What are you doing up?” I yawned. “It’s six in the morning.” “I always start the day with two hours of practice and do two more hours in the afternoon or evening. If I didn’t I’d be hopeless,” Joe said. At that moment it hit me: Joe was gifted, but this was a gift that had started out very small, perhaps even invisible to most people, but then he had added, built upon, and massively extended it. Joe had developed his gift through self-discipline. Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate self- discipline as an invisible magic. You can’t see, taste, or smell it, but its effects are unmistakable. It can transform overweight into slim, uninformed into expert, poor into rich, and misery into happiness. It’s the submerged part of the iceberg others don’t see when they see a person’s “genius.” For example, celebrities have never been more visible in our culture. Famous athletes, talented actors and actresses, and incredible musicians are all over the media. But what we don’t see are the thousands of hours of super-focused work these people have put in behind the scenes to get to where they are. It’s easy to feel that success comes easily – that it’s just a matter of luck, or an innate gift. But anyone who has achieved anything has done so because they’ve been able to control and direct their own inner strengths and actions to the extent that has enabled them to become super- skilled at what they do. And this kind of self- discipline, like a muscle, can be developed by all of us, including you.
By Strive Masiyiwa A few weeks ago I went to the doctor. I will tell you what he said about my health at the end, but first read this: Twenty years ago, I arranged to meet a well-known British international businessman who invested a lot in Africa at the time. We agreed to meet for dinner at a leading hotel in London. After a good meeting, we started to walk out of the restaurant when he suddenly collapsed in the lobby. There was total pandemonium as they rushed to get medical assistance. Being London, an ambulance arrived in minutes. I jumped in the back with him as paramedics wrestled to keep him alive. He had had a heart attack and had to have triple bypass heart surgery. Sadly he died a few weeks later. He hadn't been sick and his sudden death surprised everyone. And yet as I reflected on it, and later discussed it with a doctor friend who knew him, I realized he was very laid back about his health despite having a hectic business life. Even during our dinner...
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