Read an awesome email this morning before getting out of bed and here it is. Be warned it is long but I like how he goes into specifics about how he got over challenge! A friend asked me the other day... Ryan, If you could credit just ONE THING to your success... what would it be??? I get that question a LOT... And it makes sense, right? Because after all... Were all looking for THE Secret to success... So the other week, when someone asked me the question for the umpteenth time, I started thinking about the answer... And just like last week... When I wrote about collapsing in pain, and crawling away a winner on the soccer field... The question took me back in time... This time, to the summer between my 2nd and 3rd year at Brown University... When I voluntarily subjected myself to a summer of linguistic torture in what fellow sinophiles affectionately call... Chinese Bootcamp . . So, as some people know... I speak Mandarin Chinese. Nearly fluently. But I wasnt always good with the language. In fact, there was a time when I was downright TERRIBLE. And back when I WASNT very good with Chinese... I KNEW if I had any hope of taking my Chinese to the Next Level... I needed to do something. And something BIG. So back when I was still in college, after my sophomore year - I decided to enroll in Chinese Bootcamp that summer... The single most intense Chinese language program on the planet. Period. Its an elite program run by Princeton University. Called Princeton in Beijing. Tough to get into. Attracts only the most hardcore people from places like Brown, Harvard, US Diplomatic Service and the CIA... And when I say bootcamp - Im not exaggerating either. The bootcamp is held in Beijing, China... 8-weeks of Chinese, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Classes start at 6:30AM. Office hours end at 10:00PM each night. Meals are eaten alongside your teachers. Daily verbal drills. Crappy living conditions. Squatter toilets. Cold showers. Chinese dormitories from the 1950s. And in the WORST possible living conditions... You were expected to learn how to READ and WRITE 200 new words EACH DAY. (Yeah, it aint easy.) Eat. Sleep. Dream. Chinese. But the goal? Is simple. In 8 weeks, youre 100% fluent. And the ground rules are simple too: Get caught speaking, watching TV, or even THINKING in English or another language other than Chinese? And they kick you out. As in, really. In fact, they make you sign a written contract. And if they DO kick you out - you dont get your money back, either. Or as wed say, 游戏结束 (yo-SHEE jie-SHU) Translation? Game Over. Now heres the thing: Even AFTER theyve let you into the program... On the FIRST DAY... They test you again. With a written test. To gauge your level. The test is tough. And as soon as you finish, they grade you. Post your score on a bulletin board... And based on your results... Assign your Level and write it next to your name. First year, second year, third year, etc. Fine. Like everyone else, I take the test. And at this point, Id already taken two years of Chinese at Brown... Which meant that I shouldve placed into THIRD year Chinese at Princetons program, without ANY problems... But after we take the test, and I rush up to the bulletin board to check my score... Guess what? My name aint up there. (Wtf?) Instead, the director walks up to me, and asks me to step into his office... Me, and 3 other students... (Out of over 150+ students in the program) Okay.... Whats this all about? . . When we step inside his office... There are 3 other teachers in there... He lines up the 4 students he called in... Its me, and three ABC girls. (American Born Chinese). Turns out? For the three girls... Their verbal Chinese was SO advanced (despite their test score), that he wanted to bump them UP a level... Move them from 3rd year to 4th year... Done. So they leave. And then, its just me. Director tells me - my test score was bad. In fact, it was SO bad, they were considering putting me into 2nd year Chinese. BUT.... Before they did that, they wanted to speak to me... to test my VERBAL Chinese... And give me ONE LAST CHANCE to get myself into the 3rd year class Id signed up for... . . Let me pause here for a moment... . . Because there are times in your life where you realize its do or die. Now or f*cking never. This was one of those times... Because if the director decided to stick me in 2nd year Chinese? This wouldve meant I was an epic failure. That my entire TWO YEARS at Brown studying Chinese was a complete waste. Because second year Chinese... For someone who had already studied TWO years of Chinese? Wouldve been remedial. A complete embarrassment. . . Somehow, some way... I convinced them to let me squeak into 3rd year Chinese. But the message was clear: In a class of 50 students.. I was the worst stickin one. And by a long shot. Because I was the ONLY student on the fence... But, heres where your TRUE heart comes out... When your backs against the wall. And youve got something to prove... Not to your friends, family, teachers, or anyone else... But to YOURSELF. . . So in that moment, I made a decision: To be the BEST damn Chinese student in that class. Period. So I started to work. And I mean WORK. For eight weeks, I busted f*cking ass. Non-stop. Didnt sleep more than 4 hours a night. Worked through every weekend. I was RELENTLESS. And after eight weeks? I started to get good. I mean, REALLY good. Now, I wasnt the best in the class. Probably not even in the Top 5. But it didnt matter. Id done what MOST people wouldve considered impossible. But the REAL proof... Didnt happen until I got back to Brown that next fall semester... When the penny REALLy dropped. . . Next year when I got back to Brown... I had the same teacher I had when I was a struggling second year student that previous spring... Shed seen me struggle for TWO years at Brown... How NOTHING about Chinese came natural to me... How my written Chinese was terrible... And how my VERBAL Chinese wasnt much better... After that summer of bootcamp ended and I was back at Brown... I was now in 4th year Chinese. This is the REAL sh*t. So, our teacher starts out on that first day of class asking each student how their summer was - in Chinese of course... And she goes around the room... From student, to student... Until FINALLY, she arrives at me: When its finally my turn... I respond to her question. And her reaction? Said it all. Her jaw hit the floor. I mean, she was freakin speechless. In fact, she just stood there looking at me. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity... She responded to ME... And started asking tougher, and tougher questions... Tested to see what my LIMIT really was... And we ping-ponged back and forth like that for the next 5 minutes... And after that? Nobody else in class even wanted to open up their mouth... I had my answer: Mission accomplished. . . So the question is THIS: Whats this all got to do with YOU and your BUSINESS? Well, its like this: You see... It doesnt matter where you are today... What kind of money youre making... Or if it FEELS like everyone else around you is AHEAD of you... F*ck em. YOU GOT THIS. And it doesnt take long. I went from sh*t Chinese student to Savant in 8 weeks... From NOTHING to $25,000/month in 18 months, in my first real internet business... And from six to mid-seven figures, in a blink of an eye... In a very short period of time, with singular focus, determination and a fire under your ass... You can do anything. Maybe youre just starting out online and you keep hitting roadblocks... Been there, done that. Keep pushing. Maybe youre stuck breaking through the 7-figure level in your operation. Been there, done that. Keep pushing. Whatever level youre at, theres ALWAYS a Next Level... And if you want help getting there... From someone who KNOWS what it REALLY takes to get there... Let me know. For now? Take this email - read it again, and USE it to light a fire under your ass. You got this. And I got your back. Peace out! Ryan ;-)
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 16:36:09 +0000
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