The 1% Rule: How to Fall in Love with the Process and Achieve Your Wildest Dreams

by Tommy Baker

Our expectations are sky high, and we’re prone to giving up at the first sign of struggle or obstacles.

The first iteration of your goals is never the end result—the magic is in the pivot.

We will experience challenges, adversity, and chaos at least once every single day.

However, there’s one, undeniable motivational force unlike any other: Progress—even the perception of it.

When we feel we’re moving the needle forward in life, even a seemingly insignificant amount, we stay motivated. Progress keeps us inspired and on track.

When I focused on small daily actions tied to the larger vision, I felt invigorated and inspired, and I moved the needle.

When I focused on the end result and the massive vision I’d created, I felt depleted and uninspired, and suffered from paralysis by analysis.

1% progress + daily application (consistency) + persistence (focus) + time (endurance) = success.

We only truly value that which is earned—and specifically, that which we earn through the process of becoming.

It’s not the quality of our skills that stops us. It’s not the quality of the information that stops us. It’s not the know-how or the inspiration that stops us. Without a doubt, the number one obstacle standing between people and their dreams is a lack of focus.

The core premise is simple: in an ever-distracted and changing world, the ability to engage in deep work makes you rare and inherently valuable. Furthermore, the quality of your output increases, as does the level of your feelings of purpose and fulfillment.

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

you’ve got to fall in love with the process more than the outcome.