The Pursuit of Excellence: The Uncommon Behaviors of the World's Most Productive Achievers

by Ryan Hawk

Legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld described this well in a conversation with radio icon Howard Stern. Howard said, “I thought, you know, it is possible to will yourself, maybe not to be the greatest in the world, but certainly to get what you want.” Jerry responded, “I’m going to adjust your perspective a little bit. That was not will. What you were using, what Michael Jordan uses, and what I use is not will. It’s love. When you love something, it’s a bottomless pool of energy. That’s where the energy comes from. But you have to love it sincerely. Not because you’re going to make money from it, be famous, or get whatever you want to get. When you do it because you love it, then you can find yourself moving up and getting really good at something you wanted to be really good at. Will is not like not eating dessert or something—that’s just forcing yourself. You can’t force yourself to be what you have made yourself into. You can love it. Love is endless. Will is finite.”