You are too soft to beat me.

 
I believe that my success is due in part to some level of skill. But more than that, I believe that I win because I out-work people. And I’m not sure that, if my dad hadn’t showed me the way, that I’d even think anybody was capable of working that hard. Working 19 hours a day every day for the last 20 years has been easy for me because it’s the only gear I ever knew. I sucked at school so it was my only option.

The biggest advantage you have is your work ethic. If you’re not applying that, and putting those hours into your business, you’re going to come up short. And you may come to me with a different point of view. You may say “Gary, that’s cool, but I don’t have to work that hard, because I work smart.”

Yeah? Well I work hard and smart so what now?

Look, you’ve got a 12 hour work day. There are a lot of things that you might be able to get done in those 12 hours, but too many of you are going to spend your time focusing on stupid shit. Way too many of you are going to spend the next 20 or 30 years trying to check boxes and improve on the things you’re not good at. That is how you’re going to waste a fuckload of time and lose.

I knew I was bad at school, and I accepted it. If I had been forced to spend the time and learn about things like art history, I would have been in a lot of trouble. Instead i focused on my strengths, which is what you need to do. Put yourself in a position to succeed at what you’re good at, and that is the straightest road to success.