From: alexhormozi
The pursuit of happiness or an inherently meaningful life can be a self-defeating goal, often leading to disappointment, as seen with Olympians experiencing depression after achieving gold [00:00:01]. Instead, a focus on usefulness and value creation can lead to deeper personal fulfillment and joy [01:36:00].
Happiness vs. Usefulness
The speaker does not optimize for subjective well-being personally, but rather for the audience [00:01:14]. He notes that people who obsess about happiness often end up being the least happy [00:00:55]. Setting happiness as a goal automatically places it outside of oneself, implying one is not currently happy [00:01:08]. The speaker argues that happiness is fleeting, much like hunger or sleep—it needs to be continuously replenished rather than being a checkbox achievement [00:00:46].
For the speaker, meaningful work is the primary source of joy [01:31:00]. He tactically analyzes what makes a “good day,” which often includes working out, ideally with people he likes, and writing for several hours [01:41:00]. The simplest formula for him has been “doing things you like with people you like,” maximizing time in this area and minimizing or outsourcing everything else [03:03:00].
Many people expect life to be meaningful or the universe to make them happy, which is not a requirement [03:20:00]. Happiness is fleeting, and true meaning can often only be assessed in retrospect [04:09:00].
The Power of Being Useful
Being useful provides self-respect and is an attractive trait [04:54:00]. People inherently respect those who are good at something and contribute to society [05:09:00]. This self-respect and social status can lead to attracting desired relationships [05:20:00].
Obsessing over personal happiness leads to excessive self-focus and rumination, which is common in depression [06:38:00]. In contrast, to be useful, one must be useful to other people, fostering a service element and an element of self-improvement [06:54:00]. The speaker suggests giving up the pursuit of happiness and instead focusing on how to be useful to others, which can lead to feeling much better overall [08:50:00].
Cultivating Usefulness through Work and Mastery
Learning to Work
A key to becoming useful is learning how to work, especially how to “suck for a long time” at something before achieving mastery [09:54:00]. This journey builds resilience and experience that helps in future endeavors [14:06:00]. The speaker realized he didn’t like pre-med because he “sucked at it” and therefore it didn’t make him happy [08:06:00]. He later found business more enjoyable because he became good at it [07:57:00].
The Input-Output Equation
Success comes from understanding the “input-output equation” for a skill—what specific actions, when done repeatedly, lead to improvement [17:21:00]. For example, in sales, it might be 100 calls a day; in writing, it’s endless editing [17:34:00]. Once this equation is identified, the strategy is to “jam as much input as possible into that thing” [17:51:00]. Confidence then stems not from affirmations, but from a “stack of undeniable proof” gained through this repetition [18:02:00].
The Value of Repetition
Mastering a skill involves significant repetition, to the point of boredom, which leads to understanding patterns and reduced emotional affect to outcomes [18:41:00]. The speaker recounts preparing a presentation 100 times over 30 days, leading to extreme relaxation during the actual delivery [15:08:00]. Similarly, his books, which are bestsellers, involve writing five times the final page count and rewriting end-to-end 10 times [19:45:00]. This extensive process allows for depth and the integration of new insights over time [20:00:00].
Engineering the Environment
To maximize input, one must engineer their environment to make it as easy as possible to work hard, eliminating all interference [20:54:00]. This includes aligning relationships and minimizing distractions. The speaker dedicates the first six hours of his day, when he is freshest, exclusively to writing, with no meetings or other interruptions [22:50:00].
Work as the Goal
The speaker experienced significant depression during a year-long period when he could not actively work due to a business sale [42:17:00]. He finds it significant that in the Bible, work was given to Adam before a wife [42:50:00]. He asserts that humans are “built to work” [43:12:00].
The common societal concept of “work-life balance” or heaven—a state of doing “life and no work”—is seen as a fallacy [44:27:00]. Instead, the work itself is the goal [45:21:00]. Pushing one’s capacity to work harder and better, not for an external outcome, but for the sake of working more, creates a self-fulfilling loop [45:42:00]. Goals then become mere consequences of this intrinsic drive to work [46:06:00]. This philosophy aligns with the idea of “infinite games,” where the objective is to keep playing and overcoming challenges rather than reaching a final “win” state [39:29:00].
Being obsessed with the outcome, rather than the process, can lead to post-achievement depression, as seen in many Olympians [39:47:00]. True champions are married to the process, viewing achievements as foregone conclusions and seeking the next challenge [40:16:00].
Quality Over Quantity
This deep commitment to work means focusing on doing things “right” rather than just “getting them done” [28:21:00]. This pursuit of excellence involves continuous refinement until a product or piece of work is as perfect as it can be [25:58:00]. This dedication to quality is what distinguishes truly exceptional products and creators [35:16:00].
Learning from Challenges
Every hardship or obstacle is an opportunity for self-improvement and a story of growth [55:08:00]. The speaker recounts a “rare baseball card” analogy, where an invaluable item is destroyed, and the only action is to “just take it” [01:01:10]. Such experiences build resilience and provide perspective for future challenges [01:02:04]. This reframing allows one to “not lose as long as you don’t quit” [01:06:07].
The “One of Zero” Philosophy
The brand “One of Zero” embodies the idea of doing something that has never been done before, involving an amount of work that most people cannot comprehend [01:38:38]. It’s about continually extending the duration and intensity of work, understanding that “good books are one of the hardest projects to do because you get almost zero reinforcement” until the end [01:33:04]. The joy comes from being the type of person who is able to endure this level of effort [01:33:57].
Overcoming Obstacles to Usefulness
The Fallacy of the Perfect Pick
Many people struggle because they believe they must find their “passion” first, and that their first choice will be their last [01:19:00]. The speaker argues that “you create passion, you don’t find it” by being willing to “suck for a very long period of time” until competence leads to enjoyment [01:19:56].
Life is long, and career paths change [01:20:18]. Instead of seeking a “perfect pick,” one should use a process of “approximation,” moving directionally towards areas of interest (e.g., words vs. numbers) and iterating [01:20:25]. Skills learned in one field, even if seemingly unrelated (like calligraphy for Steve Jobs or military consulting for the speaker), often provide unique advantages and solutions in later, different endeavors [01:21:18]. There is never a downside to learning more skills [01:21:57].
The Bar is Low
The speaker optimistically notes that the bar for success is “so low” in many areas, implying that simply being willing to “try” and endure the initial discomfort will lead to success over others [01:12:01]. This “sucking for a little bit” has a payoff, which then reinforces future efforts [01:12:23].
Distinguishing Quality Work
It is crucial to distinguish between work that “actually counts” (leading to correct output) and mere “work” (junk volume) [01:42:00]. While one should expect “junk work” initially, continuing to put in the hours, even when quality dips, helps one discover their limits and improve their discernment [01:13:21]. Even work that is later deleted or redone provides benefit because “the work works on you more than you work on it” [01:43:00].
The speaker compares his personal growth to his business growth: “Either the business grows or I grow or both” [01:15:11]. Growth is always happening, either in the project or in oneself, providing continuous reinforcement [01:15:31].
Redefining Joy and Fulfillment
The speaker distinguishes “joy” from “happiness,” seeing joy as being “present in the moment” [01:50:00]. This presence allows for experiencing life fully, even in difficult times like mourning [01:55:00]. When the external goals of happiness or meaning are relinquished, one can be present and engage with what needs to be done [03:29:00]. The speaker believes that many people confuse happiness with hedonistic pleasure-seeking, which often leaves them feeling empty and unfulfilled [03:56:00].
The concept of “desire is a contract we make with ourselves to be unhappy until we get what we want” highlights how external goals create internal deprivation [03:06:00]. By focusing on the intrinsic challenge and the “work,” rather than the external reward, one can continuously find fulfillment [03:09:00]. This shifts the focus from an end-state to a continuous process of becoming better [04:04:00].
The speaker summarizes his approach by stating that his goal is to “have nothing left” at the end of each day and at the end of his life, having dedicated himself entirely to being useful [05:07:00]. This commitment to effort is seen as the “universal currency of respect” across all cultures and times [01:08:17].