How A Derek Sivers Bike Ride Will Change The Way You Look At Success

Two years ago, I was grinding my way through traffic on the way to work while listening to a podcast with Derek Sivers.

He told a story that forever changed how I look at success. I encourage you to read the full story but here's the gist

Derek rode his bike on a trail by his house every day. He rode the trail as fast as he could. When he finished, he would look down at his watch, completely exhausted, and see the same time: 43 minutes. The problem was, he pushed himself so hard on every ride that he stopped looking forward to riding. He needed to change his approach. The next time he rode the trail, he decided to focus on enjoying the ride instead. He went slower and took in the scenery. He got a lot more satisfaction and at the end of the ride he looked at his watch in shock when it read: 45 minutes.

All the anguish and effort resulted in a difference of just two minutes.

I realized how small tweaks to the definition of success can drastically change the experience for the better.

I'm sure you can find this pattern all over the place: work, learning, relationships, side hustles, etc.

We try hard. Push our limits and rush until our face turns red.

Then we burn out.

And all the progress we gained was for nothing because we don't even want the thing anymore. Yet we achieved "success".

I'm not immune to this problem and get trapped in this cycle often so...

I came up with a series of questions you can ask whenever it seems like the effort-to-results ratio is out of balance:

1. What is my definition of success?

Is it a moving goalpost?

2. What would happen if I kept the same goal but doubled my timeline to get there?

Do I miss out on anything? If I miss out on something, is it offset by the enjoyment I get?

3. What would this look like if it were easy?

Then change course to the easier path.

4. What if you could only subtract to get more output?

We are really good at adding by default. Flip the situation on its head.

5. How can you throw money at the problem?

Sometimes "wasting" money can tackle barriers that effort can't.