The #1 Thing Successful and Unsuccessful People Have in Common

The #1 Thing Successful and Unsuccessful People Have in Common

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Welcome back to The Daily Mastermind, George Wright III here. I want to talk with you today about something you may not have thought of before. I keep getting people asking me the difference every time I’m out mentoring. What’s the difference between successful and unsuccessful people?

What’s the big difference maker? And I find it really ironic that there’s actually an opposite thought there for you to consider.

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The Commonality Between Success and Failure

What do they have in common? One of the interesting things that might blow your mind is that both successful and unsuccessful people don’t like to do all the things it takes to be successful.

What do I mean by that? I learned this lesson from a mentor of mine, Darren Hardy. In fact, I’m going to share this audio with you here today. But if you think about it, the discipline that it takes to become successful is not something that anybody really wants to do.

Most of us think successful people are different because they’re early risers, they like to work out, they’re organized, methodical, and great planners. But the truth is, most successful people I know don’t like doing those things either. They simply push through them. They do what it takes because they know that’s the price of becoming successful.

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Darren Hardy's Insight on Discipline

So I’m going to share an audio with you today from Darren Hardy. I think you’re really going to enjoy it. Listen to this and take some notes. I hope it’s something that brings you value. Let’s get right into it.

“I have a question for this intelligent audience. What do successful people and unsuccessful people have in common? Here’s what they have in common: they both hate to do what it takes to be successful. Successful people just do it anyway.”

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Real-Life Examples of Pushing Through

Do I like getting up at five o’clock in the morning, leaving the warm embrace of my beautiful bride to go put on running shoes and run out into the cold dark morning? I do not like that.

Do I like, at the end of a long, hard day, going into the gym and pushing around a bunch of lead weights with a bunch of hairy, sweaty guys? I do not like that either.

And in the heat of an argument with my wife, when this time—maybe just this time—I know that I am right, do I like saying, “Honey, you’re right. I’m sorry”? No, I do not like doing that.

But why do I do these things? Because that’s what it takes to be successful.

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The Importance of Discipline Over Enjoyment

I think unsuccessful people actually find it inspiring to learn that successful people hate these things too, but they just do them anyway. I walked into the gym a few months back, checked in, and as I was walking away the front desk person said, “Hey, have fun.”

I looked back and said, “What?”

She replied, “Have fun.”

I said, “Fun? You think I come here for fun? I hate this place. I’ve hated every day I’ve ever come in here.”

She looked shocked and said, “But you’re here a lot. You don’t like it?”

I said, “No, I hate it. But I come here for discipline.”

Muhammad Ali, the great world champion boxer, once said, “I hated every early morning workout I ever had in my entire career, but I loved being world champion.”

Wow. That’s powerful.

You don’t have to like making prospecting calls. You don’t have to like going to the meetings. You don’t have to like sitting in the front row, agreeing with the speaker, and setting the example for everyone else.

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Closing Insights and Key Takeaways

The truth is, you don’t have to enjoy every step on the path to success. In fact, most of the things required for greatness are not enjoyable in the moment. What separates the successful from the unsuccessful is not preference, but discipline.

Successful people push through discomfort, boredom, and resistance because they understand the long-term rewards. They trade the temporary pain of discipline for the lasting satisfaction of achievement. Unsuccessful people, on the other hand, stop when it gets hard, thinking that only those who “like” the grind are destined for greatness. But that’s not the case at all.

The secret is this: both groups dislike the grind. The difference is that successful people do it anyway. They wake up early when they don’t want to, they make the tough calls, they show humility in their relationships, they push their bodies and minds further than comfort allows—all because they see beyond the present moment to the prize that discipline brings.

So if you’ve ever felt like you’re struggling because you “don’t like” the hard parts of success, remember that you’re not alone. No one does. And that’s the very reason discipline is such a powerful equalizer. Success is not about loving the grind—it’s about committing to it anyway.

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