Doing too much often feels like the smart move, but it usually just multiplies mistakes. Here’s why patience, consistency, and even a little boredom might be the secret to long-term success.
On my walk today, I was thinking about the cost of doing too much.
Recently, I wrote about the boredom of building a business. The truth is, I don’t mind boredom. It usually means I’m sticking to my process. What trips me up is the temptation to press, to take on more, to move faster than the pace that actually works.
A good example: I’ve gotten multiple DMs about one particular card, a popular football rookie in a PSA 10. It has a ton of watchers, and I know it will sell at my price eventually. Other sellers might drop the price just to move it. That is their model. Mine is patience.
When I’ve tried to force things in the past, cutting margin and chasing too many opportunities at once, I’ve only created more details, more decisions, more room for mistakes. And mistakes multiply fast.
Charlie Munger put it best: “It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.”
Or as Dave Matthews sang:
“I’m no crazy creep, I’ve got it coming To me because I’m not satisfied The hunger keeps on growing…”
And then the chorus:
“I eat too much I drink too much I want too much Too much.”
That is the temptation in front of all of us, the hunger to do more, want more, press harder. But I’ve realized that doing too much requires more intelligence than I have. So instead, I just try not to be dumb. I enjoy my life while I patiently wait on my process and consistency to create the long-term results I want.
On my September 23 walk, the forest announced its changes loud and clear — walnuts thudding down in a mast year, mosquitoes in last-call mode, pawpaw perfume gone, and late-blooming smartweed still holding on. These abundance signals remind me that the woods don’t whisper their shifts; they proclaim them.
Some months feel like steps backward. Sales dip, streaks stall, and losses pile up. Gratitude and process are what keep me steady — even in the hard times.
What does it mean to truly understand something? From Feynman’s sixth grader test to AC/DC’s simplicity, from indigenous wisdom to the lessons of drumming, this reflection explores how mastery moves beyond names into songs that touch mind, body, emotion, and spirit.
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