Patience is a competitive advantage. In a surprising number of fields, you can find success if you are simply willing to do the reasonable thing longer than most people.

Thanks for reading. You can get more actionable ideas in my popular email newsletter. Each week, I share 3 short ideas from me, 2 quotes from others, and 1 question to think about. Over 3,000,000 people subscribe. Enter your email now and join us.

About the Author

James Clear writes about habits, decision making, and continuous improvement. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits. The book has sold over 20 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 60 languages.

Click here to learn more →

Read Next

“Too often, we fall into an all-or-nothing cycle with our habits.
Planning and preparation are useful until they become a form of procrastination.
There will never be a perfect time to do something that stretches you.
If you think you can learn a lot from reading books, try writing one.
Most people know the list of mistakes you can never recover from is very short.
You likely realize your life will not be destroyed if your book doesn’t sell or if a potential date turns you down or if your startup goes bust. But it’s not failure that paralyzes us. It’s the possibility of looking stupid, feeling humiliated, or dealing with embarrassment that prevents us from getting started at all.
The first step to being courageous is being willing to look foolish.
All Newsletters