”No one will outwork me.”

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson challenges you.

Reading “The Most Likable Person in the World”, I learned that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is driven to success by the low points in his life. 

The Rock was evicted, arrested, cut from professional football, broke, and moved back into his parents’ basement. And he never forgets it.  “As crazy as it may sound, in my mind, I’m always a week away from getting evicted, and that’s what keeps me motivated.”

Motivated to do 4 a.m. workouts. Motivated to sell $10 billion in movie tickets worldwide.  Motivated to escape the failures he’s had in life.

Let’s get fired up this morning with three quotes from The Rock.

In this Youtube video of him giving a pep talk to the Los Angeles Lakers, he says something which has always been true for him. “No one will outwork me.  No one.”

It’s fun to watch him catch himself and realize that it sounds like he is being rude to his hosts, so he adds “I love and respect you guys.”  But still finishes with “You m-----f-----s won’t outwork me.”

It’s an awesome moment because, speaking to the most highly trained and talented athletes on the planet, The Rock realizes in that moment that he means it - not even the Lakers will outwork him.

Success for The Rock starts and ends with hard work. Do the work that nobody else wants to do because it’s boring, hard or repetitive.  Do the work that others skip because it’s not as fun. Do the work that others won’t do because it takes hours. Do the work and you’ll be a success.

What keeps you from doing the hard work in your life? What keeps you from doing the homework on sales prospects, reading the documentation on the new technology, or making the time to speak with everybody on the team?  What gets in your way?

The Rock would tell you that the simplest path to your success is hard work.  Not the easiest path, but the simplest.  Are you ready to take that advice?

“Success isn’t always about ‘greatness’, it’s about consistency. Consistent, hard work gains success. Greatness will come.”

There’s a difference between being spotty, available only when needed, or occasionally excellent, and being consistent.

Consistency is what earns you trust.  Reliability changes how the people in your life think about you.  When they know their belief in you is going to be repaid; when they’re certain that you’ll deliver day-in and day-out; when they can give you the no-look pass and be confident that you’ll be there, people’s confidence in you grows.

Consistency is also what earns you respect.  The Rock knows that showing up on one of his movie sets without doing the work is typical for others.  He famously had a falling out with Vin Diesel over Vin’s lack of work ethic on the Fast and Furious sets. 

The Rock does The Work, because earning the respect of others is important to him.  And that’s why people admire him.

How can you be more consistent in the New Year? What changes can you make, what habits can you develop, to make sure you’re more reliable for the people in your life in 2022?

“It’s you vs. you.”  It’s not your bosses, peers, family, or your customers that are holding you back. And it’s certainly not your competitors. 

It’s you.

You get in your own way. Say things you shouldn’t. Get pulled into petty fights that aren’t good for you. Don’t do the work that would make you stand out.

It’s all in your control.  And when you want to discover what’s holding you back, the mirror in your bathroom is the best tool for the job.

It’s you.

What can you change in your struggle against yourself?  You know your weakness, your failings, your kryptonite.  What one thing can you change this week to help yourself succeed?

The Rock succeeded because his original dreams failed. Life has a sense of humor like that. In 2022, try to get the last laugh.

The article that inspired me to read up on The Rock comes from Polina Pompliano’s awesome newsletter The Profile. Each week she digs into fascinating people in business, entertainment, tech, and sports. It’s a good read if you like great stories about impressive people.

By the way, another story I loved from The Profile is Deland McCullough’s. Adopted, up from nothing, makes a success out of himself.  And at 44, decides to go looking for who he really is; he decides to find his birth father. Like the headlines say, you’ll never believe what happens next. His dad turns out to be…

Have a great week, and leave a comment on your favorite The Rock moments in movies or television.