Make Your Success F.A.T.E
Success is a tricky thing.
Intimidating. Confusing. Arduous, even.
That sucks. Surely there must be a way for you to take that goal of yours and make it a reality without the burdensome extra baggage. No?
Of course. It can be broken down & improved just like everything else.
When it comes to success, not all roads lead to Rome, but the ones that do lead you there in style share several common elements. And to drill them into your mind, there’s a clever little acronym that I use as a nudging reminder and simple framework for approaching things you want to achieve – whether that be in business, achieving an aesthetic physique, or any other goal on your plate.
What is it?
You must make your success F.A.T.E. Inevitable. Destiny.
Let’s break this down.
FUN
F is for FUN.
If you want to be successful, then you must make the journey fun.
That’s right.
Fun.
Like a kid again.
Great things will require great work. That’s not even a question.
Never underestimate the power of setting on your mental state.
But if you make it fun, then that ‘work’ turns into ‘play’. The old adage that “If you enjoy what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life” holds true.
- Pursue your passions
- Set goals and reward yourself – both short and long term
- Create a little competition (consider how much ‘work’ sports & games actually are)
Of course, not everything can be sunshine and rainbows. That’d just be naive. Yet that doesn’t mean you can’t make things better. Consider these additional things you can do to make things more fun.
- Manipulate the time/setting
- Listen to music
- Incorporate and connect with others
The only thing holding you back is your imagination.
Fun should be the default mode of life. If you’re not having lots of it, you have something to fix.
ACCESSIBLE
A is for ACCESSIBLE.
You & I both know that when something is out of reach or is a hassle or tedious to set up, you will be less inclined to do it.
You procrastinate.
You make excuses.
Bottom line, you don’t get shit done. That’s bad. 
Remember that in an ideal world, you could bridge the gap from point A to point B (your present state to your goal/success) by the mere desire itself. Everything else is just extra fluff holding back your sexy omnipotence.
…so cut out the extra.
Reduce the distance you must go.
Reduce the set-up time.
Make everything accessible to you. Make it close. Pre-pack and plan. Streamline and reduce the unnecessary steps that aren’t contributing anything of value towards your definitive goal.
TIMELY
T is for TIMELY. 
Timely refers to:
- Right time
- Right length of time
We’ll look at each.
Right Time
What is the favorite excuse of failures?
“I don’t have time.”
And you also have no results. How’s that feel.
We all have 24 hours in a day and 7 in a week. You simply aren’t allocating that precious resource properly according to your goals and priorities.
- Set yourself a schedule of things that must be done at specific times/days towards your goal.
- Set yourself a list of concrete things you must do that day/week in general towards your goal
- Always have a list of filler tasks for gaps or breaks in your schedule
You must set the hard landscape and then let everything else fill in the cracks. Not the other way around.
Right Length of Time
Of equal importance is doing things for the right length of time.
The sensation of having a mountain of work looming before you on the horizon is discouraging in and of itself. Getting all that knocked out will require hours, and you cringe at the thought of that marathon on the menu. 
However, consider for a moment a delicious dinner of your choice. Appetizers. Entrees. Desserts. The whole shebang. Would you consume it all in one bite?
Clearly not. You’d choke to death.
So why would you see your success as being any different?
- Determine the concrete actions you must carry out and break them into bite sized portions.
- Timebox your ongoing tasks to put 100% focus in powerful, packaged intervals.
- Create a go-to list for whenever you’ve got a little down time to kill. Update frequently.
This will make all the difference in the world. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Brick by brick, slick.
EASY
And last but certainly not least, E is for EASY.
Easy is in large sense a composite blend of all of the previous factors (Fun, Accessible, Timely makes things feel easy, wouldn’t you say?), but it also has its own distinct identity.
Consider the phrase:
“Work smarter, not harder.”
Are you doing things most efficiently? Or expending extra effort?
We tend to gravitate towards that which is easy and shy away from difficulties. Because intrinsically, we want to be all-powerful and get from A to B in a flash.
So then take the path of easy. Let your laziness work for you. Here’s a few ways how:
Kaizen – a Japanese word that has become synonymous with continuous improvement
- Get F.A.T
- Delegate.
- Outsource.
- Upgrade your tools.
- Continuously seek a better way a la kaizen. Learn. Reflect. Grow.
There are no extra points awarded for struggle.
…but there are for results. Don’t be a masochist.
F.A.T.E
And there you go. FATE.
For your homework, put that mind of yours to use and think up how you can apply this framework to supe up your success.
Poll over the areas in your life where you’re looking to make moves and identify how you can improve things according to these 4 factors.
Victory is yours.
This concept was first introduced in my book, Architect of Aesthetics, the #1 guide on building the ultimate aesthetic physique.
Happy New Years.
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