Fast Wins Make For Shallow Victories

Are you serious about your journey?

Then, fast wins & shallow victories won't bring you the fulfillment you seek.

You are on the wrong path if you think that it does.

If you do not have envisioned a path to craft something magical, lasting, and something you can be proud of, you tend to get on the wrong path.

The next best quest for most is - to go for shallow wins, make more money faster than everyone else, kick your standards into the bin, and leave your values watching from the sideline.

But what are shallow and fast wins?

Shallow wins are victories that have no depth to them.

They are exchangeable and easy to replicate, but they are not getting you forward.

Like quick cash & cheap pleasure.

They constantly push you to chase the next quick win, keeping you going in circles because you can't see beyond the immediate reward.

The opposite are epic wins.

Those victories take time to accomplish and are not easily replicable by others.

Think of epic wins like a hard-fought battle with setbacks, little triumphs, and a big fight at the end.

You must dig deep and delay gratification to achieve outstanding results that leave everyone else speechless.

This is the crossroads at which we have to make decisions.

Are you choosing the right path, even though the road is in bad condition and rarely used?

The journey will be tough, with challenges and potholes along the way. You'll need to adapt and make changes as you go to reach your destination.

Or are you choosing the easy, well-paved highway many others also take?

Where challenges are just a sign that says, "take the next exit in 500 meters."

The path most people choose to stay on until it's too late.

Look at rising stars, social media influencers, or celebrities in " not-so-nice situations." They all tend to grab a stack of money and quick fame, no matter where it comes from.

It does not even concern them that some brands and products have dubious ethics that don't align with anything they stood for before.

They lose their purpose and their values on the way.

We all know this one YouTuber we loved to watch as kids. After their fame, they started promoting shady content that cost them their followers and credibility.

"Credibility, like virginity, can only be lost once and never recovered." - Charley Reese

If it were just for life's quick victories, we would not be where we are today.

Or do you think the Roman Empire was created through some quick victories?

It had been created over time with the intent to last forever.

Yes, fast wins were involved, but the vision was much more prominent and involved wins that took time to achieve.

Because we are talking about quick wins.

Let's have a look at Floyd 'Money' Mayweather.

One of the most successful boxers in history is often seen as someone just in for the cash & fame and would choose that over more profound pursuits like legacy any time.

You can not tell me that someone like 'Money' Mayweather is more popular than any boxer who fights with heart and soul for the sport rather than for the benefits of a victory.

He has talent, but his fast wins only make for shallow victories.

But it seems that this kind of living is the one most would choose today if they could.

Shallow victories are the go-to.

The question is, why?

How can someone choose a victory that is so interchangeable and empty over a hard-fought win that taught you more in a few months than in years before?

I think about it like this.

Think of the movie Rocky and think about how he would lose his whole identity if he had taken a shallow victory like money over purpose. His purpose was to prove his worth and push himself beyond his limits. If he had chosen money, he would have lacked the authentic hunger and resilience that drove him to train hard, endure physical and emotional pain, and fight against all odds. T

he core of his character—rising from being an underdog—would have been lost.

This is why fast wins make for shallow victories.

You lose your identity, values, and purpose while fighting for something that matters the least.

You are taking the wrong path.

The path of least resistance.

The Long Game Matters

To achieve something worthwhile, you need to think about the long game.

That is where the actual victories come from.

Rome was not built in a day, but they Were laying bricks every hour.

This is how you craft something with lasting impact.

Small daily actions come from a vision so strong you can't keep your eyes away.

The challenge is that in modern times like these, the art of creating a vision and finding your purpose for your long game is that this path is paved with thousands of distractions.

The sheer volume of half-cooked solutions drowns you out, leaving you with more questions than before.

You get lost in these little pieces of information that do not connect with each other.

Leaving you lost, distracted, and focused on the wrong thing - fast wins that bring shallow victories.

Because that is all your brain is ready to handle at this point.

The Navigator

This is why you need a system that gives you a clear vision of your future.

Allowing you to see your vision through the mist of distractions, fears, and the voices of critics, saving you from wrong purposes.

1. Set up your vision and your anti-vision.

To get a clear image of your future, you must set goals you desperately want to achieve.

They need to be engraved in your system, thinking, and actions.

This is what you have to do.

• List all the things you want to achieve or possess in the next 10 years.

• Mark your items with the numbers 1, 3, 5, and 10 for the number of years you think it will take you to accomplish each one.

• Go to your list of 1-year goals, select the 4 most important goals for you, and highlight them.

• Ask yourself why these are the most essential items to you.

• The next question is, what do you want it for?

Your anti-vision is the opposite of what you want out of life.

Things you want to avoid in the future, like being dependent on others, being broke, having no social interactions, etc.

List those out as well.

You will begin to see where you are lacking and what you need to eliminate from your life.

2. Map out a path to achieve your most important goals

The best way to start this part is by thinking about the kind of person you need to become to achieve all you want.

• What skills do you need to develop?

• What status do you need to acquire?

• What qualities, temperament, and attitude do you need?

• At what point does your physical and mental health need to be?

3. Create a daily action list that gets you closer to your desired lifestyle and goals.

While you do that, you cut out all the unnecessary stuff that keeps you from reaching your goals.

Get rid of all the noise and create an environment for growth.

• Create routines to set new standards. These could be anything, such as a writing, morning, or meditation routine.

• Set time blocks for deep work

• Create time for thinking and reading to expand your knowledge.

• Go on walks to reflect.

• Set a schedule for sleeping because this is the part of your life that gets neglected the most when it comes to productivity. During your sleep, your subconscious works towards your goals. That is why rest is essential: so your subconscious can get to work.

This approach is practical and rooted in deep, time-tested wisdom.

With these three simple steps, you can shift your focus from immediate pleasure and shallow wins to delayed gratification and epic wins.

Because you have the control over your inner life.

You can choose to do otherwise than before to create the life you want to live.

But you have to take full responsibility by confronting the feeling of your purposelessness through your daily actions and your vision for the future.

This is something that can not wait.

PS: While it is great to have such a framework to come back to at any time, I discovered that the power of a community with the same goals and journey ahead is key to providing a long-lasting effect. That is why I want to invite you to the Men of Renaissance Community. You can join for free right now as you read this.

Thank you for reading

-Chris