#121 Getting to the Extra 10%, Will Smiths Advice
This week, I was struck by a moment from an interview with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence while promoting Bad Boys 4. What started as a promo tour clip turned into a masterclass on what separates good from great—and it hit so hard, I recorded an entire episode about it.
Here’s the key idea:
“The difference between 90% and 100%? It’s not 10%. It’s a lifetime.”
Let that sit with you.
Video to reference: https://youtu.be/g23Os8lYZYg?si=mdWxC-LzgOdTRBNo
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Transcript
There was this clip that stood out to me during Will Smith and Martin Lawrence when they were promoting Bad Boys 4, or I think it's Bad Boys 4.
Speaker A:And they were talking about the difference between being good and great.
Speaker A:And this clip resonated with me so much that I recorded today's episode about it.
Speaker A:But the fact that I believe people often mistake being good or being talented as being great.
Speaker A:So let's go ahead.
Speaker B:It's been a long time it feels like freedom it feels like healing Floating up the floor Past the ceiling the wind in my hair.
Speaker A:So there was this viral clip that Will Smith, he was being interviewed by Carmelo Anthony's podcast.
Speaker A:I'm going to get into it in just a second.
Speaker A:But often one of the things that I always see from not only my peers, from people that I coach, from people that I advise in business, is they often get this mistaken of being good versus being great.
Speaker A:And there's a huge difference between these two.
Speaker A:The clip was talking about the substantial gap between being good versus great.
Speaker A:And what Will Smith was talking about was the first bad boy ever that came out.
Speaker A:The director and Will Smith were having a conversation, and Will Smith was like, oh, my God, we're almost 90% done this movie.
Speaker A:And the director then said, the great thing about being 90% is at least you know, you are halfway there.
Speaker A:And that stuck with Will because he's like, wow, I never thought about it that way.
Speaker A:90% means at least we know we're halfway there.
Speaker A:And so the difference between 90% and 100%, Will Smith would say, is that there's a lifetime difference.
Speaker A:There's a huge gap.
Speaker A:And the example he gives then is his son Jaden.
Speaker A:And he talks about how his son says, hey, dad, if I wanted to, because his son is a B student, if I wanted to, I could get A's.
Speaker A:And Will Smith goes, no, you can't.
Speaker A:There's a difference between going from a C to a B than it is going from a B to A.
Speaker A:It's different.
Speaker A:And so the difference between 90% and 100%, and I totally agree with them, there's a lifetime of difference.
Speaker A:You think you're good when you are around other people who aren't operating at your level, but when you put yourself with people that are operating beyond your level, you realize just how sometimes good doesn't cut it.
Speaker A:I went to boarding school.
Speaker A:We had this saying, and the name of the boarding school is called Gerard College.
Speaker A:We had this saying that when you were really good at the sporting school, Gerard, the saying Goes, oh, you're just Gerard good.
Speaker A:We had to contextualize things within this community.
Speaker A:You're really good, but when you go to a broader community, you may not be as good as you think you are, but if you're trying to be great, great, there's a comparison that comes with great.
Speaker A:Whether you like it or not, there's comparison that comes with great.
Speaker A:The difference between 90% and 100% is a lifetime of a difference.
Speaker A:And this is the difference between a good player and a great player.
Speaker A:A lot of times when you are the big fish in a small pond, you may believe to yourself that there's nothing else that you could do.
Speaker A:There's no more work that you could do because you're the big fish.
Speaker A:Everyone looks to you, everyone comes to you.
Speaker A:So therefore, there's nothing else.
Speaker A:And what ends up happening is you start falling back, you start taking it easy, you start taking your foot off the gas, because what came natural to you, what was a gift to you, and it's hard for others, you stop working at it, but you think you're great.
Speaker A:But if we were to put you up against other people that were great, you would just realize just how much there was a difference between where you are and where they are.
Speaker A:And this even happens when you start making money.
Speaker A:I remember my business when I started making money, when I started making 5k a month, 10k a month, 100k a month, I thought I was doing something, and I was, compared to my friends, compared to some of the other businesses that I was around.
Speaker A:But when I got around people that were making $100,000 a day, I had to start evaluating things a little differently.
Speaker A:I said, oh, wait, how much are you?
Speaker A:Is that possible?
Speaker A:Well, you made a million in a day.
Speaker A:Is that possible?
Speaker A:Because these are things that I didn't think were possible.
Speaker A:And so here I am thinking that I hit the pinnacle, that it can't get better than this, that I can't work harder than this.
Speaker A:And I realized, no, I'm not even scratching the surface yet.
Speaker A:I realized just how extensive the gap is.
Speaker A:But what I also learned was the things I needed to do.
Speaker A:One thing about me, and you're probably the same way.
Speaker A:When you have new information, you act on it.
Speaker A:When you see new things, things you've never seen before and know that it's possible, you act on it.
Speaker A:Now, everyone isn't built this way.
Speaker A:Some people see things that they've never seen before, and they start making excuses as to why they can't have it.
Speaker A:They say, you Know what?
Speaker A:I wasn't born in that household.
Speaker A:I'm not as smart as this person.
Speaker A:I am a single mother and I have to raise a kid.
Speaker A:I'm not saying your excuses aren't valid.
Speaker A:I'm saying that when you accept your circumstance, you stay there even longer.
Speaker A:It's about understanding your reality and acting on to make improvements to get to where you're going.
Speaker A:And there was something else that Will Smith said that really stuck out.
Speaker A:And he had said, you think the difference between a B and an A is the same difference between a C and a B, and it's not.
Speaker A:There's transformation that happens, that takes place.
Speaker A:And he was talking about that.
Speaker A:You have to eat differently, you have to think differently, you may have to change your friends, you may have to study differently.
Speaker A:Going from a B to A versus a C to a B.
Speaker A:You may not need to do anything different.
Speaker A:You just may be talented, you just may be gifted.
Speaker A:It may just come easy to you.
Speaker A:But in order to take that next leap, take that next step in your business, in your life, in your process, it requires a different level of discipline, determination and skill and extreme focus.
Speaker A:Do you hear me?
Speaker A:You can't get to the next level if you have a lack mentality and not willing to work if you already believe that you're there.
Speaker A:One of the other things that he had mentioned is that it's hard to tell someone who's talented and good that they need to be more consistent in order to be great.
Speaker A:And so many of us, oftentimes we're talented in a certain thing.
Speaker A:We're talented in an area comes easy to us.
Speaker A:And because we're talented, what we lack is discipline and focus.
Speaker A:Do you get what I'm saying?
Speaker A:So there's the first person who believes that they could just turn on a light switch and go from 90% to 100, which isn't true.
Speaker A:There's a second person who doesn't work as hard who's talented and is already good, but they believe that they're great.
Speaker A:They believe they don't need to do any work.
Speaker A:They're actually lazy in the pursuit of greatness.
Speaker A:And so you have to define where are you in that spectrum?
Speaker A:Is your talent holding you back?
Speaker A:And that's something that's really crazy to say out loud.
Speaker A:But I know, you know, talented people that aren't where they need to be, I know, you know, talented people that are stuck and have accepted their circumstance, I know, you know, talented people that are underperforming, this happens all around us.
Speaker A:We know These people, some of us are these people.
Speaker A:We have the talent.
Speaker A:But the talent could only get you so far.
Speaker A:You still have to refine.
Speaker A:I remember reading that when you become a doctor, you still have to put in hours and get recertified in certain processes and certain things.
Speaker A:So here you are as a doctor.
Speaker A:You spent 10, 15 years in school to then throughout your career having to go back to practice.
Speaker A:We see this with athletes.
Speaker A:Just because he's LeBron doesn't mean he doesn't go to practice.
Speaker A:Just because he's Michael Jordan doesn't mean he doesn't get to practice.
Speaker A:In fact, the superstars, the people that stand out in history, the ones that are talented, the ones that were given gifts, they work harder than anyone else because they understand that people are given gifts, but they never reach where their their destination.
Speaker A:They never reach where they're going.
Speaker A:They lack focus, they lack work ethic.
Speaker A:So which one are you and where are you at in your life right now?
Speaker A:And I know I'm talking to someone right now.
Speaker A:I know I'm resonating with someone right now.
Speaker A:Because everyone sees your gifts, everyone sees your talent.
Speaker A:And you may not.
Speaker A:And what's worse is when you see your talent and everyone else sees your talent, but you're not doing anything about it.
Speaker A:You're not doing anything with the gifts that you have, the thing that comes easy to you that's hard for others.
Speaker A:You're resting on your morals.
Speaker A:You're not doing anything to get better, to improve.
Speaker A:You're surrounding yourself with people who are doing less than you for a reason, because you feel good about your situation.
Speaker A:What's really happening is you're operating below your ceiling.
Speaker A:And that's the worst thing that could happen.
Speaker A:It's not about other people's ceilings that you're above.
Speaker A:It's the fact that you're operating below your own.
Speaker A:Now, I'm not saying this is easy.
Speaker A:This is not an easy thing to do.
Speaker A:It's not an easy thing to be Great.
Speaker A:But wouldn't you like to know, with all the gifts that you've been given and all the talent and all the hard work in the late nights with the dreams that you have, wouldn't you like to know what happens if I give him my all?
Speaker A:What happens if I take excuses off the table?
Speaker A:What happens if I change my friend group?
Speaker A:What happens if I wake up earlier?
Speaker A:What happens if I go to bed later?
Speaker A:What happens if I change my routine, change my circumstance in order for something bigger, in order for something more, in order to reach My full potential.
Speaker A:Would you be willing to do that?
Speaker A:Would you be willing to sacrifice in order to become greater, in order to see it pan out for you?
Speaker A:That's my question for you.
Speaker A:And that clip really resonated with me because people that are great understand exactly what Will Smith was saying.
Speaker A:People that are average have no idea, you know what they're going to tell you.
Speaker A:No, you need to get 10 hours of sleep.
Speaker A:That's not enough.
Speaker A:You need to get 10.
Speaker A:No, you don't need to work as hard.
Speaker A:You need to enjoy life more.
Speaker A:You don't need to show up.
Speaker A:You know, you had three consistent days at the gym.
Speaker A:A fourth, really.
Speaker A:You don't need that.
Speaker A:That's not what great people do.
Speaker A:I'm sorry to tell you that.
Speaker A:I'm not saying you can't have those other things in moderation, but the issue is you have those things in excess.
Speaker A:You're doing those things in excess.
Speaker A:Those things are in moderation for you.
Speaker A:That's your day to day watching six hours of tv.
Speaker A:That's your day to day stopping working.
Speaker A:When you know that in order to reach your goals, you need to make 20 sales calls a day, you're deciding that you are accepting something that's not even meant for you.
Speaker A:So who's the silly one?
Speaker A:Who's the misguided one?
Speaker A:Now, I know this episode is not for everyone.
Speaker A:I know some of you will listen to this and say, abu is an extremist.
Speaker A:Abu is very obsessed about personal development and wanting to be.
Speaker A:And wanting us to be the best versions of ourselves.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But who else is going to tell you that?
Speaker A:Whereas everyone else is telling you the bare minimum that you need to do, where you need to perform at in order to feel good about yourself.
Speaker A:And my challenge for you is what happens on the other side of the bare minimum.
Speaker A:What happens when you actually go the other way and you challenge yourself more and you show up for yourself more and you surpass that ceiling that you're looking up at.
Speaker A:What's on the other side of that.
Speaker A:It may be more happiness, it may be more time and maybe more freedom.
Speaker A:I don't create my episodes to be liked.
Speaker A:All of my episodes that I create, they're for certain types of people.
Speaker A:And I know this because when I create these episodes, different groups of people will reach out to me and say, thank you for not sugarcoating that.
Speaker A:Thank you for being direct.
Speaker A:You know, I appreciate that.
Speaker A:Your truth.
Speaker A:One thing about you, Abu, is you're going to tell the truth now.
Speaker A:You don't need to take everything I say.
Speaker A:Take what fits the scenario and the life and where you're trying to go.
Speaker A:That's all I ask.
Speaker A:That's all I got for you.
Speaker A:In this episode, I'm going to link that video below in the show notes the Will Smith talking about going from 90% to 100%.
Speaker A:Because it's a really great video, I'm gonna link it in the show notes.
Speaker A:Let me know what you think.
Speaker A:I'm also gonna link in the show notes a form where you could submit questions or you could let me know your thoughts around this episode and I will either answer your questions in later episodes or respond back to you.
Speaker A:Like always feel free to share this episode with your community.
Speaker A:Feel free to like and subscribe to the podcast.
Speaker A:And most importantly, scroll down if you're watch listening on Apple and leave us a review.
Speaker A:Write a review.
Speaker A:I really, truly do appreciate it.
Speaker A:All right, that's all I have for you.
Speaker A:I'll see you during next week's episode.
Speaker B:It's been a long time and I miss this feeling it feels like freedom it feels like healing Floating up the floor past the ceiling the wind in my hair I can see the light at the end of the tunnel as I'm taking flyer Man, I'm feeling like myself again hey man, I'm feeling like myself again it's been a long time and I missed this feeling.
