What separates you from the rest
It's not talent. It's not tactics. It's this.
I recently watched a chef documentary.
It compared bad chefs to the best ones.
I thought the best chefs were the best because of their preparation, methods, and tactics.
I was wrong.
The top chefs are the best because they source the best ingredients.
Simply put:
Ingredients (inputs) → Chef → Meal (outputs)
The quality of what you start with determines the quality of what you produce.
In tech, they say: “Garbage in, garbage out.”
This applies to everything.
Your work. Your career. Your growth.
So here’s the question: What are YOUR quality inputs?
Most people focus on methods and tactics. They’re obsessed with the recipe.
But if your ingredients are mediocre, your results will be too.
Here are the two quality inputs that separate good from exceptional:
Input #1: Brutal, honest feedback
I used to take criticism personally.
Every time someone gave me feedback, my ego would scream. My feelings couldn’t handle it.
I’d get defensive. Make excuses. Shut down.
Then one day, someone I respected tore apart my work.
Not to be mean. To make me better.
It hurt. Bad.
But something shifted.
The anger I felt? It turned into fuel. A massive desire to prove them wrong.
That energy made me obsessed with getting better.
And here’s what I discovered:
Without constant feedback, I can’t produce anything exceptional.
Feedback is a quality input. It’s one of your best ingredients.
Most people avoid criticism because it’s uncomfortable. That’s exactly why they stay mediocre.
The people who become great? They actively seek it out.
You need people around you who will call out your mediocre work. Not to tear you down. To help you grow.
Constructive criticism is the fast track to quality work.
Input #2: Experience that builds mastery
There’s a lie everyone tells you:
“Follow your passion.”
Find what you love, then build a career around it.
Sounds great. Doesn’t work.
Here’s what actually works:
You don’t do what you love. You learn to love what you do.
This comes from Cal Newport’s book So Good They Can’t Ignore You.
Experience—real, committed, deliberate experience—is a quality input.
When you put in the hours, when you master something, passion follows.
The key is acquiring three things through experience:
Autonomy: The feeling that you control your day
Competence: The feeling that you’re good at what you do
Relatedness: The feeling of connection to other people
Michael Jordan said it best: “Fall in love with the game.”
He became passionate through mastery.
To achieve mastery, you don’t need passion first. You just need the willingness to put in committed experience and seek feedback along the way.
Experience is your second quality ingredient.
The bottom line
Just like elite chefs, your output is only as good as your inputs.
Most people focus on tactics and methods—the recipe.
But if you’re starting with mediocre ingredients, you’ll get mediocre results.
The two quality inputs that matter most:
Brutal, honest feedback: Seek it constantly, even when it hurts
Committed experience: Build mastery, and passion will follow
These are your ingredients.
Source them well, and you’ll become so good people can’t ignore you.
Start with the feedback exercise this week.
Takeaway:
Try this now:
Email 8-10 people (professionally or personally).
Ask them to reply with:
3 areas you need to improve
3 of your strengths
Context for each
It’s brutal. Your ego will hate it.
But it’s worth it.
Because feedback is a quality ingredient. And quality ingredients produce quality results.
P.S. If this resonates, read So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport. It’ll change how you think about mastery and passion.