Can you hop on a quick Zoom call? Can you hang out tonight even though you’re exhausted and should be sleeping? Can you listen to my rant for an hour even though I never take your advice?

No.

That’s what it takes to achieve… well whatever you want.

I didn’t always get this.

For a while, I was saying yes to every dinner invite, every request for help, every random hangout. I thought I was being supportive, but days passed, and I looked back only to realize I had worked three days out of the last seven.

Every single day was pulled in a different direction by someone else’s needs—none of which moved me closer to my own goals.

By the time I got home, I was drained. I had no energy left to focus on the projects or learning that actually mattered to me.

And that’s when it hit me: I was sacrificing my ambitions to ensure everyone else was happy. That’s not how greatness happens.

In a world obsessed with productivity hacks, endless morning routines, and overstuffed to-do lists, greatness isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing less, a lot less. It’s about ruthless focus on what moves the needle and cutting out everything else.

You need a prolonged, distraction-free environment, laser-focused on mastering this one thing.

“You’re too dramatic!” Oh, am I? Well, tell me, what great thing have you ever accomplished by saying YES to everyone around you?

(I’m waiting…)

Exactly.

Less is More

We live in an age where productivity has become synonymous with being busy. But real productivity is about clarity and results, not checking off 100 boxes for the sake of feeling accomplished.

Think about programming: instead of adding another layer of complexity to your code, what if you focused on removing unnecessary lines? That’s what clarity looks like—cutting away the excess to reveal what truly matters.

Steve Jobs was relentless about saying no. (Maybe even too much.) He believed that “focus is about saying no to 1,000 things” so you can concentrate on the few that matter. That’s why Apple’s products became synonymous with elegance and simplicity (unlike cough Windows).

Jobs didn’t fill the pipeline with cluttered features because he knew that focusing on the essentials would lead to excellence.

Saying No to Good for the Sake of Great

Most people start their day with a yes mentality—yes to meetings, yes to side projects, yes to distractions.

It’s like taking on technical debt willingly, with the expectation that you can just refactor it later. But that debt builds, and you’ll find yourself swamped with the complexity of managing it instead of advancing your project.

Imagine if you started with no instead. No to unnecessary distractions, no to non-essential requests, no to the noise. You’ll find that saying no opens up the bandwidth for the good stuff, the ideas and tasks that actually move you forward.

Take Warren Buffett, for example. He famously said, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” What does that give you? It gives you the space to make calculated, deliberate moves that compound over time.

Mediocrity Loves Company: Be Ready to Disappoint Others

You will disappoint people. If you want to keep everyone happy, prepare for mediocrity. Every time you say ‘no,’ someone will be disappointed, but greatness isn’t a popularity contest.

Think of it like version control. Every time you push a new change, not everyone will agree with your decisions. But if you’re pushing for a stable, optimized product, you’ll need to reject the features that don’t align with the long-term vision.

In life, that means pushing back against distractions and protecting your time.

Look at Michael Jordan—in his prime, he was known for his obsessive focus on training. He missed social events, interviews, and countless leisure opportunities because he knew that to be the greatest, he couldn’t say yes to anything that didn’t serve his ultimate goal.

What did he gain? Six NBA championships, worldwide respect, and a legacy as the greatest of all time.

And here’s a controversial thought: those who demand your yes don’t actually want to see you succeed—they want to keep you at their level. Your success threatens their mediocrity.

Conclusion: Don’t Be a Dick About It

Let’s be clear—saying no doesn’t give you a free pass to be rude. You don’t need to bulldoze through relationships just because you’re focused on your goals. The trick is to be firm but polite. Set boundaries, but don’t burn bridges.

When you say no, explain why. Help people understand that it’s not personal—you’re investing in something bigger.

It’s like coding with a team: if you’re working on the critical path, you don’t just disappear without an explanation. You communicate. You keep everyone on the same page. Saying no is about respecting your time, but also respecting the people around you.

Ultimately, greatness doesn’t have to come at the cost of your relationships. You don’t need to isolate yourself to stay focused. The people who matter will understand if you bring them along for the ride, so long as you’re clear and honest about where you’re headed.

So, don’t be a dick—be decisive, be respectful, and make sure everyone knows why you’re saying no.