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What does it take to take it to the next level? Many of us in life get comfortable with mediocrity. We think we're working hard enough, and that it's virtually impossible to get better. I have been thinking a lot lately about how to take things in my life to the next level. For me, these things are mainly piano and running. What separates me from a concert pianist that will rarely make a mistake during a piece, or a runner that runs two minutes faster in a 5K? I have come to the conclusion that this separation is determined by two things: practice/hard work and mental toughness/focus. For someone to rise above mediocrity, it takes working harder than we think we are able. You simply have to outwork your competitors. Most of us don't know what we are capable of. The great ones do - they've learned it by working hard. To achieve greatness, you also have to have more focus and be more mentally tough than others. You have to zone in on a goal and never let your mind deviate from a thought process that would allow you to attain it. While performing the task, you must not allow any outside thing to enter your mind; you must block everything out. To attain a higher level of performance, these two things are essential: hard work/practice and mental toughness/focus.