Why Settling is the Biggest Mistake You’ll Ever Make

Welcome to Mission Elite’s Official Newsletter

^{Mission Elite is an organization that has impacted World Champions and National Championship-producing teams to leading executives and groundbreaking companies. The author of this newsletter and CEO of Mission Elite, Raheel Manji, specialized in Executive Leadership at Harvard and High Performing Teams through Stanford, where he finished in the top 3 of his class. He is trained in Psychology of Performance and is a former 4X professional title holder, ITA National Summer Champion, and NCAA Sweet 16 coach.}

Never Let Others Dictate Your Journey

If you are someone who thinks deeply, often, and intensely enough about your path forward in life, don’t ever let others change that path if you don’t agree. Especially if it would positively serve something greater than yourself. Doing so is a form of oppression. History has shown us the tragic outcomes of ignoring our moral compass—the Holocaust began because people surrendered their conscience to authority. That was less than 100 years ago.

You must remain aware of your intuition and moral conscience at all times and be willing to sacrifice comfort for it.

Because, in due time, we will all die, but only some of us will die having done truly meaningful work. Similarly, we all live, but many of us will live for little.

What are you willing to die for? How about pursuing the greatest, most impactful life possible? For those with limited options, how can you find the most meaning and greatest impact through what is currently accessible to you?

Rejecting the Idea of Settling

I’ve never resonated with people who advise others to settle when they believe they can impact more. They have no clue how capable people truly are. My whole life, I witnessed and experienced overachieving. I grew up with overachievers. Experiencing that changes the potential you see available in yourself and others.

This became especially clear to me during my time at Indiana, during the rigorous physical and mental training periods. I and my teammates achieved physical and mental feats we never thought possible—over and over again. I left Indiana knowing that I have no clue what I or others are capable of, but that I should believe we are capable of more. There, we called this "going through the black door."

My tennis career was not Netflix-worthy, but I became the best tennis player in Canada for my age, earned professional rankings at 16, played #1 in the Big 10, achieved a 14.14 UTR, and battled—and even beat—some of the world’s best players. If you were to look at me, my background, my resources, and my physical gifts, most people would never have guessed I could achieve this, as insignificant as it may be. But what was achieved was accomplished because I was not okay with less and I wanted more out of myself so badly. Now, whenever I want to achieve something unlikely, I know I’ve done it before, and then ask myself how I did it before. It took extreme sacrifice, competitiveness, discipline, self-drive, stubbornness, problem solving, mentality, courage, and pain tolerance, among others. That’s exactly what it takes to achieve anything hard and are traits I know, through my tennis career, I have within me. That’s where a lot of my confidence comes from.

So I know if you have those traits: you were meant for more. If nobody has ever told you that before, let me be the first. You were meant for more. Don’t ever let anyone put you in a box or tell you otherwise. Do not let people limit you!

Studies show that most successful, groundbreaking people had at least one person—even if just through the form of books—encouraging their greatness and drive to go above and beyond.

We all have it inside of us. All we need is encouragement and self-motivation to bring it out.

Sometimes, that’s all it takes: one person’s encouragement and belief in you. I was lucky; I’ve had many who encouraged me to be more and gave me the impression that they believed I could.

The Power of Belief

During my first year at Indiana, during a private practice, Head Coach Jeremy Wurtzman brought me to the net and said, “You’re going to be our #1 player one day. You need to prepare for that.”

That one sentence massively impacted me. Before, I didn’t know if I had what it took to play #1 in the Big 10. After that, I carried myself and acted much differently. Him telling me that gave me the extra source of confidence that may have helped me achieve that goal.

I always felt an unwavering belief in myself from him. That helped me see my full potential. That’s what having unwavering belief does—it helps you see your full potential.

Prove It to Yourself

I was lucky, but not everyone gets the privilege of having people believe in them. Without an unwavering belief in themselves, they are unlikely to reach their potential.

If nobody is telling you that you could achieve more, then you have to be the one doing it. But belief alone isn’t enough—you also need to give yourself a reason. Prove it to yourself by being the most determined person in every aspect, in every environment you step into. That will raise your belief.

The more you do this, the less you will listen to people who tell you to settle—or be affected by the absence of encouragement from others.

Dangerous Criticism From Above

When I started Mission Elite, a highly successful CEO told me, “This will never work. Why don’t you come work for me?”

The critics who are above you—those you respect—are the most dangerous. Their opinions can make you doubt yourself, and this is how dreams are killed and potential goes unfulfilled.

Fortunately, I told him off.

Why Your Path Matters More

When it comes to my life, I would rather fail my way than succeed someone else’s. But the reality is, I’m less likely to fail my way than succeed someone else’s because I believe in my way and I don’t believe in theirs. This does not mean to ignore others' advice or suggestions; it just means you don’t have to always take it. If you agree, take it. If you don’t agree, don’t.

While studying Executive Leadership at Harvard, we learned that people are more likely to find the best answers for their own lives than anyone else—no matter how successful or knowledgeable that person may be. Why? Because no one else has lived your life or understands its full context.

Take suggestions, but always trust that your decisions, made with the deepest understanding of your own life, are best.

The Value of Being Unreasonable

When Elon Musk started SpaceX, his friends held an intervention to stop him. They told him starting a rocket company was the worst idea.

Musk didn’t listen. He understood this truth:
“A reasonable person adapts to the world; an unreasonable person adapts the world to themselves. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable person.”

Yes, unreasonable people fail. But they also innovate and achieve the extraordinary.

How to Overachieve

1. Be Competitive and Obsessed
   Innovating and achieving the unachievable requires suffering and sacrifice. Most people don’t understand what it takes.

2. Reject Limitations
   Many people accept limitations and settle for less. Not me. I would rather die than settle because I am going to die anyway. I can either die settling or die not.

   History is full of examples of breaking limits: space exploration, AI, the 4-minute mile. These didn’t come from playing it safe.

3. Do the Work
   Trust your gut and believe in yourself, but only if you’ve done the work. Without it, there’s no foundation for self-belief.

The Driver for Greatness: Dissatisfaction

Sometimes, I get frustrated with where I am. I’ve achieved a lot, and I’m grateful, but I know I’m capable of more. This frustration is a call to action. It’s a call to do more.

Indiana Head Football Coach Curt Cignetti put it best:
“People that strive to be great at something are never satisfied.”

Dissatisfaction isn’t a flaw; it’s a driver for greatness. It pushes you to aim higher, to refuse mediocrity, and to demand more from yourself and your life.

Failure is the Foundation for Growth

Parents often tell their children to play it safe because they fear failure. But failure is not the enemy. Not being all that they could be is.

Failure builds resilience, toughness, and self-awareness. Sara Blakely, CEO of Spanx, recalls her father asking her every day, “What did you fail at today?” That question reframed failure as a stepping stone rather than an obstacle.

The gym offers a perfect metaphor for life: if you never fail while lifting weights, you might become strong, but you’ll never grow as strong as you could. Growth only happens when you discover your current limits, embrace challenges, and risk setbacks.

Believe in Yourself, Dream Big, and Break Free

When people tell you to settle—for a job, a partner, or a way of life—it’s often because they don’t believe you can do better. If you don’t believe in yourself, you’ll listen to them. But if you do, you must stand firm and follow your vision.

If something inside you screams that you could do better, listen to it. Don’t suppress that voice—it’s guiding you toward full potential. Settling may lead to satisfaction, and likely also resentment, but it will never lead to greatness.

You get one life. Dream big. Live big. Don’t let anyone put you in a box. You were meant for more. Remember, if it’s not a hell yes, it’s a hell no.

Believe you have something special to offer the world.

If you’ve thought deeply about your dream, if you believe in it intensely, then go for it. If it’s truly meaningful and beneficial to the world, be willing to die for it—at least you’ll die for something.

The General That Never Was

After living a long and unfulfilled life, a man dies and goes to heaven. Upon his arrival, he has a meeting with Saint Peter. This man always had a passion for the military and had always wanted to be a general. In fact, he yearned to be in the military and be a leader, but he never enlisted.

Years passed, and despite his reservations, the man kept informed. He followed the military and had a strong passion for history and military standouts. While in heaven, during the man’s scheduled meeting with Saint Peter, his curiosity got the best of him. He couldn’t help but blurt out, “Saint Peter, who was the greatest general of all time?”

Saint Peter replied, “Are you sure you want to ask me that?” Without hesitation, the man said, “Yes, I really want to know. Was it General Patton?”

Saint Peter, with hesitation, said, “No.”

The man quickly snapped back, “Was it General Grant?”

Saint Peter answered, “No.”

Now more confused than ever, the man responded, “Well, who was it?”

Saint Peter, with remorse, said, “It was you.”

The man, with a shaking voice, said, “It was me? How could that be?”

Saint Peter explained, “When the recruiter came to your door to offer you a spot in the army, you did not have the courage to enlist. If you would have, you would have been the greatest general the world had ever seen. But you were afraid.”

Stay Connected with Mission Elite

Follow Us:

• Instagram: Mission Elite Performance | Mission Elite Mentality

• Website: www.missioneliteperformance.com

Explore the Book:
Check out 17 Principles of a Mission Elite, available on Amazon or through our website.

Let’s Work Together:
Ready to unlock your full potential? Reach out at [email protected] to learn more about how we can help you achieve your best.

Until next time,
Raheel Manji
CEO, Mission Elite