"It is said that the best horses lose when they compete with slower ones and win against better rivals."

At first glance, this seems counterintuitive. Shouldn’t the best dominate regardless of the competition? But performance isn't just about talent, it’s about the environment that forces you to grow.

Look at the world’s greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, and artists. Their success isn’t just personal; it’s the result of constant exposure to high-level competition. The best seek out the best because they know:

• Without pressure, there’s no urgency to improve.
• Without competition, complacency creeps in.
• Without resistance, skills fade over time.

This is the danger of under-compensation: when a lack of challenge leads to stagnation

The Problem of Under compensation

Most people don’t plateau because they lack talent. They plateau because they lack genuine challenge. Think about it, if you’re always the most skilled person in the room, where’s the motivation to improve? If your work is never tested against the best, how do you know where you truly stand?

Undercompensation is what happens when the challenge isn’t high enough to force growth. But it’s even worse than that - without pressure, we don’t just plateau, we decline. This is where inverse hormesis comes in. Just as muscles atrophy without resistance, our skills, mindset, and abilities shrink when we remove stressors.

High performers instinctively understand this:

• Elite athletes seek out the toughest training partners.
• Entrepreneurs build networks with other high achievers.
• High achievers in business surround themselves with top talent.

History proves this: the best don’t rise in isolation. They rise because of competition.

Major Rivals - How high level competition fuels greatness

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic: A rivalry that redefined the sport

The tennis world has been fortunate to witness an era of dominance fuelled by the rivalry between the Big Three. Each of them is considered to be among the greatest tennis players of all time, sharing over 66 titles among them and redefining the sport's limits.

The three forced each other to evolve, pushing tennis to unprecedented levels. Without their rivalries, none of them would have achieved the same greatness.

The presence of elite rivals forces each person to adapt and improve in order to stay at the top.

Lionel Messi vs Christiano Ronaldo:

For over a decade, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo set the gold standard for football. Their rivalry wasn’t just about trophies; it was about proving who could push further.

• Messi, a natural talent with vision and dribbling, seemed unstoppable.
• Ronaldo, a machine of discipline and reinvention, refused to be outdone.

Whenever one achieved a milestone, the other responded with something greater. Their relentless competition forced constant evolution, proving that when two titans push each other, the entire sport rises.

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The Premier League Effect: A league built on relentless competition

Beyond individual rivalries, entire ecosystems of competition create dominance. No league embodies this more than the Premier League.

The Premier League is widely regarded as the most competitive football league in the world. Why? Because it demands the highest level of performance week in and week out.

• Unlike other leagues dominated by a few clubs, the Premier League’s depth of competition forces even top players to adapt.
• The league’s intensity attracts the best global talent, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of improvement.
• Even elite players struggle to maintain dominance—there is no room for complacency.

Iron sharpens iron and in football, the Premier League is where the sharpest blades are forged.

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NBA: The best play against the best

The NBA is another prime example. The reason it produces the highest level of basketball isn’t just talent, it’s the concentration of elite competition. Every season, players aren’t just competing for wins, they’re adapting to the constant evolution of the game. New strategies emerge, skill levels increase, and only those who continuously level up survive.

But competition isn’t the only way to accelerate growth. There’s another powerful force too.

Growth through collaboration: The power of an elite network

But competition isn’t the only way to grow. Sometimes, the best way to level up isn’t by fighting against rivals, it’s by aligning with the right people. Just as elite athletes train together to push their limits, ambitious creators and entrepreneurs surround themselves with top-tier peers. This is where collaboration fuels excellence.

The PayPal Mafia

The original PayPal team, led by Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, David Sacks, and others built one of the earliest online payment systems, but their influence didn't stop there. The company was built in the early days of the internet boom, meaning there was no playbook, just a group of hyper-competitive, deeply analytical minds who were willing to challenge each other.

After PayPal was acquired by eBay in 2002, they remained connected as social and business acquaintances and launched industry-defining companies.

• Peter Thiel: Palantir, Founders Fund, early investor in Facebook
• Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn, Greylock Partners
• Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, The Boring Company, X (formerly Twitter)
• Max Levchin: Affirm (fintech giant)
• David Sacks: Yammer (sold to Microsoft for $1.2B), Craft Ventures
• Jeremy Stoppelman: Yelp
• Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, Jawed Karim: YouTube (acquired by Google for $1.65B)

Their collective success is no coincidence. Each of them left PayPal with not just capital, but a network of highly ambitious and capable peers.

How to Apply This to Your Own Life

It’s easy to look at elite athletes, entrepreneurs, and innovators and think their success comes from talent alone. But evidently, their environment plays a massive role. You don’t need to be a world-class athlete or billionaire to apply these same principles, the logic applies to everyday life just as much.

Think about the people you spend the most time with. Are they pushing you to be better, or are they keeping you comfortable? There’s a reason the saying “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with” is so common - it’s because it’s true. If you surround yourself with people who are ambitious, disciplined, and constantly improving, you’ll naturally start adopting those same habits. But if you’re the most driven person in your circle, you’re probably stagnating without even realising it.

Work & Career

Let’s say you’re in a job where you’re not learning much, and everyone around you is content with just doing the bare minimum. Even if you’re ambitious, that environment is going to rub off on you. You might start feeling like you’re making great progress just because you’re outperforming your peers. But that’s an illusion, you’re playing in a weak league. The real challenge isn’t being the best in an easy environment; it’s stepping into an arena where you’re forced to grow.

This could mean:

• Seeking out mentors or colleagues who are ahead of you and learning from them.
• Changing jobs or pursuing projects that challenge you instead of coasting on what you already know.
• Actively putting yourself in rooms where you aren’t the smartest person there.

Fitness & Personal Growth

If you train alone and only push yourself when you feel like it, you’re probably not progressing as fast as you could. But the moment you join a group of people who are stronger, faster, or more disciplined, something shifts. Suddenly, your baseline changes, you’re exposed to what’s actually possible, and your expectations of yourself increase.

This could mean:

• Finding a training partner who is ahead of you rather than someone at your level.
• Joining a more competitive gym, class, or community where the standard is higher.
• Committing to challenges that force you to grow (e.g., a race, competition, or a skill-based goal).

Learning & Creativity

If you’re trying to improve a skill (writing, music, business, anything), you need to be around people who are doing it at a high level. Too often, people stay in safe circles, sharing work with friends who will always say, “This is great!” instead of getting real feedback from those who can actually help them improve.

This could mean:

• Finding accountability partners or masterminds who are serious about improving.
• Seeking harsh but constructive feedback rather than just validation.
• Studying and analysing top performers in your field, not just consuming surface-level content.

At the end of the day, growth is a byproduct of environment. If you aren’t feeling stretched, challenged, or uncomfortable, that’s a sign you’re playing too small. The real magic happens when you step into spaces that force you to level up, whether that’s in your career, fitness, or creative pursuits.

So ask yourself:

• Are you in an environment that’s truly pushing you forward?
• Are you setting goals that force you to evolve?
• Are the people around you making you better, or just keeping you comfortable?
• When was the last time you felt genuinely challenged?

If you can’t remember, it’s time to raise your standards. Because in the end, your body and mind adapt to the demands you place on them and you need to be around the best to sharpen yourself.

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If you've made it this far, catch up on the previous posts here.

Until next time,

Daniel

The Creator Economy Say hi on Threads and Instagram. Download my free ebook below Unconventional Success: Building Your Life in the Digital Age