Bonjour Mesdames et Messieurs, Today’s episode #029 is titled Excellence is Boring. In this episode, we will discuss a few lessons regarding excellence.
Lecon un (Lesson 1), Excellence is Boring.
Think of that day where you did everything you wanted to in terms of being disciplined. Now imagine doing that every single day. Going to the gym may be fun for a day, 2 weeks or even a month. But how about 3 months, 6 months, a year? Two years?
Most people will have a surge of initial motivation and commitment, but its grinding past the feeling of boredom of doing the same thing over and over is what ultimately compounds into the achievement you sought in the first place.
You MUST learn to embrace the boring parts of the process. Accept the fact that being the best version of you means doing the daily stuff that doesn’t show immediate benefits.
My example:
Here is how I help myself embrace the boring parts of what I have to do every week to be successful. Every Sunday I produce my schedule for the upcoming week. I handwrite it on a landscape piece of paper. I break the schedule into 3 columns:
In Column, I list my objectives for the week prioritized by importance (1 = Critical to My Success, 2 = Importance to My Success and 3 = Essential to my Success)
Column 2 is for Supporting Activities to My Objectives. This column includes all of those activities that support my objectives and or success every week and include:
- Days I will See My Son
- Days I will Workout
- Days I will Practice Golf
- Days I will Take My Vitamins
- Days I will Travel
Column 3 is for notes regarding the week based on meetings, etc.
My goal is to mercilessly execute my key objectives and supporting activities (workouts, practicing golf, taking vitamins, etc.) every week. The successful and relentless execution of the schedule every week ensures I maximize my potential for success in all facets of my life. Every time I cross something off that I finished, it builds another block in my pyramid of success and further builds my confidence. Executing the weekly schedule keeps me focused on completing those mundane steps one after another that lead to my magnificent life.
Relevant excerpt:
In the game of golf, the top pro and amateur golfers spend the majority of their practice time (60%) on putting and chipping as statistics show this is where you can make the most improvement and lower your scores the most. However, the majority of golfers will spend their time on the driving range banging away balls with their drivers trying to hit the ball as far as they can versus working on how they can best get the ball closest to and in the hole. Practicing putting and chipping is mundane and boring as not as exciting as trying to hit your driver as far as you can but brings a much higher return on investment. The mundane steps of practicing chipping and putting regularly brings you lower scores and success in your game yet is not practiced by the majority. Are you similar in your life, you know what needs to be practiced yet you ignore it?
Lecon Deux (Lesson 2), Achievement and Failure are Both Cumulative Acts
Doing well on an exam for example is often a culmination of hours of studying, being in top physical condition is the culmination of a good diet and being consistent and persistent with your exercise routine; likewise being in serious debt or in bad physical condition is often the result of years of bad money management and/or lack of care for one’s physical state.
Most achievements and failures are cumulative acts; the ability to achieve or fail is ultimately dependent on the choices of only one person and that is YOU listening today. We are the society of the EXCUSE, however, in my world, there are no EXCUSES; it’s up to you and only you and the choices YOU make every day.
Remember, if you are 25lbs overweight or $100k in debt, it didn’t happen with one extra doughnut or having one shopping spree. You put yourself in this position over many months and even years. So, don’t expect immediate changes; it takes time and consistent/persistent execution of your improvement plan.
My Example:
My consulting firm (MHA Consulting) has been in business over 19 years, we are a well-known boutique consulting firm in our industry. However, in 2015, we recognized that that if we didn’t embark on a complete rebranding of our firm and its image we could be eliminated in time as other firms had moved well ahead of us. We had to break down what we had done for so many years and rebrand our logo, our thought processes, our website, our content, etc. So we started with an in-depth analysis of our strengths and weaknesses to build a roadmap of steps to bring us back to the forefront of our industry. Slowly, we redid our logo, optimized our website, then worked on adding new content weekly, sent out regular newsletters, held webinars every couple months, spoke at more conferences than ever. Each step built upon itself so much so that by the end of 2017 our firm was again recognized as a leader in our industry through its thought leadership. If we hadn’t changed who we were and built a plan of small steps that were executed relentlessly, we would have been left behind.
Relevant Excerpt:
Lebron James has repeatedly made it to nine NBA finals throughout his career. These achievements are not a coincidence but the culmination of many years of training, execution and being confident in his ability to win at the highest levels. He has talent beyond belief but it’s the hard work he puts in every day to be the best at the game. As they say, it’s the hard work you put in when no one is watching every day that changes your life and of those around you.
Lecon Trois (Lesson 3), Do What You Always Done and You Will Be Where You Always Have Been
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results
It’s simple people, if you want to achieve a new level of success in your personal, professional or social life, you must execute a new mindset and set of actions to be successful.
It will always be easy to fall back into your bad patterns; no matter how disciplined you are. Recognize this, accept it and do all you can to eliminate the patterns (lazy, quitting, hanging out with losers, etc.) that keep you from succeeding.
Remember this quote by Will Durant regarding excellence: We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an action but a habit.
I leave you with this:
So, make today, the day you change!
A brand new chapter, a brand new page.
A day to test out what you truly can do!
A day to discover the all-powerful you!
