There are no “overnight successes”
There are no quick hacks that bring faster results.
Every incredibly successful person you know today has been through the boring, mundane, time-tested process that eventually brings success.
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... is that they can be intimidating. They can paralyze you into inaction.
The big picture can be overwhelming, but in little parts, it seems achievable. Every step forward brings you closer to a goal. Consistent action coupled with time guarantees lasting progress.
Many people underestimate the power of incremental progress. They think they have to take massive action to achieve anything significant.
Radical change doesn’t stick. Lasting progress is incremental.
Small, Smart Choices + Consistency + Time = RADICAL DIFFERENCE
Consistency and a series of purposeful actions will transform the way you work and hone in your chosen craft.
Instead of focusing on the outcome, concentrate on your small actions. Narrow your focus to a few minutes or hours of work on your goal, rather than looking at the goal as one big step or achievement.
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Instead of reading every self-improvement post, focus on doing the actual work that needs to be done. You can inspire yourself to take action. Committing to the hard, long process is the only way though.
Kaizen, which means continuous improvement in Japanese was originally developed by Depression-Era management gurus in the US. The Japanese embraced the idea of improving and thriving in small steps, as opposed to working on a BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal).
The long, hard process looks difficult but is actually easy if we just focus on the small step that needs to be taken today, and do that consistently.
- Take yourself mentally from step one all the way to the final step.
- At each step, ask yourself what tools, resources, information, or people you might need access to.
- Put them in a designated space or build in the easiest possible method for getting what you need when you need it.
- As part of the system, plan a regular time to restock the consumable resources that the system requires.