As I mentioned in my last post, I embarked on the “Geek to Freak” fitness program (in actuality, I’m doing a hybrid of the program to emphasize weight loss). I’ve done well and have lost 10 pounds in the last three weeks. I’ve been consistently eating well and sticking to my exercise and sleep regimen.
Friday night, however, I slipped back into old ways, drinking beer, eating greasy Mexican food, and staying out too late. Yesterday morning I reflected on that decision and thought about what causes some people to lose focus on a goal – even momentarily – and why some people seem to achieve seemingly unrealistic goals time after time.
I’m going to use the example of weight-loss here, but it can be applied to any desired goal:
Pick up any magazine relating to men’s health or bodybuilding and you will find an article or advert displaying radical body transformations. However, when most of us set out to abolish our beer-bellies, we may end up with a flat stomach, but we never end up with a six-pack. You can blame it on whatever you want, but you didn’t achieve your goal.
The same thing happens in business: you start a business, develop a nice $10k per month income stream, but you never turn it into a $100 million company.
What is the difference between the person with the flat stomach and the six pack? Or the $10k income stream versus a $100 million company? It’s likely just 5% difference in effort.
The 5% Difference
The difference between average and remarkable is very small. As small as 5% effort can mean the difference between living comfortably as an entrepreneur and being listed in the Inc. 500.
What is that 5% difference made up of? It’s not just putting in extra hours, it’s working smart, doing research. In most cases, if you spend the time researching upfront, you can save tons of time achieving your goals. Spending two minutes mapping a route before you hop in your car can save you a lot of time and frustration while you’re en route. The same applies to every goal you undertake.
What stops you at 95%?
When I woke up yesterday morning, I was mad at myself and was blaming my self-control and discipline. And that is absolutely the root cause of my choices Friday night – and reason that many people get 95% of the way to their goal, but fall short of 100%.
Achieving a goal implies change and change is stressful, no matter what kind of change it is. You may know that there’s a better way to organize your day, or conduct a weekly staff meeting, but you may never make the necessary changes to increase efficiency because it’s easy to let the things that feel comfortable slide. When you do implement change, it’s very hard to get it to stick.
I came across the following video today in a Lifehacker post:
What is the take away value of this video? You need to be smart about the implementation of change. Don’t purposely stress your willpower – save it up for the important things.
It’s the first 5% that makes the difference.
Put in the effort upfront: do your research & prepare. This will help you immensely. If you’re dieting, don’t just buy healthy food, prepare it and keep it close at hand. If you’re expanding your business, plan your route to expansion and implement changes upfront to reduce temptation of falling back into your old ways: hire a virtual assistant, for example. This allows you to save your willpower and apply it more judiciously throughout the day.
So what should I have done Friday night? I should have eaten before I went out to meet friends. I should have brought a healthy snack and a water bottle to keep me satiated. It was my lack of planning that caused me to fail because, once I was in the situation, it was too late.
Share some advice:
What do you think is the most important thing to plan and prepare when embarking on a new business venture to ensure its success? Post it in the comment section!
