Success and the Power of YET
Apr 26, 2023Success is often linked with happiness. Both are states that many of us aspire to and are in a constant state of pursuing. How do we know when we are successful though? How do we know when we are happy?
Understanding what success is for you and why this is your vision of success is important. Then comes the process of getting there. This is where I have found that one simple, short word to be very powerful – YET.
Many things in life take a leap of faith. We haven’t achieved something, done it before, or even tried it. So, why do we even start on the journey of the “thing”. Whether it be starting a business, or making changes with our money.
What and how this faith comes about is a topic in itself. In this article I’m interested in how do we keep going when things get tough, or when we don’t see any tangible progress?
This is where our mind really becomes our ally or our foe. YOU get to choose which one.
Let’s ignore the self-sabotaging foe and instead call on our allegiant mind, who wants us to succeed and will help us implement whichever tools we need to help us achieve success.
The Power of Yet has 3 main components:
- Incremental Steps
- Consistency of Effort
- Remove Distractions.
Incremental Steps
Focus on one step at a time. You can have a long list, or multiple lists, but prioritse and focus on the steps that will help you get to where you want to go. You haven’t achieved the step “yet”, but you will.
Everything in life is the sum of the many steps or actions we take. Often there is a tipping point, where we give up just before the success happens. We stop taking the steps because we lose faith.
We just give up on ourselves and our ideas, or we just think nobody else wants it. There is every possibility though that the next launch, or the next idea, or the next advertising campaign, or the next client we talk to will be the one that will be the tip of that mountain you have been climbing and from there it’s much easier to have faith.
Recently I was reading a story about Walt Disney and how when he started out his first film studio went bankrupt. He pushed through this and after hundreds of hours of animated film he achieved some success with Steamboat Willy (a precursor to Mickey Mouse). Then, all of a sudden 93 minutes of film catapulted him to immeasurable success and fame – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. If he had stopped before he got there we would never even know who Walt Disney was.
Focus on your WHY and believe that you are just not there yet, so you will continue to take those incremental steps.
Consistency of Effort
Keep doing the things in your business that will help you become known. Write your blog regularly, publish your podcast or newsletter regularly, do videos on social media. Be seen. Be visible. Be accessible.
Consistently and clearly communicate your message (which is likely to evolve over time) and you will build your credibility. You will also be reliable!
When it comes to finances, consistently saving and investing is the best way to become wealthy. Regular effort. The same goes for staying fit and healthy.
It isn’t exciting or new, but it works!
Again, if you haven’t achieved that success you are seeking, or the financial position you need to feel comfortable, then take the right action consistently.
This also goes for the learning that you need to do. In life we are constantly learning. Experience is the best teacher. However, you still also need to gather knowledge – be it through books, seminars, having a coach. This consistency is also important.
You may not know what you need to know yet, but you will! You may not have hit the right product or service yet, but through incremental steps and consistently taking action, you will get there!
Remove Distractions
This is a huge one, especially in the time we are living in. There's so much information out there, so many people telling us what we should and shouldn't do.
Then there are the people distractions – children, partner, phone, life…
This is where boundaries come in. Make the people in your life aware of your boundaries, and then stick to them!
Habits and discipline are also important in this space as well. If you need to check social media, get into the habit of only checking it for a limited period of time perhaps once a day. Depending on your business and life.
Being able to complete tasks is an important part of success. Again, if you haven’t finished something you set out to do, it’s just not done yet, but you have a plan to make sure it will be!
When focusing on getting things completed, it’s also important to remember that “done” is better than “perfect”. We can waste a lot of time trying to get something to the point where we think it’s perfect. We can also get too easily distracted in the wheel of perfection too.
Set yourself deadlines, manage your time. Be disciplined with your habits, and make sure they are the right habits.
Remember, you only fail if you quit. Life is a journey, and there will also be somewhere you are yet to get to, or a goal you are yet to achieve. It’s part of the flow that we are in.
