I’m no great writer, but I’ve been working at it for a long time. There are far better writers than me out there. They’ve got better grades and are in better shape than I am. Plus, they have a whole bunch of connections and better ideas than I do.
But where other writers are better at selling, I have my relentless commitment to action to thank. I have to agree with you, what I have learned is this: consistency beats talent. Being consistent beats good intentions. Being consistent beats luck. And you want to know the secret I’ve learned?
Consistency is better than quality.
My work is routinely and consistently better than that of other writers. I always have a new product. I don’t try to follow the latest fads or trends. I stay true to myself and my brand. I always get great engagement from my constant action. Where they garner attention from great products here and there, I consistently get great engagement.
You have to consistently perform well over time before people will recognize your genius. That’s great news for you and for me, because it means that my lack of talent can be overcome simply by doing it every day.
“I was not naturally talented, though working around that minor detail made me inventive. I spent a decade learning my craft, practicing my routine literally thousands of times, up to four times a day at the amusement park for years.
“My dad had a habit of recording every single moment of each gag with me. From the first one we did when I was a kid until today, my dad has a huge archive of all my jokes.” he explained.
After years of practice, tweaking, re-doing, and practicing, he finally made huge strides very quickly. In a few short years, he became the most dominant and well-known comedian in the world. He wrote that perseverance is a great substitute for talent.
Discipline is the greatest factor in determining your success. Consistency is key. If you are consistently disciplined, you will be rewarded.
How To Consistently Wake Up at Early, Read More, and Get Stronger (without failing halfway)
You are doing just one thing.
“By doing it now, it will get better.” That’s what I tell my clients all the time.
When they’re feeling stuck in their business, they want help getting rid of procrastination, quitting their old destructive habits like laziness, and starting new ones like writing and creating a business.
But how? They ask me. I need help. I don’t know what to do. If you’re like me, you start fine, but after 2 weeks your weight and body fat percentage are the same as they were before you started.
The answer is simple: do it today. Just for a few minutes. Then we’ll talk tomorrow.
Just start with writing 1,000 words today and click “Publish.” Or just start with doing the one thing that will make the biggest impact on your life and business and then do that one thing every day.
Start by cleaning off the kitchen table for 5 minutes. Just start with pasting in your first Amazon Affiliate link. That’s how you start a habit. Sustaining it is another story, but even the world’s most disciplined people have a tough time sustaining anything without momentum.
Over time, you chip away at your goals, little by little. The thing with boulders is that they roll down hills easier if they’re already rolling. If you have an hour or less to read, I would recommend trying to get in 30 minutes of reading per day. You might find you start getting into your reading groove and it’s not a chore.
Go to the gym three times per week. If you just do a little bit of it today, you’ll start seeing results soon.
“95% of our society — the ‘mediocre majority’ — fail, time and time again, to start exercise routines, quit smoking, improve their diets, stick to a budget, or any other life habit that would improve their quality of life. Why? Most people don’t realize the seemingly unbearable first 10 days of a new habit is only temporary.” -Hal Elrod
Action Brings Clarity
“Almost every problem people face in their lives are all the result of not taking enough action.” -Grant Cardone
It’s easy. Just do something. Most people stay stuck in their mediocre circumstances, while they do more complaining and worrying than action. When you do massive action, you get massive results; you’ll either like it, dislike it, or feel neutral towards it.
There’s so much I don’t know about my business. That’s why I have to take these The thing most people struggle with is not knowing what they’re supposed to do. They don’t have clarity. Feeling lost is always a terrible feeling. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing; if you find yourself not knowing what to do
Simple solution: ACTION! The worse thing you can do when faced with constant uncertainty is to stay in your rut. Action is the only real way to stop the madness. To end the cycle of being confused and stuck.
I’ve been writing for over 5 years. The first four and a half years, I was constantly confused and unsure of what to. Writing a book is hard. That’s why we write books. How little clarity! You are the expert in clarity and you should be able to articulate exactly what you want to say in a simple.
In May of 2017 I wrote an article every day of the month. If you don’t mind a bit of trash, you’ll be rewarded with some great articles. Many of them are good, well-structured, interesting reads. Don’t sweat it — this isn’t the quality that matters. It’s action that does.
Publishing something was a good idea, even if it was just a tweet. I found out about some of the articles that were getting attention on Facebook and decided to promote them. I followed those ideas, and I used the structure that I saw him use to write the next month. I went from 1,000 views in May to 25,000 views in June. It doubled again a couple months later.
It doesn’t matter if you’re feeling stuck or unsure, the solution is taking action consistently. It will get you moving, and point you in the right direction — even if it
“A man’s wishes and prayers are only gratified and answered when they harmonize with his thoughts and actions.” -James Allen, As a Man Thinketh
It’s Impossible To Become Successful If You Keep Making Those Excuses.
“Success is not something that happens to you; it’s something that happens because of you and because of the actions you take.” -Grant Cardone
It is easier to make excuses than to make progress. If you want to stop being mediocre, then do the work to become a great leader. They have chosen to take the easier, softer way and although it’s easier, that road always leads to unmet expectations and more disappointment.
Jim Rohn said, “We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.” You have a choice, so choose the pain of discipline.
What’s yours? What goal are you working toward that will give you the greatest fulfillment? Is it reaching your goal of having a six-figure income in two years, or making enough money to have the house of your dreams? Is it meeting your fitness or weight loss goal, or creating an amazing business that brings freedom and flexibility to your life?
Don’t make excuses, it’s possible to achieve the success you want. There’s always an excuse not to act, and most people grab those excuses. When you’re a writer, there’s no such thing as bad content. You have to know your audience and tailor your message appropriately.
“The fellow who has gone nowhere and has no plans for getting anywhere always has a bookful of reasons to explain why.”
- What is your favorite excuse?
- Why do you keep making it?
- Will making excuses help you achieve your goal?
- What would a more productive response be?
The first two questions give you a great start in showing how you’ve already changed your behavior for the better. However, you also need to ask yourself what else you can do to really improve your behavior.
This is what the world’s top performers do. They continually evaluate what their excuses are and how they can change their default response to one that brings results. In the words of world champion chess player Josh Waitzkin:
“Mental resilience is arguably the most critical trait of a world-class performer, and it should be nurtured continuously.
If left to my own devices, I am always looking for more ways to become more and more psychologically impregnable.
When uncomfortable, my instinct is not to avoid confrontations but to become at peace with it. My instinct is to seek out challenges as opposed to avoiding them.”
How you choose to live your life is the difference between making excuses, choosing entertainment over learning, and choosing the easy road. If you want something better than what you’ve already got, make a different choice.
If you want to become what no one else has, you must do what no one else does. If you make a habit of doing things in a consistent manner, then you’ll begin to make progress towards your goals.
Going to the Gym Once Won’t Get You in Shape
“You’re not an X-er unless you regularly X.” -Zak Slayback
Writing one article doesn’t make you a writer. You don’t have to play it on a guitar in front of a mirror to be able to play. A single DuoLingo session is unlikely to result in fluent language proficiency.
Every day if you want to be enormously successful, you have to do it. It doesn’t matter how hard you try, most people are terrible at maintaining consistency. The four hour body is a book that explains the science behind the body’s capacity to heal itself.
“People suck at following advice. Even the most effective people in the world are terrible at it. There are 2 reasons:
1. Most people have insufficient reason for action. The pain isn’t painful enough.It’s a nice-to-have, not a must-have.
2. There are no reminders. No consistent tracking = no self awareness = no behavioral change.
Consistent tracking, even if you have no knowledge, will often beat the advice from world-class trainers.”
We are horrible at consistent daily routines. You have to keep engaging in your new skill to get the best results. To be successful in life, you must find time to take care of yourself. This includes taking care of your physical health, your mental health, and taking the time to enjoy yourself.
Why am I confident that I’m going to be a top 1% writer someday? Because I know I will always write every day. The day I stop practicing is the day I start to lose.
In the words of Ramit Sethi:
“At the moment when we accept our weaknesses and stop deciding to grow, we’re the BEST we’re ever going to be. It’s all downhill from there.”
Never stop growing. Never accept your weakness and give it power to dominate your life.
In Conclusion
If there are so many people in the world that are so much more talented than you, then why do you think there’s a market for you? They’re sexier, smarter, richer, and more creative. Likable, charming, attractive, and better-connected.
And there’s one singular thing you can do better than them. You can outwork them. In order to succeed, you must commit to keep going, no matter what. Your stronger competitor will never beat you, as long as you continue to do what it takes to succeed.
I’m here to help you figure out how to use your time and your skills effectively. You might even find that some of the resources you read about are not that expensive. They have better jobs, better homes, better networks, better talent than you do. Most of these people will still be inconsistent.
Most people succeed just because they’re born into fortunate circumstances and happen to be lucky. But the most important thing that will help you succeed is hard work. It’s important to avoid making bad choices. It may not always be easy, but it’s always worth it. They both require a lot of energy. Choose the path that will get you the goals you want.