Everywhere I look these days, especially with Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or the January Sales, the promise from retailers seems to follow a similar trend. You can ‘take home today and don’t pay a penny till 2021’. A very attractive, guilt free, worry about it later, proposal. Instant gratification without any of the buyer’s remorse! Until 2021, when you have to pay an extra 50% interest. That’s so far away, it’s not worth thinking about, right? Buyer Beware.
One of the most important and consistent messages that has emerged from almost 150 1% Better podcast interviews over the last 3 years is the exact opposite. When it comes to success in your career, however you measure or perceive it, you must be willing to pay the money down now, and (potentially) get the rewards later.
One of the first interviews shared back in March 2017 is with
Andrew Mangan. A very successful podcaster and blogger. When asked what contributed most to his success, he replied ‘it came overnight after 9 years of hard work, putting out content daily and weekly, building it slowing and being patient.’
Meaghan Duhamel, an Olympic Gold medal winner, after a number of Olympic near misses, shared her story in an interview in season 2. Like Andrew, her focus over time became much more on ‘the task, not the result’ with a mantra of ‘what can I do today to be better tomorrow’. Success was clear but never instant.
More recently, in a deep dive on leadership with
John Eades, again this topic came up. Self-discipline is at its core and John defines this as ‘the willingness and the ability to sacrifice what you want now for what you want more later on’. In John’s work, he’s talked with a few hundred leaders more than the podcast has given me access to (so far) and he’s seeing the same pattern emerge.
Anytime I see an article that has the word ‘hack’ and ‘success’ in the title I skip it. It can only be click bait. You have to be prepared to do the work, stay the course, and put the hours in! Society and the world of social media has contributed to this belief that you can it all, now. And there are faster paths to get it, if you’re willing to invest, your money! Don’t believe the hype and read the small print!
My advice is to be sure, whatever you decide to focus on, it’s something you love doing, aligns with your values and beliefs, and to create a clear measure of what success looks like. Most likely, it will come. With time, practice, and patience.
Thanks for reading.
Till tomorrow,
Rob
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Rob is a qualified Executive Coach (ICF) and has been Mentoring and Coaching over the last decade in various roles held during his career. In 2017, Rob launched the Rob of the Green Platform which hosts the 1% Better Podcast. Rob currently is a director of Project Management and Leadership Coaching at Dell in Cork, Ireland. Rob also publishes articles on productivity, leadership, goal setting, meditation, and other topics, like this one!
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