1) Consistency Is Key
When it comes to getting things done, many people believe it is willpower that makes the biggest difference, but that’s a myth. What if I told you that everything we achieve is not a series of magical events but something that happens because of the little things we repeatedly do over and over? It’s the power of consistency that builds empires, one brick laid one day at a time. The #1 thing that determines whether or not you show up every day is your discipline to stay focused on what matters and deal with the ups and downs that are part of the process of growth and success.
Keep taking steps, every day…
What’s the difference between doing 10,000 push-ups in one day and doing 50 push-ups a day for 200 days? If you do all the push-ups in one day you will surely be sore and possibly even hurt but if you do just 50 per day for 200 days your strength would increase significantly more due to the consistent and disciplined repetition of the push-ups over a long course of time. When you reach a peak, you simply change up the routine but continue exercising on a consistent basis. Don’t get me wrong, you can grow some things fast but even then you need consistent action to keep the momentum going, be disciplined and you win more. The only thing holding you back is a lack of consistent action.
2) Challenging Yourself Is The Key To Growth
Do you think Michael Jordan’s training was easy? Seriously, think about it for a moment. The only real difference between MJ and his equally tall counterparts was his determination to work hard and consistently push himself over the edge, beyond what he thought his limits were. A few weeks ago when I was in Japan, I finished reading a book by Michael Jordan’s former fitness trainer. The book is called Relentless, it’s by Tim S. Grover. It breaks down the difference between the average and super achievers. One concept that really stuck with me was the concept of “Cleaners”, what the author defines as relentless perfectionists who outwork everyone and hate to lose more than they love to win. Cleaners don’t just want to win the game, they want to be the greatest in the game. They want a challenge.
Stay outside of your comfort zone as often as possible.
When I started my career in direct sales I remember learning of an amazing analogy around expanding your comfort zone. If you want to really push yourself and your self-development, do things that are right outside of your normal comfort zone until they become easy and repeat the process. By doing this over and over you are literally expanding the level of responsibility, action, and decisions you can make on a regular basis. This compounds into a massive change in your being and massive results in your life. When I first got to military school a lot of things felt uncomfortable just as with every new thing I did like cross country (very uncomfortable) to Church choir (not as bad) but they all taught me new things and helped me become a better person.
3) Lead By Example, Not Force
If you try to boss people around, you will quickly realize they will grow to resent you if you don’t manage to get blinded by the ego trip of “authority”. The best bosses are leaders and they don’t boss, they lead by example. What does that mean? It means they don’t ask subordinates to do something they wouldn’t be able or willing to do themselves. It means when you give a cadet discipline via PT (Physical Training) you should do it with them to set a point that we work as a unit. The best leaders set the standard they want their subordinates to operate on through inspiration and working side by side.
Be a leader not a boss…
In general, the best leaders are servant leaders, that means they work to serve and advance the purpose of their subordinates to create leaders who can replace them and hopefully even surpass them one day. This is when a leader really cares, they coach, they guide, they keep it real and they push you all while setting the example. That is leadership. I remember one FIrst Sergeant I had that was the biggest hardass in the world but he always set the example by always having his uniform, grades and character as a human being at a high level and being fair, at least most of the time. I’ll never forget that dude.
4) No One Is Self Made
People don’t make great things happen by themselves, even if they invent something great, sing an amazing song or break a world record it is the masses who buy that invention that makes you rich, listen to that song that make becomes a hit and makes you famous or stand in awe at your world record. The coaches to made you great, the label that signed you, the Mom and Dad that supported you, the friends and peers who helped, the books, classes, mentors etc. that helped you achieve these great things are why they happened not just you.
When you realize a person becomes successful as a result of the actions and impact of many, you will then realize why no one is self-made. This is why in the military people are taught to work in units and as teams, because wars are not won by lone rangers, they are won by many units operating as one. In our school we all operated as Troops and would have competitions around drill, fitness etc. like the NMMI Olympics which were super fun and allowed us to be competive while learning the value of teamwork. You get stuff done as a team not as one.
5) You Get What You Put In
If you put in the time, hard work, focus and reflection on your physical fitness day in and day out, you will become strong. If you educate yourself regularly on a specific subject you will become very knowledgeable about it. This is a simple but often overlook concept because humans have an emotional desire to shortcut hard work and get the end results like praise, admiration, vanity etc. which are all the wrong motives. If you put in hard work, those things come as a byproduct but your #1 focus should be creating value and achieving growth by constantly challenging yourself as mentioned in lesson 2.
Marines doing the USMC PFT.
When I had to qualify for the Marine Corps Officer Physical Fitness Test (PFT) I had to be able to do a minimum of 20 dead hang pull-ups, 80+ push-ups in 2 minutes and complete a 3 mile run in 21 minutes or less. I was relatively fit, or so I thought until I jumped up on the pull-up bar and could barely muster 3 pull-ups. I took on a daily routine that I did 5 times per week called The Armstrong Routine, it only took me about 45 minutes per day. I did 3 max repetition sets of push-ups in the morning when I brushed my teeth and finished with the pull-up routine of the day which would only take about 30 minutes max. I went from struggling to doing 250+ pull-ups per week and up to 25 at a time within 100 days allowing me to pass the PFT test. Consistency is key (See Lesson 1) and you always get what you put in. I put in work, so I got results.
6) Corruption Is Omni-Present But It Doesn’t Have To Win
Unfortunately, authority and power can bring out the worse in people and their egos. I’ve seen people in my military school be outright mean and punish people for the silliest things just to get a power trip, essentially this is the same thing as bullying just with the facade of military discipline. I would call these people out to their face, leaders who abuse their people need to be put in line. If someone is willing to take out their frustration on someone else or abuse their power they are not responsible enough to have it in the first place. It is your duty to be aware of and stop corruption when you see it. Do not turn a blind eye as many do because if you do, then the corrupt attain more power and then they try to become like mini-dictators. People are power hungry and can be crazy, you can make sure they stay grounded so it’s in everyone’s best interest, not just theirs.
Don’t be like these corrupt schmucks.
7) Have Clear Motives, Goals and Why’s In Life
If I were to ask you to hit a target only 10 feet in front of you with a dart gun, could you do it?
Provided that the lighting is good, you are relatively sober and have basic hand-eye coordination you can probably hit a bullseye, piece of cake.
Now, what if you were drunk, blindfolded and the lights were off? Would it still be easy? Hell no, you probably wouldn’t even hit the target.
Let’s compare this to life now. Are you absolutely clear on what major accomplishments, financial targets, lifestyle goals, etc. you want to achieve in life?
Have you taken the time to really get clear on your values, principles, motives, and intents on this journey of life or are you just learning about who you are as you react to what the world gives you?
This man is thinking deeply about life, how about you?
If you take the time to sit down, think and plan out your life you can achieve some pretty amazing things. Sitting down with paper and pen to write out your thoughts, dreams, and goals helps you better understand yourself, what drives you and where you want to go so you can maximize your short time on this Earth. There is a reason why the military has so many procedures and documentation, they want to maximize accuracy.