Things can’t be changed to a full, dramatic effect overnight. As much as we will this to be the case, it never will be the case.
You know the cliché (that’s only a cliché because of its compelling truth!) ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’, well, the same applies for your goals, plans and vision.
As a society and especially in business, we often seek quick wins. There are also sadly lots of quick fix and quick wins out there for sale in the marketplace that are even more rife at this time of year.
Avoid like the plague and opt for an approach that will benefit you with longevity and sustainability. The wise choice then is going for marginal gains – the implementation of something that will make a slight difference day by day.
We don’t always like this choice because it doesn’t seem enough at any one time. The fact is we can create the desired long-term outcome by controlling a small portion of what we do each day.
Think of goals and desired outcomes such as building muscle, getting fitter, faster and stronger. We would be naive to think we could run a marathon from a standing position having never ran as much as 5k before.
We would be asking for the impossible to be able to lift 130kg if we haven’t so much as thrown a 5kg dumbbell around an aerobic track before.
We would seek advice, we would create a plan, we would build up with time, distance, and weight.
Business fitness is the same. We all want to be incredibly successful in business and our professional roles, prove our worth, credibility and deliver an impressive result.
Filling your pipeline with leads, prospects and opportunities is a task that needs to be built up, consistently and over time. It is also something that can be generated today by one contact, call or tactical method at a time.
Considerations include traditional networking or adopting digital marketing strategies for doing the work today to show up as sales conversions and referrals further down the line.
You can’t expect to go from a sales income of £10,000 per month to £100,000 per month without doing the small, incremental leg work – building things up.
Building confidence and discipline levels in all areas of life are also very similar, as is adopting a positive and constructive daily routine. Think bit by bit, step by step. Manage your own expectations and accept that 1% a day consistently is miles more effective than a stop start ethos of the destructive all or nothing and unrealistic mindset.
Focus on the actions today which show up as positive progress tomorrow.
