1% | In-Between the Pages

We as humans like to bite off more than we can chew on at one time. Your goal shouldn’t be to become a PHD or losing weight or winning the game of life in one try out. If you are going after it that way, I’m just going to say it, you are doing it all wrong. You will fail and become disenchanted with what you’re going after. You will take a good sit down with yourself as your confidence continues to be eroded and say the hell with it. Goal becomes pipe dream, pipe dream becomes a coulda shoulda.

”The idea is the small things done consistently become the big things.” – Tim Ferris, Tools for Titans

Incremental change will equal out to be huge change. For example, take a bucket that is empty that you set outside to capture the water from a light rain. Takes a while, but that bucket becomes a bucket full of water and can cure thirst for hours. Same principle with the 1% improvement focus. It took me 3 years of long distance running before I started to see personal best results. 3 years! But, I’m at my peak now, best physical shape of my life, and running farther than I ever imagined with still more to figure out.

It does take a few elements to make it possible and stick. First, you will need to become an incredible long term planner. You’re only moving at 1% at a clip, that makes you plan out a lot further than moving along at a 25% clip would. Second, you will need to get used to playing a long game and enjoy your steady improvements. Slow burns are the best because it allows you to really enjoy your growth. You can actually see it happening and enjoy it versus moving so fast you start to hate it. Lastly, your resources get ultra clear and crisp. With the time you have along the way, you will research and learn a lot, finding more unlocks along the way.

Another element to making this 1% strategy really work well is to surround yourself with accountability. Having accountability in yourself, by yourself, will not be enough when you need it the most as you level up.

“Someone else has done your version of ‘success’ and you are not alone in your drive to become a better version of yourself.” – Unknown

You need a accountability team. Someone whose been there and made the journey, someone whose extremely successful at it already, and someone like yourself that is in the same point of the journey you are. Your accountability team will give you the push you need when that 1% starts to add up to 50%, 60%, 70% and 80%.

Lastly, share your story along the way. For one, you need to learn to celebrate your growth and improvement. Self-recognition and a positive mindest is an incredible tool for your future to have at your ready. Pat yourself on the back along the way. Not with arrogance or by being an egotistical know it all freak. It’s going to be a incredible journey that will inspire more than just you with the outcome. You won’t even have to do the work to promote it to others, it will just happen. Think on this, any one man or woman can change the world. It might not seem like that at the speed of a slow 1% move. But that’s your lens and as you see the world. To others, you are an example of what is possible.

”Behind all the results we are all still emotionally driven human beings. We want to attach ourselves to narratives.” – Chris Sacca

Bringing this altogether, focusing on a daily 1% improvement is a great way to start and stay focused on your goals this year. It is completely scalable and can be used in anything you are trying to get better at. Relationships. Professional performance enhancement. Your health. I promise you, if you can chunk your goals out over the long term, surround yourself with a bunch of peers that will bring accountability to your drive, and celebrate no matter how insignificant your growth is along the way you will become significantly better. Significant to more than just yourself. You will become significant to others that need to believe in themselves again through your narrative.

Thanks for reading. Love to hear how it’s going, please share if you choose to.

Shawn