“People will tell you where they’ve gone. They’ll tell you where to go. But
-Joni Mitchell.
Don’t just dream of success. Make it happen. Don’t be a talker, be a doer.
I’m going to walk you through how to create exponential progress (versus incremental) with a three-tier model. Along the way, you’ll get the evidence you need to reach whatever goal/milestone you want.
It’s also easy to replicate and you can apply it to anything to you do, personally and professionally.
It’s essentially what the best of the best do (broken down) so anyone can use it. It’s taken from more than 2,000 interviews I’ve conducted over the past 10 years.
But….you will have to deal with ambiguity and lack of evidence along the way. There is no way around it. But the key to navigating it is asking questions.
I’m going to use running as an example.
I love running. But even more, I enjoy the social aspect and the competition (to push myself to be my best version of me).
Running a marathon and running one the best you can is a true test of your soul, spirit,
I’m not talking just running it, I’m talking about pushing yourself to run your best. That makes it even harder than running a marathon.
Lot of people talk about running a marathon. They talk strategy, running plans, nutrition, etc. But you can’t know what it really takes FOR YOU to train for a marathon until you actually do it.
Why? Because every person is different. There isn’t one answer. You have to be able to live in ambiguity. You have to try different things. Test and measure them. You have to manage pain and injuries. It’s managing time along with your other commitments.
What I’ve found is a three tier model that will help you make massive progress in days/months that will take another person years or decades or possibly never. It’s pure gold for leaders, managers, and entrepreneurial types (venture capitalists, private equity, real estate investors, etc).
It has helped me make massive progress for someone who never ran before. My first marathon I ran 3:40 in Chicago, 11 months after I started running. And I never really had run before.
It will work for you in business and your career.
1) Modeling best practices
2) Coaching / Mentorship (essentially getting experts to help you)
3) Support from people who actually know what you are doing. (I.e. entrepreneur needs to talk to other entrepreneurs. CEOs need to talk to other CEOs).
How I applied it (which required me to be very inquisitive along the way):
- I found the best running group for me in Dallas with dedicated runners. I asked them every conceivable question as I started running. And I’m still asking. I’m also reading, listening to podcasts, etc. I’m then implementing the information (not just listening to it for entertainment).
- I got a coach for four months. It really helped. Then I found people in my running group that helped me train and set up a plan (and even run with me). I researched training plans and I’m using one I love.
- My running group is my support. I’ve made some great friends there. They know the toll it can take on you. I don’t need to give them a long explanation of what’s going on. They just know it by looking at me.
Putting those three pieces together will help me get to run the Boston Marathon, which is my overall goal years faster than the vast majority of people. Very few people will qualify in 18 months after they just started running (for the first time ever).
MAJOR MAJOR Caveat: There are three parts of this model that will trip people up.
- Ambiguity. There isn’t one truth. There isn’t
single right way. There is only imperfect action that you will need to learn from and pivot off of. - You need someone to show you how to fish and then learn how to fish yourself. Coaching and mentorship will shave 5x to 20x the time it will take you to do anything. But the real question is can you do it the second time on your own? That’s where many coaches/mentors do a poor job and the people engaging with them. Your engagement is both to get immediate evidence/results (because as human beings we need to see that things are working), and educational (to learn how to actually do it and then do it to see if you can replicate the results).
- Confidence and Competence Loop. This is a KEY principle to master. It goes like this…”If I only was more competent, I’d feel more confident.” Great, well then become more competent. Well, that’s not so easy. It typically requires a person to make a leap of faith (trying something new with no real evidence it will work for you). That requires a person to dive into uncertainty. That’s a place not many people are willing to go. But it’s a requirement to become more
competent so you will FEEL more confident. Most people get stuck in this loop because they are waiting around for evidence to magically appear. Well, you will be waiting around for a LONG time (this is no fairy tale, it’s your life!)
You have to master the caveats as well as the three tier model to have massive success and massive progress.
But you won’t know it, until you do it. That will require you to deal with ambiguity, lack of evidence it’s working, doubt, fear, imposter syndrome, limiting beliefs, exacerbate your blind spots, and much more.
Just like your business and career, you need a plan and model to help you get there. And you won’t know it until you get there.
Joni Mitchell had some wise words.
Use them to your advantage!
