I’ve mentioned before that the majority of my #mindset breakthroughs have come in the month of December. In December, I am super contemplative. I take a lot of time to review the year, do a deep dive on what works, and think about where I can improve and help others grow. Last month was no different. Leading up to Christmas, Amy, the girls and I have some traditions that we hold to; one of them is that the Saturday before Christmas, we shop, go to Eataly, load up on our favorites, and eat lunch. This year when I was looking at their menu, there was a phrase that said “Don’t Make Simple Difficult.” They used it as a rallying cry to not over-complicate recipes but put lots of attention on the details that matter in the Italian dishes they serve.
I immediately felt in tune with that phrase and it is right in line with my current thinking. The longer I am around, the more I read, the more I observe how others #levelup, the more I realize that having laser focus on what matters is what moves the needle for those who are enjoying major breakthroughs.
The people who don’t over-complicate things but stay true to their guiding principles are winning.
They keep their strategy simple. They create boundaries. As they progress, they add more boundaries, to maintain “simple.”
Your homework this week is to listen to the TEDx Talk by Stephen Duneier, called “How to Achieve Your Most Ambitious Goals.”
Essentially this TEDx Talk emphasizes that you have to break down your ambitious goals into small steps. Duneier has a terrific story that I find super inspiring. I think you will too. Make sure to watch it during one of your morning rituals.
So, you might ask me “How do you keep it simple when your day feels so complex?”
First, I say “NO” to low impact, high intensity situations. You’ve heard me say that “If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a hell no.”
Next, I focus on "The Power of 3,” a term you will hear me mention a lot more.
Three reach outs a day. Matthew Ferrara, a business coach who is popular within the world of real estate brokerage, stated a couple of weeks ago “A business plan is fail proof if you reach out to 3 people a day.”
Michael Hyatt in his Full Focus Planning System has you set your 3 most critical items that need to be completed each day and 3 for the week.
What are your 3 big projects for the month?
At this time next year, if you hit 3 major goals or solve 3 big problems, what would that your business and life look like? How would you feel?
…and if you could do that for 3 years straight, what vision would you have for your life and business 3 years out?
Next week, we will talk about the 3 foundations of your business.
When I say “Don’t Make Simple Difficult,” I am challenging you to take small, consistent steps each day that allow you to hit your weekly goals.
Hitting your weekly goals allows you to hit your monthly goals which allows you to hit your yearly and 3 year goals. Where we make it difficult on ourselves is that we want the benefits of the success but we don’t have the discipline to do the daily, consistent effort… and in most cases we know it.
So, take Martin Luther King’s advice, “Take the first step in faith, you don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take that first step.”
Do I have your attention? Some of the world’s most respected philosophers and big thinkers advise you to keep it simple.
“The Compound Effect” is a game changing book. Darren Hardy talks about the compounding effect of the small things done consistently over time.
Warren Buffett says to write down the top 25 things you want to accomplish in your life and focus only on the top 5. Keep it simple.
John Assaraf was one of my first virtual mentors; I started following him about a decade ago. His area of expertise is on mindset, the law of attraction, et cetera, but he cites consistent action as the difference between the winners and the losers. Your second piece of homework this week is to listen to John’s interview with Tom Bilyeu on Impact Theory. Stay tuned to the Facebook page From the Desk of Jim Miller for a post that features the interview. Assaraf also agrees that you need “to create incremental progress, you need to do a little each day, a little each week and year.”
You know what you need to do.
Don’t get in your own way. Don’t make the simple, necessary actions more difficult than they need to be. Just take the first step, and the next, and the next and so on.
