What makes some people highly successful at what they do, while others are always trying to be better?
I asked myself this question for a long time. I spent a significant amount of time reading productivity books, listening to highly successful and highly productive people – which may be different people – and watching YouTube videos on the topic of productivity. I came to believe the answer was that success is a result of a few key skills. These skills, as I read, could be learnt.
I have come to realize a lot of these skills and have implemented some of them, while trying to do the same for others. But this is not a guarantee for success. One very important assumption that is made when someone writes such books and articles, is that the reader will take action!
You can create all the to-do lists you want, but if you won’t take action, then it is a waste.
Ideas are Cheap
You can rave all you want that you are a wonderful “idea man”. The fact is that there are a lot of idea men (and women) in the world. Ideas really are cheap.
The key difference between a high performer and someone who wants to be a high performer, is that the former acts on their ideas.
As I mentioned in my previous post, time has a compounding nature – i.e. the fruits of acting early will compound with time, and so would inaction.
Decisive Action
Successful CEOs and military leaders share a common trait – their ability to assess a situation quickly and take decisive actions immediately. The ability to not linger on options for too long, is crucial. What would it take for you to implement this new idea? If implementation means that you will need to modify your daily routine or workflow, and the ROI is not positive, then you need to make a decision to not pursue the project any further.
Paralysis by Over-Analysis
It is said that a new idea is like a viral infection. Once you are infected and have a genuine interest, then this idea will consume you if not acted upon. If you linger too long on this idea, then a different phenomenon takes hold – paralysis by over analysis.
Scientists and engineers are more susceptible to this condition. They tend to over-thing and over-analyze. They will read books on a subject, run scenarios, dissect them, calculate, talk to everyone and anyone on the subject, and get bogged down with the details. The “secret” to getting started is simple – just start it! – and the details will take care of themselves.
If you are starting something for the very first time, do your market research and then proceed to making your “minimal viable product”.
Reading Books is Bad
Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking. -Albert Einstein
One common habit with all successful people is reading. However, if reading is all you will be doing, then remind yourself of Einstein’s quote above. Another excellent reference for this comes from the stoic philosopher Seneca. In his Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 2 “On discursiveness in reading”, Seneca mentions that reading is all well and good, but you must act on it.
We are talking about reading for practical applications – non-fictional reading. Reading fiction is usually done for entertainment purposes. Reading books on productivity and such, mean little if it is for entertainment also. Most of these books have a couple core messages, and these messages are repeated by different authors. Identify what you think you need to work on, and then act on them. After reading a certain number of books, one should start some form of writing or journaling.
Finish Your Projects
Finally, before generating new ideas and elongating your project to-do list, make sure you finish your projects. Tracking your projects – “your projects pipeline” – is critical. Make an Excel tracking sheet where you can monitor your projects, assess deadlines, track progress, etc. I have such a tracking sheet that is use quite effectively, and I can share it with you, just shoot me a message.