Sometimes winning begins by understanding what game you are
actually playing!
As long-time subscribers know, I'm a huge fan of "baby
steps." Wonderful over-the-fence home runs are spectacular
and we all love them, precisely because they're difficult
and rare. What's unspectacular and more profitable are
repeated base-hits, that lead to scoring runs, which leads
to victory.
Baby-steps are safe. Baby-steps are easy, virtually without
risk, and in the end, extremely profitable.
The only bad part is that baby-steps can also be boring.
They don't have the glamour or drama of home runs, and few
people applaud. Some, like the grizzled old-timers in the
movie, fail to see the significance.
In building a business, or a life, repeated baby-steps can
feel like we're making progress so slowly that we'll "never
get there." There's not much adrenalin in repeated, daily
baby-steps. Base-hits rarely get the fancy endorsements or
the big promotions. They rarely lead to stardom. But they do
make people rich.
In the movie, the Oakland A's set an all-time record of 20
consecutive wins, which I believe still stands today.
In the book, "The Millionaire Next Door," Stanley Danko
talks about his research on self-made millionaires. One of
his famous quotes is from a wealthy businessman who notes,
"I drink two kinds of beer. Free and Budweiser." Very
practical, very down to earth, very do-able!
Brian Tracy was famous for his observation that the most
reliable business for creating self-made millionaires was
owning a dry-cleaning shop. Not very glamorous, but very
profitable over time!
I'm convinced that the key to wealth is to get very good at
what you do, and then do lots of it. Whether you are a dry-
cleaner, a school teacher, a truck driver or an attorney,
the keys to wealth are your income, and more importantly,
your discipline to save, invest, leverage your skills and
get rich over time.
Persistence pays dividends! Very few people will invent the
next iPhone™ or write a best-seller. But anyone can find
ways to make a bit more in 2013. Anyone can spend a bit less
and invest the difference. Whether it's buying a second home
while interest rates are low, or starting a business on the
side, or attracting a few more customers to your current
business, the keys to wealth are patience and persistence.
This is true in every area of life. A romantic weekend can
create a few great memories, but a great marriage takes
years of daily work. A hole-in-one takes a few seconds, but
becoming a great golfer takes practice and thousands of
rounds of golf.
Clarity about your goals, a reasonable strategy for
achievement, and consistent performance over time is the
"secret" to success. And, of course, anyone can do that.
We are a society that loves instant gratification. We want
speed and drama. We celebrate the "over-night sensation,"
and it's wonderful when that happens. But in real life, it's
actually quite rare. For most of the winners in life,
success is the culmination of multiple, repeated small
victories. Typically, this takes time. It takes Patience.
Endurance. And Persistence.
The good news is that with a good plan and daily victories,
you can absolutely do this!
actually playing!
As long-time subscribers know, I'm a huge fan of "baby
steps." Wonderful over-the-fence home runs are spectacular
and we all love them, precisely because they're difficult
and rare. What's unspectacular and more profitable are
repeated base-hits, that lead to scoring runs, which leads
to victory.
Baby-steps are safe. Baby-steps are easy, virtually without
risk, and in the end, extremely profitable.
The only bad part is that baby-steps can also be boring.
They don't have the glamour or drama of home runs, and few
people applaud. Some, like the grizzled old-timers in the
movie, fail to see the significance.
In building a business, or a life, repeated baby-steps can
feel like we're making progress so slowly that we'll "never
get there." There's not much adrenalin in repeated, daily
baby-steps. Base-hits rarely get the fancy endorsements or
the big promotions. They rarely lead to stardom. But they do
make people rich.
In the movie, the Oakland A's set an all-time record of 20
consecutive wins, which I believe still stands today.
In the book, "The Millionaire Next Door," Stanley Danko
talks about his research on self-made millionaires. One of
his famous quotes is from a wealthy businessman who notes,
"I drink two kinds of beer. Free and Budweiser." Very
practical, very down to earth, very do-able!
Brian Tracy was famous for his observation that the most
reliable business for creating self-made millionaires was
owning a dry-cleaning shop. Not very glamorous, but very
profitable over time!
I'm convinced that the key to wealth is to get very good at
what you do, and then do lots of it. Whether you are a dry-
cleaner, a school teacher, a truck driver or an attorney,
the keys to wealth are your income, and more importantly,
your discipline to save, invest, leverage your skills and
get rich over time.
Persistence pays dividends! Very few people will invent the
next iPhone™ or write a best-seller. But anyone can find
ways to make a bit more in 2013. Anyone can spend a bit less
and invest the difference. Whether it's buying a second home
while interest rates are low, or starting a business on the
side, or attracting a few more customers to your current
business, the keys to wealth are patience and persistence.
This is true in every area of life. A romantic weekend can
create a few great memories, but a great marriage takes
years of daily work. A hole-in-one takes a few seconds, but
becoming a great golfer takes practice and thousands of
rounds of golf.
Clarity about your goals, a reasonable strategy for
achievement, and consistent performance over time is the
"secret" to success. And, of course, anyone can do that.
We are a society that loves instant gratification. We want
speed and drama. We celebrate the "over-night sensation,"
and it's wonderful when that happens. But in real life, it's
actually quite rare. For most of the winners in life,
success is the culmination of multiple, repeated small
victories. Typically, this takes time. It takes Patience.
Endurance. And Persistence.
The good news is that with a good plan and daily victories,
you can absolutely do this!
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