The Success Secret of the World’s
Most Productive People!
By Eric Ruth
(These are ideas and action steps I learned from one of the greatest living marketers of all time, Dan Kennedy. I urge you to acquire and devour anything and everything you can get from him.)
I was in a meeting recently with a corporate CEO discussing a promotional strategy for his business. I told him I’m planning to write an article for a trade publication that would showcase the company’s expertise and generate qualified leads.
But I wasn’t sure of the topic for the article – what “angle” I was going to take.
He said to me, “well, what do you feel like writing about?”
And that’s when it hit me. See, the truth is, I didn’t “feel” like writing about anything. Frankly, I didn’t feel like doing any work. And the “super truth” is…
…I RARELY EVER “feel” like doing any work. Sure, I want the benefits that hard work brings, but I definitely would prefer laying on the couch watching a good movie. Or taking a long nap. Or going for a walk around the lake.
But what differentiates the most successful and productive people from everyone else is that they don’t wait for inspiration and motivation to hit them BEFORE taking action.
Most people have the entire formula backwards. Most people are waiting around for some kind of motivating jolt to magically spring them into action. When, in reality…
IT’S THE FORCE OF TAKING ACTION THAT
CAUSES YOU TO BECOME MOTIVATED.
I don’t wait for motivation to show up. (Well, at least not always – I’m constantly battling procrastination – I’m not holding myself up as being one of the most productive people, cause I’m not. But I’m pretty darn productive and my production continues to increase the more I implement the simple strategy I’m sharing with you here. So stick with me.)
Instead of waiting for motivation to show up, I MAKE myself START taking action. Because I know, like I know the sky is blue, that the FIRST 10 MINUTES OF ANY TASK ARE THE MOST DIFFICULT. AFTER THAT, IT’S GRAVY.
See, the best and worst thing about being self-employed is the same thing: You’re your own boss.
As the boss, you’re never going to get anything done without some form of structure, organization, prioritization and accountability.
It’s all about getting the “right” things done.
The difference between those who actually see results (BIG results) and those who just have lots of potential but never achieve great accomplishments, comes down to a simple planning and executing technique that involves 3 parts:
- How well you discriminate the important from the unimportant.
- How well you organize and prioritize what needs to be done.
- Your commitment to implementation.
In order to discriminate the important from the unimportant, you must ask yourself two questions:
- What am I committed to achieving in my business? (What specific results do you want to achieve?)
- What are the most direct, immediate and effective things I can do to reach that goal?
You must know what to focus on – what’s important. If you are having trouble deciding what to do first, it’s probably because you’re not clear about your goals.
See, mapping out your goals and producing a marketing plan are critically important EXERCISES because of the THINKING that must go into them.
Most people will do almost anything to avoid deep, disciplined thinking, writing, projecting and planning.
Once you’ve determined what you want from your business, the next step is to focus on getting predetermined, USEFUL things done (emphasis on DONE) every single day.
Benjamin Franklin advised to “make your list for the next day on the night before leaving work.” So, list out the 5-7 things you want to accomplish tomorrow and then prioritize that list. Do this each and every day and commit to completing at least the 3-4 most important items NO MATTER WHAT.
I guarantee that you will be HUGELY more productive if you do this simple task. It’s just too easy to get sidetracked during the day unless you have a prioritized list of stuff you are COMMITTED to accomplishing.
If you have a big goal, like writing a book, then break it down into small, easily manageable parts and commit to completing one part each day or each week.
Instead of being overwhelmed with a seemingly insurmountable task, you develop an easy-to-achieve plan.
I know, I know – this sounds almost insultingly simple.
But this is exactly the SECRET of the world’s most productive people. They don’t wait for inspiration and motivation. Instead they take action accomplishing the small tasks each day which lead to the BIG successes over time.
Oh…by the way, here’s another little secret:
YOUR INCOME WILL GO UP PROPORTIONATE TO THE PERCENTAGE OF YOUR TIME SHIFTED FROM ALL OTHER ACTIVITIES COMBINED…
…TO MARKETING!!!
Marketing is what brings the dollars in the door. Everything else is a cost or overhead.
So, you’ve determined your goals, used a pencil to make a prioritized ROAD MAP to get you where you want to go, now there’s just one more thing…
You must have an UNYIELDING COMMITMENT to implementing your road map.
There will be external and internal distractions (devils) that you must fight on the path to financial security.
You must make appointments with yourself – just like you make appointments with your clients – to get the most pressing things done each and every day.
FOCUS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST
Avoid external distractions: Don’t answer the phone. Don’t check your email. Don’t open your office door. Don’t turn on the TV. And I, personally, don’t even put on music. NOTHING that can distract you should be allowed into your world when you are working on your list.
Most of all – avoid internal distractions: This brings me back to what I was talking about earlier. Much of the time you will not “feel” like working. But mature, successful individuals FOCUS on desired results, not necessarily desirable, enjoyable or easy activities. Immature, unsuccessful people focus on acceptable activities and sacrifice results in favor of easy or comfortable tasks.
What I’m referring to here is not just making yourself write instead of watching a movie, but rather making yourself do the stuff that makes you uncomfortable on a more emotional level. Like making phone calls to prospects or making a public presentation. Who wants to do that stuff? Not me! And probably not you, either. BUT WE HAVE TO. If you want to be successful, you WILL DO what must be done.
Create a strong emotional picture of the PAY-OFF of your efforts, and it will become easier to break through your personal barriers.
Of all the marketing systems, strategies, tactics and ideas I could ever share with you, none of them will do you any god unless you have structure, organization, prioritization and accountability to GET IT DONE.
That CEO I mentioned earlier – the guy I was having the meeting with about promoting his business with an article – I’ve known him for a long time. I watched him walk away from a six-figure retirement income by leaving his job as a CFO for a $800 million corporation one year before he was eligible to collect so he could start his own business.
In two years, with almost no outside funding, he has single-handedly built a corporation (not a small business, but a multi-million dollar corporation) by ATTACKING his business each and every day with almost maniacal fervor – setting goals, making lists and systematically completing each and every task each day. I work very closely with him now and I see, first hand, how he steadily completes one project and moves to the next. No self-congratulations, no basking in the glory of each little victory – he just works – HARD.
And he does this because he has a DEFINITENESS OF PURPOSE. He has a picture of where he wants to be in a couple years, and I can tell you it is a very, very pretty picture: sandy beaches, big villas, his wife not working, nice cars, massive respect of his peers and the self satisfaction of knowing HE DID IT. And that picture drives him. He is a textbook version of delayed gratification. Something that is very rare these days. Make no mistake, he laughs and enjoys his day-to-day experiences, but he doesn’t lose site of his goal.
He is a great friend of mine from whom I’ve learned a lot about being mature. That may sound corny, but if we want what we really want, being MATURE about the way we live our life is a big part of getting it.
Anyway, I don’t want this to sound like a lecture. It’s not. I have a lot of work to do on my own life to get to where I want to be, but I realize that UNDERSTANDING what it takes to be REALLY successful is half the battle.
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