Hi,
Last week, I started a challenge from Darren Rowse – 31 Days to Build a Better Blog.
You can tell from the title of this post that I haven’t quite kept up with getting the blog posts done. As it happens, I’m also finishing The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. Having these two things happen together is what I’ve chosen to write about.
The Slight Edge is about the little things that are easy to do – and easy not to do – for getting success.
Is the 31 Day Challenge easy to do? Yes. And, evidently, it’s also quite easy to not do. 😉
So today is my time to make a course correction. I have a goal: to complete the 31 Day Challenge. To achieve that goal, I started with a plan that included doing one task every day except on weekends.
My problem has been trying to do that task in the evenings. That hasn’t worked for me because I lack motivation to be at the computer after supper. By that time, I’ve been writing and typing all day and would rather read or go for a walk.
It’s easier for me to get up at 3:30 to write this post – yep, I did – than it is for me to write it at 8:30 in the evening.
Okay. So what good is any of this to you, right? How does my being “off course” help you do better at building your business or achieving your goals?
This is where The Slight Edge comes in…
Jeff Olson makes an interesting point in The Slight Edge. The example he uses is a rocket going to the moon. Did you know that a rocket on its way to the moon spends about 70% of the trip off course? Yea, me neither.
Since reading that, I’ve also discovered that most airplane trips are the same way. Except for during takeoff and landing, most airplane trips are an exercise in getting to your where you’re going while being off course.
For the rocket, it’s an ongoing series of tiny course corrections. For the airplane, it’s having to compensate for the wind plus make corrections. Heck, even driving a car requires constant little corrections in the steering wheel, right? I mean, you don’t drive down the road holding the wheel perfectly still, do you?
And that’s what today is – a course correction. I’m getting back on track.
My hope is that by letting you see it happen for me, getting back on track will be easier for you. Maybe this will encourage you to remember that making course corrections is a natural part of getting to where you want to go.
When you’re making the correction, take a look at why you’re off course, For me, it means having to change when I do my blogging – in the evenings simply won’t work for me. Now it goes at the start of the day.
Be honest with yourself about the reason without being harsh. I goofed, and didn’t get done what I wanted done. Is that a bad thing? Actually, no, it isn’t.
Making that gaff means I’ve learned something. So even as I plan to change my blogging time to be in the morning, there’s the thought “What consequences will that have?” You can see that getting off course is helping me think about how to get everything done in a day.
Now I move forward and look for other little tweaks and adjustments – course corrections. It’s called “failing forward.”
In school, we’re taught to avoid failure like the plague. Watch any sporting event and you’ll see players screamed at for making mistakes – “failure is the enemy.” You know how it goes – nobody ever remembers the guy who came in second, right?
But that’s not the way it works in business, and it really doesn’t work that way in life. Donald Trump has gone broke a couple of times in his life, so has Anthony Robbins. Are they in second place today?
Sure. Neither one is as rich a Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. Do you suppose they sit up at night crying over having been broke, or even having millions of people know they made big mistakes?
No way. Anthony Robbins talks about his mistakes as part of his presentation. Just like I’m telling you about my mistake right now. And I’m no where near as successful as Tony Robbins or Donald Trump – yet.
So how do you use this? Simple. Accept that making course corrections is a natural part of getting success.
Now get moving with making your own success. Make mistakes and fix them, try something and have it not work – that’s how you learn what does work. And drop me a comment to tell me how it’s going. It’s always fun to be part of someone’s cheering section.
I’ve heard great things about Darren Rowse’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog. Keep updating, you’re doing well! Very clear blog page – I like it.