There is no one way to success

Years ago I attended a seminar with a successful business owner.  He went through his presentation and provided a lot of great insight into running a business.

Towards the end of the presentation he made a statement about success that is very true.  He said that his way isn’t the only way to be successful at business.  The reality is that there are a lot of ways to be success, this just happens to be the only way he knows.

While most people would probably dismiss the comment, I really believe that this is powerful.  There isn’t just one way to do something or one direction in order to be successful.

One of the reasons that I focus on the systems and habits instead of simply focusing on the end result is that this means you can use any number of strategies to reach a goal.  It doesn’t say you should invest in real estate or never take on debt in order to reach a financial goal.  It doesn’t say to use a specific exercise routine or diet to get in shape.  It says that whatever strategy you decide to go with, use a systematic approach in order to follow through on that approach. 

Looking systematically we can start to see the patterns that make up our lives.  We can see routines and recurrent decision-making.  We see things that we “know we need to change” but somehow keep coming up short. 

Instead of trying to have massive change, start very small and focus on a systematic element.  Find a part of the routine that can be adjusted and then work to implement that small change over and over again.  By doing this it will create a pattern, which will then lead to a new habit.

To me this is how to improve.  By working systematically and slowly, we can start to make positive strides that continue.  Small steps can lead to very big results but only if you do them over and over again. 

The speaker gave his strategy for how to build a successful business and much of his insight was on ways he worked systematically to improve the business.  It wasn’t a specific goal he set, market he entered or strategy he used.    

This is why his statement is so powerful to me.  There are numerous ways to solve any problem and reach any goal.  The actually steps are only important when looked at cumulatively as growth and improvement.

In order to reach a goal or improve an area of our lives we have to look at actionable steps we can take.  We have to find a way to take those steps over and over again and build the right systems and habits.  We can rely on different strategies and different methodologies and use the systems and habits perspective to make sure we do the things necessary in order to see improvement. 

It is great to pull insight from people who have accomplished great things and you admire.  Pull insight from their lives to find small steps to improve within your own routines and habits.  This will be a great way to leverage what they have done and adjust it to fit your specific goals and objectives.  But remember that there isn’t one single way to success so be flexible and systematic in your approach.