The Biggest Reason You Will (or Won’t) Hit Your 2023 Goals

Do you ever look at really successful people and wonder how they do it?

Maybe they are successful in their jobs or marriages. Or with their health or finances. How do they become so successful?

You might assume many of them were just lucky. Lucky to be born into the right family. Lucky to have the right God-given abilities. Lucky to have gotten a big break. Lucky to have met the right person or people.

I grew up thinking the same thing.

But as I got older, I got to know people who were successful. And I realized I’d been wrong.

Successful people are not lucky. They’re consistent.

Sure, a few successful people have gotten more breaks than most. You can probably think of some business big shots who started with an advantage because of their parents.

But if you get to know successful people, you’ll realize their success was not serendipitous. It was also not the result of a single moment, like one big, bold action or decision. They achieve their win because of countless, seemingly small actions and decisions made consistently over time.

That consistency gives them the power to change. The power to become the person they wanted to become.

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Fanatical Consistency

Researchers have long attempted to distinguish what separates standout leaders from the rest of the pack.

The problem is, when interviewed, leaders often cannot explain the reason for their success. They can identify “no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary lucky break, no miracle moment.”

So what have the researchers concluded? They’ve found that “fanatical consistency” leads to the success of the best of the best. These leaders are successful because of their dogged zealousness of doing the same (usually small) right things over and over.

Understanding this revolutionized my life. I believe it can do the same for you.

Successful people do consistently what other people do occasionally.

What do successful people do consistently? Habits. The right strategic habits. Success happens not by accident but by habits. Successful people start and maintain the right habits and keep doing them.

Some people occasionally put a little money into savings. Others consistently put a little money into savings.

Then one day, the occasional people assume the consistent people are lucky that they have so much money set aside. No. It was not luck. It was consistency.

Some people occasionally go on a diet and try to eat healthy. Others consistently eat healthy as their diet.

Then one day, the occasional people think the consistent people are lucky because they’re in such good shape and don’t struggle with their weight. No. It was not luck. It was consistency.

Successful people do consistently what other people do occasionally.

Case Study: Kobe Bryant

Performance coach Alan Stein Jr. spent fifteen years working with some of the best athletes in the world. One day, Stein asked the late Kobe Bryant if he could watch the athlete’s workout routine. Bryant agreed, telling Stein to meet him at the gym the next day—at four in the morning.

Stein arrived a little early, only to find Bryant already in a full sweat. He was doing a very basic, boring workout.

When Stein asked Bryant why, the basketball legend answered, “Why do you think I’m the best player in the world? Because I never, ever get bored with the basics.”

In an article on his insane work ethic, Bryant explained what propelled him to all-world status:

“It’s a constant quest to try to be better today than you were yesterday.”

So what about you?

People who are successful in their careers or marriages got there a little at a time. People who are in great shape physically or financially got there a little at a time. People who are amazing at parenting or repairing cars, writing code, or taking companies public got there a little at a time.

Today, through small and consistent decisions, you’re getting somewhere a little at a time.

Where are you going?

How do you know if you’re going to succeed in 2023?

Your success in 2023 will follow your fanatical consistency in doing a little at a time to become the person you want to be.

If you train consistently, you’ll succeed. If you train occasionally, you’ll fail.

More on changing your habits and your life.

The ideas in this post came from my book The Power to Change: Mastering the Habits That Matter Most. Inside, I take a deep dive into the practical and spiritual principles around changing your habits.

If you’re like most people, you’ve got something about your life that you want to change, but have a hard time changing. This book will help you finally make that change.

Get your copy of the book here!