There are three things to employ to achieve results that will separate you from the culture of mediocrity that we live in today.  While it’s only thee simple steps the majority of the populace are unable to utilize them because it fly’s against the instant gratification and entitlement that is prevalent today.  Separate yourself from this mediocrity and enjoy the real gratification of achieving goals that most can only dream of.  These three simple steps are to operate with vision, consistency, and hard work in regards to achieving your goals.

While I’ve spoken to some of these concepts previously, a recent reflection on my progress in my lifting career motivated me to spend a little time extrapolating on this approach.  Everyone wants to start at the last step in the process.   They see something they would like to achieve, get motivated, and pounce straight to putting in the hard work (more on the supposed hard work later) to achieve that goal.  Absolutely, you must bust your ass to achieve your goals.  However everyone wants the results in the present, in the ‘now’, and after a few months or even a few years feel they have earned it.  Frustration sets in when this doesn’t happen and eventually the goal is replaced with another one.  Another goal that is also pursued with the same limited foresight or half-baked approach.  Jumping straight to the end of the process and focusing just on the hard work leads to goal ADD.  If you don’t see this in yourself, then just look at those around you and it will be easy identify.   Doing the hard work is only relevant if it is put in place in a consistent manner, over time, and toward a specific outcome.

The first step is to create a vision.  A vision goes beyond a simple daydream about the success you would like to have.  A daydream certainly isn’t going to separate you from the mediocre masses.  This dream must be flushed out to become a vision.  Not to sound like a self-help guru but you must believe that you can achieve that success.  More importantly you must believe you can live the life that will lead to that success.  By believing you can live that path you must have also already defined what that path is and what those steps are to achieve that success.  Without that belief it’s easy to veer off the path when road bumps are inevitably encountered.  Generating a real vision will prepare you for the long road ahead and keep you motivated while you see the small wins over time, and not the big instant payout.  Taking this step already separates you from the pack, but it is still only the preparation phase.

Consistency is certainly not a difficult concept to understand but this is the attribute that is the true nugget of achieve exceptional results.  You must pound away day after day sometimes making progress so small it is invisible and not measured in days, weeks, or months but years or decades.  Sure there are people that see great success early on.  It’s easy to look at and see yourself as one of these ‘instant success’ stories that are prevalent due to some of the opportunities presented in our technological age we live in.  However these instant successes are dwarfed by the failures of those that hung their hopes on a similar path.  It’s those little wins and obstacles overcome as you consistently hammer away at the path towards your vision that are the cornerstone of success, not picking the winning lottery ticket. 

With focused and consistent efforts it’s time to put in the work, the Hard Work, of achieving your goals.  This is the day in day out year after year grind of grappling for every last inch of movement forwards.  When life stands up in the way with new challenges it’s not dropping your goals, its figure out a path that still incorporates your vision.  The mediocre masses belief in hard work is all too often really just going through the motions.  With your vision in place and the path defined it’s time to ask yourself if you are truly putting everything you have into achieving that vision.  Don’t take this approach lightly, doing the hard work is an all or nothing deal.  Either separate yourself from the pack and challenge yourself like you never have before, or join the mediocre masses of sheep around you. 

Addendum

I have applied these concepts to my career, financial goals, being a father and husband, as well as my ‘hobbies’.  It is one of these hobbies, strength training specifically, that I was recently reflecting on that provided the impetus for sitting down to finish this article. The progress is highly visual, measureable, spans decades, and yet the short term progress is difficult to measure.  Although I admittedly have above average genetics, I didn’t ‘win the lottery’ with top tier genetics.   Also note that I am not saying I have actually reached the goal and vision I have for myself, just a quick visual on where the path has brought me so far...