A post ago, I mentioned attending an online event with a  quite-famous, quite-affluent, highly successful thought leader. He has millions of books and programs sold. Retains millions of followers. Makes millions of dollars, keeping his family safe and supported — and spends millions of dollars serving others.
(A nice place to be, eh?)

At the end of this thought-leader’s four-day series (filled with power-hours presenting sizzling seminars), an attendee posed the pregnant question:

“What are the practices that got here, to where you where you are today?” 

His first answer — you remember it, right?

Read a book a month.

(It’s too simple.)
To make learning and growing a priority.
To stack books on the tables of your mind —
Increasing ideas to the synthesis of higher understandings.
To gather words. Garnish ideas. Gain wisdom.

Because when we ponder words, we can use them as tools to imagineer —
When we turn over and speculate with new ideas, we can deduce new answers —
When we scrutinize and decide what to heed and embrace —
we grow.

(What will you read today?)
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Okay. Enough reiterating.
His second answer was as bland and powerful as the first:

Be consistent.

Let’s be truthful:
No-one  wants to hear that answer.
No one wants to acquiesce to the idea of plain-ol’ consistency.

Consistency is about saying it and doing it.
And doing it.
And doing it.
And doing it.

Why talk about this tiring word, consistency?
Two quick and powerful reasons.

Consistency creates integrity.
Integrity in word and deed.
(What others understand and believe about us.)

Integrity includes taking ownership to think clearly and act responsibly.

Ouch. We say we’re thinking clearly, but shutting out others’ ideas with a subtle brand of self-whispering narcissism (I’m right, you’re wrong) is all too rampant. Believing we’re being responsible, but simply plowing through our agenda without stepping back to thoroughly understand, regardless of our stake in the matter, is a deadly poison to success.

In the sun’s rise and fall, it’s all about saying what we’ll do and doing what we say. 

So very important.
(Never underestimate consistency’s power to display our integrity.)
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Consistency creates production.
<<I’m talkin’ RESULTS.>>

(You DO want results, right?)

Creating a plan.
Scheduling the plan.
Working the plan.
And working it.
And working it.
And working it.

Lining up the stones for the step-by-step doing.
Not complaining.
Not giving excuses.
Not looking around at others and comparing.
Not becoming overwhelmed or distracted.

But simply picking up a stone of action and placing it in the spot.
And placing another.
And placing another.

It all adds up to capital R Results.

By the way, if I had a dollar for every time someone asked, how did you create almost 50 online courses in just a few years…

Anyway. You know the answer.
(It’s not a secret.)

Step by step.
A little bit each day.
Consistently working the plan.

A boring answer. But a highly effective one.
* Thup