The 3 Lies Between You and Success

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"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into big trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." In this quote, Mark Twain identifies that our current thoughts are what is leading down this troubled road- a road where success cannot be found.

Why is that so?

It is because society puts into our minds constantly 3 lies that are caught between you and your success. Let me show you these lies as highlighted in our recently referenced book The One Thing by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan, and lets take action to remove them from our mindset so we can keep a steady rate of progression towards success.

The 3 Lies

  1. Multitasking
  2. A Disciplined Life
  3. Everything Matters Equally

These three lies are beliefs that get into our heads and become operational principles driving us the wrong way. If we're going to maximise our potential, we're going to have to make sure we put these lies to bed.

Multitasking

Multitasking is a lie. It is merely the opportunity to screw up more than one thing at a time and should be avoided to ensure you are doing quality work. If we think we can, then we think we should, and as thus we end up doing it everyday; kids studying while listening to music, texting, or watching television; doing something in one room while talking to someone in the next; the notorious texting and driving- it's not that we have too little time to do all the things we need to do, it's that we feel the need to do too many things in the time we have.

In essence, multitasking is a distraction from getting the things you need most done finished. Here are some ideas to remember at the onset of the multitask:

  • Distraction is natural. Don't feel bad when you get distracted, as it happens to everyone.
  • Multitasking takes a toll. At home or at work, distraction leads to poor choices, painful mistakes, and unnecessary stress.
  • Distraction undermines results. When you try to do too much at once, you can end up doing nothing well. Figure out what matters most in the moment and give it your undivided attention.

A Disciplined Life

Let's get this straight, you don't need to be a disciplined person to be successful. Rather, you can become more successful with less discipline than you think. Because success is about doing the right thing, not about doing everything right. The trick is to choose the right habit and bring just enough discipline to establish it over the long-term.

The core to habit change is that it actually takes an average of 66 days to form, and that is why most people fall back to old routines- their short-term discipline doesn't carry them far enough forward. Doing this justifies why those with the right habits seem to do better than others. They're doing the most importatn thing regularly and, as a result, everything else is easier. In summary:

  • Don't be a disciplined person. Be a person of pwerful habits and use selected discipline to develop them.
  • Build one habit at a time. Success is sequential, not simultaneous. No one actually has the discipline to have more than one powerful new habit at a time. Use selected discipline to develop a few significant habits one at a time over time.
  • Give each habit enough time. You must stick with the discipline long enough for it to become routine, which is actaully an average of 66 days. Afterwards, either build on that habit or form another one.

Everything Matters Equally

As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, "Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least." Equality is a worthy ideal pursued in the name of justice and human rights, however in terms of results, things are never equal. Equality is a lie, in which understanding of this will become the basis of all great decisions. As far as results are concerned, you need to be clear of your priorities and be pulled in a specific direction by your actions, not pulled in every direction by a random list of To-Do's, distractions, and the like. 

An important principle must come into play that I am sure you have heard before- that is the Pareto Principle (the 80/20 rule): 20% of actions taken produce 80% of the results. This is where you judge your To-Do list and your priority list and determine what your 20% is. Sometimes its the first thing you do, or maybe the only thing you do. Regardless, doing the most important thing i always the most important thing. In summary:

  • Go small. Don't focus on being busy; focus on being productive. Allow what matters most to drive your day.
  • Perform the Pareto. Go from a list of 20 things, down to the most important 5. If you can, go even smaller to ensure the most important thing is being done.
  • Say no. Whether you say "later" or "never", the point is to say "not now" to anything else you could do until your most important work is done.

In Summary

These lies shape our mindsets, and it is important to change accordingly in order to get the most done with our day. In the end remember:

  1. Multitasking is a means of getting less quality work done in a longer period of time. Focus on one thing at a time to ensure it is done with quality, you maximised your time, and you removed unecessary stress that would otherwise accumulate.
  2. Discipline should not be used as an excuse or a regimen, but rather should be used to introduce new habits. It takes 66 days for the right habits to take form, so give it the time and build only one at a time.
  3. Everything does not matter equally. Identify what is a priority and act on that. Utilize the Pareto principle in your life to reduce the unecessary and ensure the most important actions are taken.

Be sure to check out our article about goal setting and the one thing, so you can put this knowledge to best use.

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