What Drives Success

I am preparing for a Nortec Management and Sales Conference and reflecting on what drives success. In a post a couple of weeks ago I wrote about the value of staying focused. This is important. However, first you must determine what you are going to focus on. What drives you? What is it that you want to accomplish? All too often I get caught up in the doing and don’t take the time to step back and reflect on what it is that I want.

Last year, I dealt with a lack of vision regarding my health and fitness. Although I was not completely out of shape, I sporadically exercised and was about forty pounds overweight. I created the vision of a healthy fit version of myself and set out to create a plan to get there. I decided that I would exercise every day first thing in the morning for 30 – 40 minutes alternating between cardio and weight training. By exercising every day I would give myself the ability to skip one or two days a week when my schedule would not permit exercising and still have a viable plan for fitness. I combined this exercise program with an improved diet by eliminating bad foods and eating smaller portions.

In the last nine months I have struggled with the weight. I am down about 10 pounds so I still have about 30 to go. I have done better on the exercise program with only a few lapses usually when on a vacation or when I am not feeling well. Key for me was doing my work outs first thing in the morning in my basement or on the street running. This allows for just one shower a day. I like to be efficient. This also alleviated “the need to exercise” from hanging over me the entire day.

The bottom line is that anyone can accomplish whatever it is they focus on. Clearly, like losing the weight for me, some things are harder to accomplish than others. You will test your discipline since ultimately it takes discipline to accomplish anything. Since humans are creatures of habit I think it is easier if you can build the disciplines into routine. Create the vision and use your passion to drive your discipline to be that person you dream to be.

Oh, one other motivator for me was my realization of my mortality and that if I don’t do something now … well, I may never get a chance in the future – Carpe Diem!