Do What Works and Stop Doing What Doesn't

By Michael Angier

Success is simple. Just be clear about what you want and go
after it. That and a few million details and you’ve got it
made.

Let’s assume that you already know what you want in your life
and what it would take to make you feel successful.

But how do you make that happen?

It takes a clear and impassioned focus on your dreams and
constant and diligent attention to what you do, how you do it
and ways in which you can do it better. Sounds simple, doesn’t
it?

It is, but it’s not easy.

I remember a conversation I had with a friend awhile back about
reaching a financial goal. I was undecided about which of many
projects I should focus on--which one should get my limited
time and energies. He looked at me very calmly and said,
" Follow the money."

I thought, "Gosh, that’s good advice."

It made total sense. It was a goal that involved finances, so
why
not go for the projects that produced the most bucks. It was
simple. It was right on. And I wasn’t seeing it because I’d
lost my perspective. I was too involved in busyness instead of
paying attention to business. I was caught up in the thick of
thin things.

It’s not uncommon. It’s easy to confuse activity with
accomplishment. Unless we’re really paying attention, we can be
very busy doing the wrong things. As we dig our hole deeper
and wider, we often find out later that we’ve been digging in
the wrong place.

What was right yesterday, what worked last year, what was
innovative a month ago may very well be obsolete today. If you
can’t pick your head up and survey the landscape once in
awhile, you’re going to get beaten by a competitor who does.

Our most valuable commodities are time, energy and knowledge.
How we apply these is critical to our success.

Make a list of everything you do and what your intended results
are from those efforts. You’ll find the 80/20 Rule alive and
well. About twenty percent of your efforts will be producing
eighty percent of your positive results. Look for ways to
reduce or eliminate the other eighty percent and do more of the
twenty.

Some things we do produce no results at all. We just keep doing
them because we’ve always done them and didn't really question
their usefulness.

Question everything! If you had to justify your investment of
time and energy to a boss or a board of directors, could you?
Are you sure?

You wouldn’t invest money unless it was giving you a return.
Why should your time and energy be any different?

Persistence is a great virtue, but it must be balanced with the
ability to see a better plan and put it into action. Learn to
cut your losses.

We’re not entering the Information Age, we’re already in it.
It’s not enough to work hard. We have to work SMART. Being a
good steward means making good use of the talents and resources
we’ve been given. It requires thinking. It requires close
attention.

It’s up to us--and only us--to be consistently analyzing our
actions and the results they produce. Do it, dump it or change
it.

Do what works and stop doing what doesn’t.

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