1% rule for your life and your career

What many call the 1 % rule is something that we just have a hard time understanding in the pressure of today or frankly any day's business world, but it applies to eating, exercise,learning, education and work.

It is the lack of understanding that results take time, they take daily investment in doing something just 1% better,if you understand the math, a 1% daily improvement leads to a 50% yearly improvement. This thinking allows for you to work to be better while not feeling as if you are failing daily and giving up. I love to workout, I mean I love it. But if I said I have to add 50 lbs. to my bench press in 30 days, I might fail, because I can not gain that much strength in such a short time so I get frustrated and just stop all together, versus if I think each day I want to add1 lb or do 10 more reps to gain more strength, that small daily and weekly improvement is what leads to overall strength and growth versus frustration.

Think about this summary of how we look at anything we do:

• Steady-state change: is this what you are doing? Is this good enough for you when things change or your competition is doing more or the world is changed around you?
• Incremental change: How do you get better but get better in a manner that is sustainable and builds for the long term, I stated above my love for exercise, I started working out daily when I was 13, today I am 67, and in a lifetime missed maybe 3 weeks of working out total and if you know me that investment has maintained my quality of life better than most but you work at it.
• Quantum change: we read too many stories about that "over night" siccess and yes it happens but in the real world maybe you get lucky, maybe you buy a company or met that one person that can impact you immediately, ( I need to raise money and I happen to meet that one magical person that donates $1 million dollars and changes our foundation over night) yes it happens BUT often because you spent years working at it not by chance.

Steady-state change is about maintenance.?Although there is little or no change, work is required.?For example, if you want to keep your house looking a certain way, you have to do dishes, wash clothes, vacuum the floors, etc.?on a regular basis… and that’s just to keep it looking the same way, day after day.?The same applies to your strength & conditioning and sport-specific skills.?You need to commit yourself?to working out and practicing just to maintain your level of performance — consistency is the key.?Failure to work will invariably lead to a decline in your performance (and the appearance and condition of your house).

Incremental (small-scale) change is the key to improving performance.?This is the type of change to which the 1% rule applies.?Incremental change is realistic and attainable.?It obviously requires effort, but incremental change also encourages progress.?If managed properly, incremental change can lead to significant results.?As with steady-state change, incremental change requires consistency and discipline.

Quantum (large-scale) change takes time, and is the result of lots of incremental change.?Regardless of your goals, it’s unrealistic to think you can make huge gains in performance in a relatively short time.?If you want to achieve big things, you need to do diligence to the incremental change process.?Be aggressive and realistic.?And be patient.

So be kind to yourself, be patient but know you will in fact get better IF you decide you want to improve, begin working at it but do not look each day expecting that huge change, it will just frustrate you be happy with the wins you make knowing the bigger picture is the big win.