Good Things Take Time

Thousands of years ago, two massive armies with hundreds of cavalcades were about to go to war - the story that will be told for millions of years. Right at the time when the fighting was about to start, a chariot started driving in between the two armies. On the chariot is sitting a scion named Arjuna. As he reaches the middle, he recognizes many of them as his family and friends fighting against each other. Arjuna feels disappointed. Krishna persuades Arjuna to go back and start fighting again for the rightful cause. Krishna suggested to Arjuna, "Let your concern (or focus) be on your action. Let it not be on the outcome of the action. Do not act only out of expectation of a result, but then do not slip into inactivity."

Practically, carrying on something, compounding your efforts with ruthless zeal, and not focusing on outcomes is easier said than done. Sometimes we doubt ourselves like Arjuna did in between the war, which can derail us from pursuing the goals that we are chasing. So, it's essential to have some set of guidelines that can help you keep on your due course towards success. Let me share the three guidelines that have helped me.

• Your own research and data (YODA) - To achieve something and be consistent in following a path, you will need a lot of confidence and belief in your direction. The conviction comes from doing your own research and data. Your YODA will be your Krishna in this battle, which will keep you motivated during the journey. Whether it's a particular diet you want to follow or a new business idea you want to work on, learn about, read about, and do as much background research as possible. The information you gain here will help you figure out whether you want to follow this path or not. And if you decide to follow this path, YODA will give you the conviction needed to stay on the course of this path. In his book, 'The Right It,' Alberto Savoia shows you how YODA can beat the odds and ensure that your ideas succeed in the market.
• Make consistency a habit, your second nature - Once you have decided to take the plunge, let your focus be on consistent action. Each day, keep your focus on action and not on the outcome. This is not to say you don't look at short-term results, but you look at them to learn from them and improve your strategy. For example, suppose you are trying to lose weight and notice that certain foods or exercises are not helping in reducing your weight. So, you learn to minimize that food and workouts and try new ones. Even in a business setting, you notice specific product feature ideas can engage your users better; then, you improve the features that are better and let go of the features which are not. During this stage, you keep improving and working towards your goals. But for how long do you continue when you are not getting desired results? I talk about this in our following guideline.
• The 21/90 habit rule and 1000-day business rule - One popular method in building habits is called the 21/90 rule. The rule is simple enough. First, commit to a personal or professional goal for twenty-one days. After twenty-one days, pursuing that goal should become a habit. Once you have established that as a habit, continue it for another ninety days, and then it should become a permanent lifestyle change. For any successful start-up or business, the initial days are always difficult. Every entrepreneur faces inevitable struggles and must be patient enough to face such problems. For a start-up, the ability to survive for the first three years is crucial and helps the company to decide it's future. The general rule is to stick to the business for the first 1000 days and then determine the future.

"Success is the product of daily habits–not once-in-a-lifetimetransformations."

–– James Clear

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https://becomingirreplaceable.com/