Successful people don’t care about glory

One of the things I struggle with the most as an athlete is my stretching exercises.

It’s painful, tedious and a lot less exciting than running 14km marathons and collecting medals that I can brag about.

But I do it every day, without fail, because I know that it’s key to my success.

Most of us are tempted to skim over the harder and boring tasks at work: making the phone calls, setting up the meetings, doing the research and writing the reports.

Instead, we want to do the easier or more exciting things that everyone will notice: delivering a speech, winning a high-profile client or vying for an impressive new job title.

But when we stay focused only on the things that give us glory, we’re neglecting the smaller things we must do for long-term success.

In his best-selling book Atomic Habits, James Clear told a story of the British Cycling Team and the power of making small improvements.

The team had a long-running reputation of mediocrity, winning just one gold medal in the space of almost 100 years.

They were so bad that the top bicycle brands at the time refused to sell the team any of their bikes, for fear it would tarnish their own reputation.

In 2003, the team hired a new coach – one that focussed on a new strategy he referred to as “the aggregation of marginal gains”.

He set the team the task of making small improvements wherever possible. From testing different clothing fabrics for the ride to cleaning the bike tires and washing their hands to prevent themselves catching a cold, these mundane tasks started stacking up and creating these 1% gains the team desperately needed.

Within five years, the team had made massive strides and were setting world records and winning gold again at the Olympics.

It’s an amazing example of why the behind-the-scenes stuff we do, does count.

Successful people aren’t made from big egos and grand gestures – they are made from a commitment to doing the work and shifting the needle closer to meaningful achievements. 

Find the small things you do each day and focus on doing them well.