The Extra Mile
The Extra Mile is a vast, unpopulated wasteland.
It is also a key element in the foundational recipe for success. Going the extra mile is a rare commodity indeed. If you aspire to be an entrepreneur, or currently consider yourself an entrepreneur listen close. If you are not prepared to work harder, and longer than everyone else in your field, please do me a favor and go get a regular job. If you’re not ready to go that extra mile, doing what you need to do, when you need to do it, then do a little more, even when you’re dead tired, then stop now and save yourself, money, time and embarrassment.
The concept of going that extra mile is applicable both personally and professionally. You can sit on the couch all day or you can do something, anything, to get you closer to a goal. The difference is in your mindset. A SURVIVAL mindset, gets up in the morning, goes to work, comes home and then repeats. A THRIVING mindset attacks the day and has a plan.
Some people are satisfied with mediocrity. They allow fear to dominate their mindset. The fear failure; embarrassment and rejection. Then, self-doubt creeps in and they start doubting their own abilities saying, “I’m not smart enough! I’m not good enough!” The danger of course is that a person can very easily and deceptively become satisfied by their fear. Fear makes them comfortable. They know or are aware of their fears so become at ease by avoiding anything that might cause their fears. They begin to make excuses due to their fear and the concept of doing a little extra, going that extra mile becomes something they refuse to do, dooming future success forever!
Ultimately, fear cancels dreams. People refuse to dream because they’ve allowed fear to psych them out. So, I ask you: Do you still know how to dream? Are you capable of allowing yourself to dream? How big could you allow yourself to dream (if you still can) if you knew you couldn’t fail? Surprisingly enough, in my work with executives, many have simply forgotten how to dream. They’ve submitted to the limitations imposed by fear and are no longer open to possibility thinking let alone setting and achieving big goals.
At some point we must say, “I MUST change, and take charge to advance toward my dreams? I can’t wait for things to change! I don’t need permission to change! It’s totally up to me.” And, suddenly we’re back to the extra mile. Set a simple goal of finding one thing, every day, that you can do just 1% more of like walking an extra block; reading another chapter; making one more sales call or following up with one more client. Just one more thing. Going the extra mile. And if you do, it is the easiest way I know to find success faster and at a level greater than you could ever imagine.