If I told you there was one word that could help you go farther and faster with less effort in every area of your life, would you want to know it?
What if this one word was actually a principle that would require you to take action…would you be willing to do it?
Ok, I’ll share… but first, a story.
A couple of weeks ago I was out for my morning ride on my Schwinn road bike when someone called out, “Wait up!”
Tristan is a neighbor boy who likes to ride his single-speed Huffy around our neighborhood, and this particular morning he wanted to ride with me on his way to school. I told him he was welcome, but that I would be going much faster and he wouldn’t be able to keep up.
Of course he didn’t believe me.
And of course he was wrong.
Huffing and puffing and peddling as fast as his 8-year-old legs could go, he yelled this question as I waved and began to pull away… “How can you go so fast?”
My answer to him is that one word that will change your life when you apply it.
Leverage.
Leverage is the process and principle of taking one level of input and multiplying it to produce a greater level of output on the other side. The more leverage you have, the less input you need and more output you get.
Unlike Tristan’s single-speed Huffy, my road bike has 21 gears that let me adapt to nearly any situation on the road.
Those gears are the secret to greater speed, longer range and less effort because they are FORCE MULTIPLIERS, and because of that leverage, Tristan never stood a chance of keeping up, no matter how long he worked or how hard he tried.
What does this mean for you and me?
It means that “hard work and persistence” are NOT the only way to succeed in your life, work and relationships… and probably not even the best way.
It means that when you find a way to “work smarter, not harder,” you will unlock a whole new world of possibilities for your business, your marriage, and your personal growth.
It means that just like “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” we could also say “an ounce of clarity and strategy is worth a pound of effort.”
For instance, let’s say you’ve been working so hard on your business that your relationship with your significant other is starting to feel strained.
You want a better connection with your partner, so you decide to work harder at it. You memorize your anniversary and bring it up in conversation, you kick up the consistency of your household contributions and you make sure to tell them how much they matter to you.
But nothing changes.
The strain is still there, and now your stress level has gone UP because now you feel like a failure.
What happened?
Your increased INPUT didn’t result in the OUTCOME you wanted because the areas you worked on weren’t ones that matter to your partner. You were pedaling as hard as you could, but had no gears to multiply your effort.
With a little clarity and strategy, however, here’s what happens.
Instead of taxing your brain to remember dates, you focus on remembering times when you did something for your significant other that REALLY made them smile.
You recall that one time when you brought home one of their favorite foods, they were SO happy. You think back to birthdays and Christmas when you took the time to pick out “the perfect present” and how that made them respond.
You realize that in this relationship, GIFTS are the GEARS that will take one small action and multiply it into a greater result.
SO, you think about your weekly driving routine and make a note that next time you’re out, you’ll stop in to the store and get them something they like…nothing super-expensive, just a little gift to let them know you care.
You come home, you give the gift…and it WORKS.
Leverage.
The same is true in your business or career.
Stomping the gas pedal does nothing if your car isn’t in the right gear, and the same is true in business. You can try to work harder and put in more hours, more effort, more “grind,” but that’s not the answer.
Leverage is the answer.
Taking the time and making the investment to gain greater CLARITY and develop better STRATEGY is the key to healthy success.
SO, here are three questions to help you get closer to the clarity and strategy you need to get the better results you want.
- Is there an area in which I’ve been working HARDER, when I could instead be working SMARTER?
- What’s one thing I’m NOT 100% clear on, and what would it take to get more clarity to see and understand it better?
- Am I willing to accept the cost (in money, time, energy, happiness) of “figuring things out as I go,” or is it worth it to find a better way?
I hope these questions will help you find the leverage you need to level-up in your life in business. And remember, if you’d like some help in answering them, I’m only a message away.
–pg
(Photo by Ribble Cycles on Unsplash)
