Make a Plan. Work the Plan.
My dad would tell us: make a plan, work the plan. It seemed too simple to be useful advice. Now I think it might be the most profound advice he gave.
Here's what I've noticed: people who succeed at things aren't necessarily smarter or more talented. They're just better at the second part. They work the plan.
Making plans is easy – be it personal or business. Most everyone does it.
The difference between the plan and working the plan is the difference between thinking about writing, working out, making that extra call, or practicing. and actually writing, working out, making that extra call, or practicing. One feels productive. The other is productive.
Working the plan means doing things when the newness wears off and you're left with the actual work. Showing up when you don’t want to. Keeping at it when the progress isn’t visible yet. That's when most people quit. Not because the plan was bad, but because they never really committed to working it.
I think discipline gets misunderstood. People think it means forcing yourself to do hard things. But really it means deciding once that this is now who you are. You decide you're going to run three times a week, and then you don't debate it every Tuesday. You just run because you’ve decided you are now someone who runs and doesn’t miss.
The annual reset only works if you treat it like a starting line, not a finish line. You can't just set goals and expect them to happen. You must do them. Every day. Even when you don't want to. Showing up is the differentiator.
Lesson Learned: Pick something. Then do it.