Consistency: The Key to Achievement

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be extremely successful?  There are a great number of theories out there but one thing that is always present among the successful is the element of consistency.  They are consistent in the way they behave.  It is almost as if they are completely predictable even when unpredictable.

Action Required

All fields require action.  It matters none what one chooses to focus upon.  The people who excel are the ones who take proper action.  There is a caveat to this idea: the ones who succeed take consistent action which leads to success.  Anyone can do something once in a while.  The ones who truly advance are those who repeat the actions over and over on the path to success.

Let us focus on the field of sales.  Most organizations love the superstar sales person.  This is a person who puts up large numbers on a consistent basis.  He or she is not one to have a big month followed by two poor months.  This is not a superstar salesperson.  Inconsistency is something that an organization cannot build around.  Therefore, businesses look for salespeople who can consistently produce.

The same is true in the field of wealth building.  Because of the time element, action takes on a regular basis over the long term nets fantastic results.  However, many believe that putting money away "once in a while" is sufficient.  It is not.  Anyone who has succeeded in accumulating larges amounts of money through investing did so by putting money to work on a consistent basis.  This is why it is best for many to automate their savings.  Under this program, people have a certain percentage taken out of their check and invested before it gets into their hands.  This eliminates the temptation to spend the money.  Savings (and investing) because not only automatic but occurs on a regular basis.

Automating action is a wonderful way to achieve success.  Look at the world class weight lifter.  Here is a person who is in the gym on a daily basis.  Obviously, judging by the physiques, these people do not work out once in a while.  They dedicate a great deal of time and energy to this endeavor.  To truly achieve this state, going to the gym needs to be an automatic activity.  In other words, the person does not have to think about the action taken.  It is so consistent that it becomes a part of the daily routine.  Whereas most subconsciously conclude to sit on the couch, these individuals mentally default to going to the gym.  Their action is also automatic in addition to consistent.

Emotionally

Another area where consistency is paramount is in the area of emotions.  Nobody likes dealing with a "hothead".  For those who are somehow unfamiliar with this term, this is a person who cannot control his or her temper.  To add fuel to the fire and make matters worse, this individuals also tends to lose it over the smallest instances.  Emotional control is out of his or her reach.  Instead, one is happy one moment only to blow up the next. 

The reason why one needs to be consistent emotionally is because much of our success is dependent upon other people.  Anyone in business understands how important having top performing people is.  If one is continually yelling and screaming, people of this sort will depart.  Yet we see so many business owners and managers still behaving in a similar manner in spite of the results.  A lack of emotional control is the cause of their failure.

Successful investing requires the same thing.  People tend to think what they see in the movies is accurate.  Hollywood portrays stock traders as people who are high strung while operating in frenzied states.  This is inaccurate.  The best traders in the world are those who are cool under fire.  The market is an entity all to its own.  Nobody is going to be right all the time.  Even the best misread what is taking place and suffer loses.  However, like the poker player, you will not be able to tell how a successful trader is doing at that moment by his or her face.  The reason is the emotion has been removed (as much as possible).  A person of this sort strives for emotional consistency.  The ups and downs of the market are not reflected in his or her demeanor.  Level is how one can describe it.  It is a field where nothing is personal; just business.  Loss is an inevitable part of the game.  Nevertheless, the emotional antics are optional.


Success is something that takes place over the course of time.  Qualities such as discipline and character are necessary.  The reason for this is because consistency is central to any large scale success.  Each day action is taken to move towards a desired outcome.  In the area of retirement as an example, the outcome can be decades later.  If one is able to maintain consistency over a long period of time, good results occur.  It is when one starts to operate in haphazard ways that things go wrong. 

Strive for consistency in all you do.  And most of all, strive to be consistent emotionally.  If you can do this, you will find the people around you will respond differently.
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