Cinch By The Inch

The term, “cinch by the inch” generally refers to a difficult task. If you do a little at a time the task is more manageable. That saying popped into my head one morning as I was walking along the beach with my wife, but for an entirely different reason.
When we first put our feet in the water it felt cold. The longer we walked the more comfortable the water became. That got me to wondering why so many people settle for a life that gets a little worse as time goes by. In a previous Ray’s Rule, I told you about the term NBA (Never Be Average) that was a family rule. How do so many allow themselves to say “Good Enough” which means they could have done better if they tried harder. Maybe it is because it happens so slowly that you don’t notice that you are not growing and fulfilling your dreams.

Are you settling for good enough? Life is too precious to waste. Be the best that you can be. Go for your dreams. Do not get buried with any “If onlys” or “What ifs” in you. If you have lost a job or are unhappy with your status in life, this is an opportunity to start over and do what you have always wanted to do. It is not as difficult as you may think. The hardest part is to start. If you eat a burger today and drink a six-pack, it will not kill you. If you do it every day you will die years too soon.

The same is true for doing things right. If you read a book this week on your profession, it will not make you that much better than your competitor. However, if you read a book every week about your profession then you will dominate your competition in a year or two. Over a 30 year period, I have read about 1,000 books on sales and leadership. I consider that one of the main reasons for my success.

You do not have to be twice as good as the next person to achieve spectacular results. If you were 5% better at closing; 5% better at prospecting; 5% better at getting referrals, then you would be earning 100% more than the average person.

Read a book on sales this week and next week and next week…