SLOW FAST BUT STEADY

 

Think the Fastest Route is Always the Best? Here's Why You Should Think Again.

Next time you are making a strategic decision consider time as a valuable ingredient to your success, instead of a threat. How would you make your decision differently?

 

 

By Samira Far

 

@samirafar

 

 

CREDIT: Getty Images

 

 

If you're a productivity addict, getting results quickly can be a key driving force in your decision making. As you watch the world become faster at virtually everything and anything, it's a good time to ask yourself: what's the benefit of moving slower?

Remember "The Tortoise and the Hare?" The hare challenges the tortoise to a footrace. It finds itself in the lead and decides to take a nap. The tortoise continues steadily and overtakes the hare, winning the race.

When you decide to take a quick route, you may be using up resources, money and energy that you might need for later. And then you have to take a pause to strategize your next move. In this time, you create a gap - a gap that becomes harder to fill while someone slow and steady taking their time with small moves is getting ahead of you.

Seth Godin gives a great talk in his new podcast, Akimbo, on the grand opening. He explains why a big grand opening is actually not as advantageous as starting now, and moving steadily and slowly to gain an audience or a customer base. 

One key benefit of moving slowly is that it creates an opportunity for a feedback loop. When you have a good feedback loop, you're in healthy, functional relationship with the other side. It means that you're committed to being in relationship, in business, in the ever changing process of creation or service. You're not out to win a one hit wonder, create one big bang, or sell one product that sold a million units only once. You're in it for the long game and this type of commitment gives you a competitive advantage over all the small competitors that will come and go in the marketplace to try and out you with their quick gimmicks. 

There are some great examples of companies that started out slow and steady, creating a healthy feedback loop that allowed them to then evolve into who they are today.

American Express started out in 1850 as an express mail company, delivering mail across the states.

Wrigley started out in 1891 selling soap and transformed into a chewing gum company.

Nintendo started out in 1889 as a playing card company long before it started producing console games.

Tiffany & Co. started out in 1837 as a stationary store before it became a jewelry line.

Sustained growth is far more valuable than making it big once or making it big quickly. Next time you are making a strategic decision consider time as a valuable ingredient to your success, instead of a threat. How would you make your decision differently?

HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR MIRROR

A mirror by literal definition is an object that provides a reflection of what is placed  before it. Figuratively, a mirror can also be a someone.
In your strive for success, you need that someone who can help unravel you. I think a mentor is the best fit for this description. Due to the fact that most times, people we looked up to as symbols often disappoint, it's important to choose rightly, because you are expected to lay yourself bare before the mirror for you to get a true view. How do you make the right pick.

- Reflection: You have to see a lot of yourself in this person. This helps to create a bond.

- Attention:  Just as it's required of you to constantly present yourself before the mirror for constant evaluation, it's also pertinent that the mirror is available to fulfill this role. This person must have time to listen to and observe you for scrutiny.

- Integrity: Can you hold this person by his/her words. Can you match his/her actions and words side by side. You need someone that will always give you an unbiased opinion of you. Mirrors don't tell lies.

- Influence: The larger the mirror the better the reflection and acceptance of output. Your mentor has to be an authority in one or many aspects of life so as to give you deep introspection at each encounter.

- Suiting: Apart from showing you a true  reflection, a mirror makes you appreciate and love you. Your mentor should be someone who magnifies your little victories to make you feel good about yourself.

- Strength: We are all humans but there are those who've developed abilities to bear. Your mentor should be someone who doesn't just point at your pitfall, he/she lends you the psychological, physical, and possible material strength to deal with it. You can climb on his or her shoulder without breaking it.

Note: These are personal extrospection.  Your contribution is welcome in the comment box.

If you must grow, LEARN

You are a story yet untold. Your aspirations are welcome. A whole new world lying  undiscovered. You need to discover your full potentials. The journey is far. You need to know the way. You don't need to stop. You have the desire, that's the first level. There are steps all the way to the top which seems unclear. Turns and detours to be taken or avoided. You are actually in a jungle that requires skill and strength to survive. You need guidance. Sometimes this very aspect is either neglected or not provided, making many to get lost or eaten. Sometimes the lost get to survive by some means and leave their experiences as lessons for the untested.

 At this point take the status of the untested, delving into uncharted territories. You either have your own rated skills or just a novice, what do you rest on, for your decisions, navigation, relationship, and location. For decision, where do you go. Navigation, at what speed. On relationship, whom do you trust, whose opinion do you take. It can be confusing. But you have to be naive at this point. You are just a fresher to the games. How do you stay away from the prowling one and how do you locate the calvary. Life is awesome.
So how do you become one of the greats some day. You have to learn. How.
- Learn from other people's experiences so as to know the locations of the pitfalls and avoid them. Other people's experience shortens the journey for you and saves you from a lot of troubles. You've got to find yourself  mentors you can submit to their teachings. They can pass life lessons to you. Lessons of life issues bothering on finance, religion, relationship, health, mental and physical fitness, laws, career, etc. Sometimes they might be present with you, in some cases they are not. We are all stories. While some are half way, others are the end, many have already been concluded, told and even written. You either observe, hear or read from your these. Just do the following:
- You must be ready to serve. You have to follow before you learn how to lead.
- You have to put away the ego. Followership requires humility. Empty your cup and be ready to let be filled only by the drops. All the greats we've heard of had their days of training.
- You must be attentive. Allowing yourself to get distracted during mentorship can cost you.
- You must be interested. You have to be interested in the mentor and his message.
- You have to be willing. It can't be achieved through coercion. Taking a horse to the stream and forcing it to drink is counter productive.
- You must be determined. Determination beats all the odds. Listen, it won't be easy. There are lots of detours but you have to keep your eyes stayed on the goal.
- Be patient. The wait can be tiresome, just don't break the line. Wait for your turn. It's never a competition. You may jump the queue and fall in the ditch.
- Always know that it's in phases. Bear in mind that you will definitely complete the test and be crowned someday.

Life is an encyclopedia, open enough to learn and master the letters.

JUST REALIZE, LEARN AND IMPROVE

We've all been in a situation which put us in a position of regrets over our perceived action or inaction. This situation is probably a life valued situation whose outcome depended on the stance you took. Sometimes, it doesn't always turn out right and when it doesn't, you are hunted by views projecting frustrations from the external which seeks to convict you. Many times, we slouch into a trance called regret. It makes you want to turn back the hands of time and change events. Unfortunately, you can't. Nature records yesterday as irretrievable. The door is locked and so you sit in on your memory, trying to figure out what went wrong, why it went wrong, who or what played the very role to led to the unpleasant outcomes. On and on this goes on endlessly, causing nightmares, mood swings and the likes. We've been through this, while many have managed it efficiently, turning them into positive brain energy, most haven't. Here are some recipe.
First, you must realize that life is a journey with many detours and to get greatness means navigating all of these. How you achieve this is a function of decisions. You can't avoid to take a stand. Take a look at the situation on hand, weigh the pros and cons, sample opinions, make your choice.
At this point, there will be an outcome. Come to the reality of what has taken place. Good or bad, it has occurred. You can't change it, but you do something else about it.
Once you can realize what has happened, you've gotten to a juncture. This is the place of acceptance of the consequences. Here you pick up the valuable lessons from the event. Since you can't change it, you've got to adjust to the realities. You finally acquire wisdom on how and how not to handle a situation. You either affirm your stand or re-evaluate.
I think getting here is very vital. This place makes a difference. It creates a new you. Handling setbacks either diminishes or reinvents. This places compiles us as encyclopedias bearing experiences that vital to the survival of the upcoming generation. So master the art of acceptance of the realities, learning from the outcomes and improving your outlook.
Many have their prints indelible in the sands of time. You can too.

Self validation

Have you ever had a stalled project just because you weren't convinced enough to make a leap for it. Have you ever wondered why despite how hard you try to wave that idea aside it keeps popping up every now and then. I think you should stop doing that. Let that voice speak.
You've  had a great snitch of an idea that had a deep impression on you as unique and wonderful but then you lacked the audacity to bring it to the fore due to the fear of never getting accepted. I think acceptance is a mirage pursuit.
 I think you need that louder inner voice to let you know it's OK to try at least. Hmm. Who's that going to be. It's the you in you. The inner confidant. The only other person apart from God who can accurately predict your best possible moves. I think most of us prefer to shut this very person up most of the time, choosing the solo, lone ranger status, pitting just us against the often hostile world. That's a big odd.
Let's not derail though. Here's the deal. You can't help but become your own cheerleader. Have I ever told you of lizard that fell from a high rise building, unscratched, with no applause from anyone else, it had to nod to itself in ecstacy. I think you should learn to do so too. Celebrate your victories. You may invite others, if they don't turn up, just enjoy your success. Fan yourself. Tell yourself you did it. Tell yourself  you can make it better. Tell yourself 'look how far you've come'. Tell yourself 'I am making a progress'. Make inner affirmative statements that silences even the loudest pessimist.
Most of all enjoy your own company. If you can't encourage you, motivate you, celebrate you, and make you happy, no one else can.

TIME IS PRECIOUS

  This puts every one in a frenzy. Here and there has a single difference of 'T'. It's so costly yet no one single person has it. At the emergency unit many pay so much just to keep it. 24hrs/7days, 365days, all efforts of man to measure it.
What's all this confusion. The race my dear isn't for the swift. Time. We are constantly in a race, against whom, towards what in particular. Competition arising daily just for this very scarce commodity. Anyway, dear, am not going to join the band wagon of 'you've got no time sayers'. I wish to take the pressure off your shoulder.
My concern isn't that you're sitting on a keg of gun powder. You've got where you need to go. You've got a project you need to complete. You've a bad act you need to stop. You've a bad habit you need to break. All require time. True. But, here's my issue, have you made up that mind of yours. You know you can't get from here to there by just sitting and drowning in the self pity of how little a time you've got, or regretting how much of a time you've lost. As Brian Tracy would say 'eat the frog'. You've got to stand up and do something right there.  When you get decided, your time starts counting. They say a lot of things, including, a fool at forty has no more remedy, it isn't true.  You just haven't decided to break from the status quo.
I lack the appropriate summary to this piece, but I'd say. Since no one person is in possession of time, same as it is the problem of the the poor so it is that of the rich, I suggest you start from there where you are.
 Stop counting the times lost,start creating  the times needed. Yes you can still make it!

Choose your dreams

We've grown to learn of humans who've traversed the space of life, making indelible footprints in the sands of time. They didn't pass through on auto pilot. They had aspirations that determined their destinations and expected trajectory. This inner desire to excel, set their field of enterprise, ensuring they stay on course even derailing circumstances occur.
Without a dream, you may be living a fake life or possibly living another man's life. Your dream is your life purpose, your unique calling which sets you apart in the midst of all. You are best at it. It makes you feel inner peace, your joy knows no bounds each time you engage in it. You unconsciously exhibit it in thoughts, words, attitudes. It defines your association. Whenever you are drawn away from it, you feel a deep void until you find your steps back to it. It has its roots in your maker.
This may or may not be tied to your source of income. You can make money because of it but you can easily sacrifice money because of it, you can't sacrifice it for money. Many may misunderstand you at first but will eventually come to terms with the gifts you bear later. Remember, you have to own and be passionate about it before you can sell it to others.
Having a life starts from finding your dreams.