I do not think that all who choose wrong roads perish; but their rescue consists in being put back on the right road. … Evil can be undone, but it cannot ‘develop’ into good. Time does not heal it. The spell must be unwound, bit by bit...or else not.
Massive action is not about huge goals, huge plans, or huge leaps, but it’s about consistency. And what brings consistency? Small, tiny, simple and sustainable actions.
When I don’t have consistency I get randomness that I can’t control. So bring consistency to your life and your career. Do the same things over and over so you don’t have to spend energy on creating what you’re going to do next. Consistency will make you successful.
All highly successful people, all professionals that operate at the top of their fields—the masters—are all consistent. Great salespeople are consistent, great real-estate people are consistent, great investors are consistent, and great athletes are consistent. I asked a golf pro what it would take to fix my golf game and he said all I needed to do was get consistent. He said with every club I have, get consistent. Same club, same swing—different club, different swing, it doesn’t matter just be consistent.
Consistency builds discipline, disciplined actions done consistently create success.
Those people who are not consistent are left with random outcomes.
So often, we assume that excellence requires a monumental effort and that our lofty goals demand incredible doses of willpower and motivation. But really, all we need is dedication to small, manageable tasks. Mastery follows consistency.
Some of us are too content with what we may already be doing. We stand back in the “eat, drink, and be merry” mode when opportunities for growth and development abound. We miss opportunities to build up the kingdom of God because we have the passive notion that someone else will take care of it. The Lord tells us that He will give more to those who are willing. They will be magnified in their efforts, like the little blue engine as it pulled the train up the mountain. But to those who say, “We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.”
Looking back on the Built To Last study, it appears that the enduring great companies did in fact go through a process of buildup to breakthrough, following the good-to-great framework during their formative years.
You don't set out to build a wall. You don't say, "I'm going to build the biggest, baddest, greatest wall that's ever been built." You don't start there. You say, "I'm going to lay this brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid. There will not be one brick on the fact of the Earth that's going to be laid better than this brick that I'm going to lay in this next 10 minutes." And you do that every single day. And soon you have a wall.