“The secret to winning is constant, consistent management.”

Tom Landry

I have to start this post with a confession. I’ve lost 15 pounds this year! This sounds like great news until I add that I gained ten pounds of it back over the last month. And here’s why. I stopped doing the things that were key to me losing weight and achieving my health goals during that time. I became inconsistent and it cost me 2/3 of the gains I had made this year.

Consistent Progress Produces Great Results

When I’m coaching or training I will often get asked if there is one thing a person can do to become great. Without hesitation my answer is to strive for consistent improvement every day. This may sound crazy, but it’s true. If you study the greats in any area the common theme is they work on getting better by doing the things, following the processes, creating the habits, and investing the time that produces great results.

In Hebrews 13:8 we learn Jesus is “the same yesterday, and to day, and forever.” Talk about being consistent!!! This is why we can have faith in what He has promised, because Jesus will always do what He says. While we should strive to be this consistent in our business and lives, we will fall short. But the good news is if we make a few changes we will produce great results in a very short time! Here are three ways being consistent can produce great results.

Consistent Actions

Derek Jeter is expected to be elected to the baseball Hall of Fame the first time he is eligible. Jeter and his teams were the most consistent winners in baseball. Derek Jeter is currently the only athlete in the four major U.S. sports to never play on a team with a losing record! This was over a 20 year period. Consider the average MLB career is 5.6 years. This means Jeter won the equivalent of almost four average careers! Derek had a long, productive career.

While in the minors a coach taught Jeter a drill which not only cut down his errors and earned him awards as the best defensive player in his league at his position—the Gold Glove—five times. When this coach saw Jeter over twenty years later, Jeter yelled to the coach and showed him he was still doing the drill the coach taught him in the minors! This shows if you remain consistent to the things which made you great, you will continue to be great.

Consistent Learners

Sir Richard Branson is a lifetime learner. One of the world’s greatest serial entrepreneurs, Branson loves to learn about new industries and ways to improve the services and customer experience. Even when he is unsuccessful he never wavers from his plan. Branson believes, “Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.”

Sir Richard knows his success comes from constantly learning what works, by consistently applying his business strategies, by hiring the right leaders and learning from his mistakes, he has created a consistent and sustainable model of greatness. That’s not too bad from a man who named his company Virgin because they were inexperienced in business.

Consistent Attention

I attended a church years ago and I heard the preacher say “where the focus goes, the power flows.” He then took us to Proverbs 23:7 which tells us “… far as a man thinketh, so is he.” Whatever you consistently pay attention to, you will become or see in your life or business. If you spend your time focused on being a good person eventually you will become just that.

So what are you focused on? I use these acronyms to show how focus can work for or against you.

You are either

Fixed On Circumstances Until Stuck

or

Finding Opportunities Constantly Until Successful

In both cases your results depend totally on what you are giving your consistent attention!!! Now go be consistent and become even greater!

About James R. Cooper

James R. Cooper is a Business Strategist, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Maxser Consulting Group, LLC, Pastor of Restoration International Christian Ministries and author of From Crackers to Caviar: A Guide to Personal Development. James is on the board of several non-profit organizations and is also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. For more information about James, book him to speak at your next event, seminar or workshop, go to www.fromcrackers2caviar.com or www.maxsergroup.com.