I rubbed my hands together trying to stay warm as I blasted the heat and waited for orders to come in.
It was late evening and I had just finished up a long day working at the office. I was in year 3 of business and had yet to write myself a check for the work I had done up until this point.
Even though I’d worked on my business 60+ hours a week… My only source of income was a couple early morning classes a week at the local CrossFit gym and late-night door dash grinds in small town Ohio.
But these moments were pivotal to where I am today.
After work, I knew I had three hours before I’d have to go to bed and start all over again and this money would pay my rent and groceries for the month.
I didn’t door dash like most people, my business mind and long days selling clothing at events the past three years equipped me to capitalize on every moment, conversation and opportunity regardless of what it looked like on the surface - because I had to.
Finally, an order came in… $3 Taco Bell. I always thought to hesitate at the smaller orders and seemingly long lines, especially at this hour. But I hardly declined.
I saw every order that came across my screen as an opportunity to capitalize through the situation in front of me.
I accepted the order and pulled out my phone to call my customer.
“Hello Sharron, this is Ryan with “Door Dash and I’m excited to serve you tonight. Thank you for ordering. I’ll be calling back after I pick up your order. I’m sure it’s been a long day today for you, I hope to make picking up your food easy and painless.”
The responses from my customers would be different every-time and often I’d leave them in shock by the level of kindness I brought to a food delivery service.
To me, this seemed like the right thing to do, after all… the heartbeat of what I was building at my company LRX wasn’t just to be carried out inside the 4 walls of my 1200 square foot office space…. or the single wide trailer outside the gym I trained at, or my Mom's basement, or my college apartment.
No matter where I went or what I was doing, it had to be about consistency, effort and being disciplined to do the things no one else was willing to do, to one day live in the outcome no one else would. In today’s episode, I’ll share my perspective on these three words, and why they’re the words I’ve found the most important and most necessary to building something from nothing.
Consistency over Time equals Results:
The formula is actually quite simple, this over this equals that. When I first started my activewear company I had absolutely no industry knowledge, no business knowledge and no clue what I was doing. The only thing I’ve had going for me since starting is that I’ve been willing to put in the work consistently for years without stopping.
This simple formula helps you make sense of the work you put in: Consistency + Time = Results
Consistency is defined as carrying out something the same way over and over again.
Time is defined as the indefinite continued progress of existence.
Result is defined as a consequence, effect, or outcome of something.
When I first realized this formula years ago… I got excited. All I had to do was consistently do something for a period of time and I'll get a result. When writing this, I realized something I hadn’t realized before.
This formula isn’t destined for positive outcomes, and it works the same against you as it does for you. An example: Consistently being lazy for a long period of time will make you out of shape. This had me reflecting over things in my life I’ve consistently done that haven’t worked for me, but against me.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting a different result.”
Your consistency must be with a positive outcome in mind. It’s important to reflect on the things that aren’t producing the results and why that might be and hold yourself accountable.
Time is only your friend if you seek positive outcomes consistently.
The Level of the Outcome, is Determined by the Degree of the Effort:
Growing up playing sports, one of the most important things my parents taught me was how to “hustle.” If I wasn’t hustling or putting in the work my parents would leave my games. They didn’t care about the outcome, they cared about the effort. This ingrained in me at a young age the importance of effort.
For me effort was something I feared, not the act of giving effort, but what effort may result in. Effort was a fear of mine, because giving all my effort and even my best effort didn’t guarantee a desired result - you don’t deserve anything.
From a young age I feared this word and every day when I wake up, I have to remind myself to embrace it. The desired outcome isn’t always the result, but the result of your effort will be something positive - you’ll never be able to look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you didn’t give everything you had.
It took blood, sweat and tears, and literally everything in me to build LRX to where it is today, and it’s going to take this exact same output to keep growing it and moving it forward to where it will be years from now.
I didn’t grow up the smartest person in the room and the knowledge I have today is a direct result of constantly seeking progress and improvement. Effort was the centerpiece of the outcomes I’ve experienced today.
When I first started LRX, I didn’t know how to sell a product, but I practiced and rehearsed numerous variations of our message to fine tune and perfect it. I listened to the responses of people when I shared it, I reflected on conversations, and I asked questions. I’ve had thousands of conversations over the past few years. I put in the effort, and I’ve gotten better and now I can teach this message to our community directors and the rest of our team.
Without effort I’d have nothing. If you’re not willing to put in the effort to get the results you want, you’ll get nothing.
Effort is defined as a vigorous or determined attempt and it seems overly simple. But it can’t be that way, because simply taking effort and implementing it into your day here and there won’t produce results. You have to take effort and redefine it internally every single day.
Ask yourself - how will I put in the effort today, to reap the outcome I want tomorrow?
You have to be willing to take it on lengths you never thought possible, and you have to be willing to go deeper. Your absolute best effort is a scary place to go, but if you’re willing to get uncomfortable in the process of putting in your effort, you’ll find a version of you deep inside, you didn’t realize you had.
How to give your best effort:
- Leave everything on the floor / leave no stones unturned.
- Embrace fear.
- Play the long game / remove instant gratification from the equation.
Discipline is a decision; motivation is an emotion:
You have to be crazy to do something great. Because what you want may nearly be impossible, and your outcome is not guaranteed. But, if you believe so heavily in the outcome you can’t imagine your life without it, you will win.
If you look ten years into your future and the picture you see, is you with the outcome you’ve been seeking, you’ll get there. Discipline has been one of the biggest, most important words to my journey of building LRX. Without it, I’d be nowhere.
To be disciplined you have to have an unwavering belief in the outcome. Why would you be disciplined to do something, if you weren’t confident in the result?
Belief determines your discipline.
Discipline is a choice, it’s a decision, you have to choose to believe, and you have to choose to be disciplined.
Motivation on the other hand is an emotion, it comes and goes when you hear something great or inspirational or “motivational.” This is the curse of the New Year and setting hundreds of intentions or goals to accomplish and falling off within the first month.
The only reason you fall off is because you didn’t first build the disciplined system you needed to build to carry it out and you likely didn’t truly believe in your ability to achieve the outcome you were seeking. Motivation will get you nowhere - but discipline will.
Discipline comes with:
- Being Confident in the Outcome and Visioning Yourself in the Result.
- Replacing Motivation with Discipline.
- Making a Choice Every Day to Pursue an Outcome, no matter how long it takes.
Discipline, Consistency & Effort Toward Your Goal Can’t Be an Afterthought:
When I was sitting in my car waiting for orders to come in, I had to believe I would one day be able to pay myself from my main passion. But I wasn’t just door dashing all day and all night hoping I would achieve an outcome.
Driving around late at night was my last resort, it’s what I did when I was tired and spent. I put all my effort into my work, and then mindlessly drove around making a few bucks to pay my bills after work.
The things you consistently put time, effort and discipline into can’t be an afterthought. They have to be the main priority. When you make this the formula you use for success, the likelihood of your achievement increases significantly.