[0:00]you know I want to tell you about a farmer not just any farmer this man worked a piece of land about 40 miles outside of town and he had neighbors good neighbors regular people but here's what made this story interesting one spring morning this farmer woke up before dawn the sky was still dark and he went out to his fields with his plow and his seeds now his neighbors they knew what he was doing they'd been farming for years too and they watched him they actually stood at the property line and watched him work and you know what they did they laughed not a little they really laughed they called out to him they said things like that's not how we do it around here and you're wasting your time friend one neighbor even said and I remember this story so clearly he said nobody's going to buy what you're growing just threw it out there like that was final like that was the verdict that would determine everything but here's the thing here's what I found out about that farmer that changed how I think about doubt he didn't argue back he didn't stand there in that field and try to convince those neighbors they were wrong no he just kept planting he planted the next day and the next and the next he woke up in the dark he went to work and he planted weeks went by those neighbors still came to the fence they still had something to say some brought their families to see what this foolish farmer was doing it became a spectator sport come on let's go see if he's still out there wasting his time that's what they'd say but something started to happen something that those neighbors didn't expect something that nobody could argue with the crops came up not perfectly not all at once but they came up and they grew and they grew some more and by harvest time this is the part that gets me every time I tell this story by harvest time that farmer had the most abundant harvest anyone had seen in years more than his neighbors better quality more of it and you know what happened to those neighbors who came to the fence they stopped laughing they stopped coming some of them and this is true some of them actually came to him asking how do you do it what's your secret and the farmer said something so simple so profound that I've carried it with me my entire life he said I just showed up every single day I just showed up and did the work that's what I want to talk to you about today that's what I need you to understand about consistency that's the real power now let me tell you something jot this down doubters are not your enemy they're your unwilling witnesses they're watching you they're tracking your progress they're keeping score even when you think nobody's paying attention and here's the key they can't stop watching because what you're doing threatens everything they believe about themselves think about it if you believe something is impossible and someone near you starts doing it anyway what does that mean about you what does that mean about your choices what does that mean about the time you spent explaining why it couldn't be done that's why they watch that's why they comment that's why they keep coming back to that fence but here's what most people don't understand you don't have to convince them you don't have to argue with them you don't have to spend energy defending your vision to people who've already made up their minds about what's possible that's the mistake that's where people lose focus I had a friend once years ago who wanted to build something a business something real and everybody had an opinion his father said it was risky his best friend said the timing was wrong his wife bless her his wife worried about the bills and every single day someone had a new reason why he should quit a new statistic a new story about someone who failed do you know what he did he listened he acknowledged them but he kept working he kept showing up and I asked him one day doesn't it bother you all these people telling you to stop and he said something I'll never forget he said Jim the doubt doesn't bother me anymore what bothers me is that they think their doubt should matter to me that hit me like a thunderbolt that's the shift right there that's the moment when everything changes here's what I want you to understand about the power of consistency and really drop this down because this matters consistency is not about being perfect it's not about never missing a day it's not about some superhuman discipline that only certain people have no consistency is about keeping your word to yourself on the days when keeping your word is hard that's what it is I worked with a man let me call him mister Chauffe and this man taught me more about consistency than anyone I've ever known he didn't talk about it much he just lived it every single morning he was in his office at five o'clock in the winter when it was cold in the summer when it was hot in the rain in the snow five o'clock that was his commitment and I asked him one day mister shoff don't you ever want to sleep in don't you ever want to miss a day and he said Jim wanting to is not the issue the issue is keeping your promise once you make a promise to yourself missing one day is not just missing one day it's breaking a promise and when you break a promise to yourself it becomes easier to break it again and again and soon you're a person who doesn't keep promises especially to the people that matters most to yourself now think about that that's profound that's not motivation that's not excitement that's integrity that's understanding that consistency is a moral issue not just a practical one cause here's the thing about showing up every day and I mean this deeply when you show up every day you're not just accumulating days you're building something you're building a version of yourself that doesn't quit you're building credibility with yourself you're building momentum you're building a track record that becomes undeniable a tennis player doesn't become great by playing one amazing match she becomes great by showing up to practice on the day she doesn't feel like it by hitting one thousand serves even when she's tired by doing the work when nobody's watching when there's no applause when nobody cares but her a writer doesn't become a great writer by writing one brilliant piece he becomes a writer by writing every single day even on the days when the words don't come easily even when nothing he writes seems good he shows up and he writes a business owner doesn't build an empire by making one great sale she builds it by making calls every single day by following up by refining by adjusting by learning from each attempt by never accepting that today's result is good enough to stop trying to be better that's consistency now here's something else I've noticed here's something that will change how you look at your own situation doubters doubts are usually rooted in their own limitations not yours the reason someone tells you something is impossible is usually because it's impossible for them because they've tried and failed or they're protecting themselves from the discomfort of watching someone else attempt what they're afraid to attempt I knew a man who was overweight he'd struggled with it his whole life his weight went up and down up and down a constant battle and he had a friend a really good friend who decided to get in shape and you know what happened the first friend became incredibly critical he found fault with everything the second friend did you're working out too much he'd say or you're being obsessive about food or you're going to hurt yourself and the second friend finally asked him why do you care so much what I'm doing and the first friend said something honest he said because if you do it that means I could do it
[8:53]and that means all these years I chose not to and that's harder to live with than believing it's impossible that's the root of so much doubt fear fear that your success will expose their failure fear that your discipline will highlight their laziness fear that your faith will reveal their cynicism but here's the beautiful part here's what I found out you don't have to make them comfortable you just have to be committed to your own growth let me tell you about the compound effect jot this down the compound effect is the principle that small consistent actions repeated over time produce remarkable results one dollar invested today at ten percent interest doesn't become much not at first it becomes a dollar ten big deal right but that dollar ten invested and left alone it grows and that growth grows on itself and that growth on growth it multiplies and years later you look back and you say how did one dollar become a thousand that's how life works too that's how your results work when you were born you didn't know how to walk you couldn't even hold your head up but your parents put you down on the ground and you fell and you fell again and again and again and they didn't say well this isn't working clearly you'll never walk no they knew something that showing up attempting falling and trying again that's how you learn that's how you grow every fall taught you something every attempt built a neuron every small effort created a small ability and then one day you stood up and you took one step and you fell and you got up and you took two steps and then three and then you were running and now you don't even think about walking it's automatic it's natural it's yours that's the compound effect that's what happens when you show up think about what you could build if you applied that to your goals if you woke up every morning and did just a little bit more than you did yesterday not a lot more just a little what would that look like in one year in five years in ten here's what I found out the person who is willing to be consistent when consistency is hard that person becomes unstoppable because most people aren't willing most people want the result without the work most people want the harvest without the planting most people want to skip to the end of the story but you you're going to be different and this is important so listen carefully you're not going to argue with your doubters you're going to outwork them that's the strategy that's the play some people try to convince their doubters they engage in debate they present evidence they argue logically about why the doubter is wrong they spend hours sometimes days trying to explain their vision to someone who has no interest in being convinced and you know what happens the doubter argues back they find new reasons to doubt they move the goalposts and you're locked in this endless cycle of argument and defense and explanation and meanwhile your time your precious irreplaceable time is being spent on convincing instead of creating but here's the key results don't argue results just exist results speak results silence critics in a way that no words ever could you can talk about what you're going to do until you're blue in the face and someone will still have a reason to doubt but when you show them what you've done when you present them with results that can't be denied when you have something tangible and real to show that changes everything that's when the conversation shifts so instead of spending energy trying to convince someone that you can do something spend that energy actually doing it every minute you spend arguing is a minute you're not building every moment you're defending your vision is a moment you could be executing on it every word you use to explain why you're right is a word that could have been an action step instead of defending your vision to people who don't believe in you build your vision into something so real so solid so undeniable that they look foolish for having doubted you that's the strategy that's the power move the farmer in my story he didn't stand at that fence arguing with his neighbors about crop science he didn't try to convince them they were wrong he didn't create a presentation about soil composition or rainfall patterns or seed quality he just planted and he kept planting and his harvest was the argument his success was the debate his results were the closing statement there was nothing left to argue about because the evidence was standing right there in that field this is the shift this is the change in strategy that matters stop selling start building stop explaining start doing stop defending start executing now let me give you something else something that might sound strange at first but stay with me patience combined with persistence that's where the real power lives not persistence alone not patience alone but the two together patience means you understand that things take time you're not expecting overnight results you're not watching for immediate transformation you understand the seasons you understand growth you understand that an oak tree doesn't become mighty in a month but persistence means you keep going even when patience is being tested persistence means you show up on the day when you're tired of patience when you're tired of waiting when you want to see results and they're not here yet most people fail right there right at that intersection they start with patience I'll work hard for a while but then the real work begins and patience gets old and results don't appear fast enough and persistence gets tired but you you're going to combine them you're going to say I'm going to be patient with the process but I'm never ever going to stop the process that's powerful that's rare that's what separates people who achieve from people who dream here's what I found out about patience and persistence they're not opposites they work together patience gives persistence a timeline it can believe in and persistence gives patience the action it needs to become meaningful I want to tell you about dignity about the dignity of showing up about the dignity of work there's something noble about a person who decides to do something and then does it there's something dignified about a person who says I'm going to be consistent and then they are not for applause not for recognition but because they said they would because they made a promise to themselves that's rare that's becoming more and more rare in a world that wants you to perform for an audience that doesn't really care the world will try to make you feel like your work doesn't matter if it's not spectacular if it's not famous if it's not seen by millions you might feel like your daily efforts are small insignificant unnoticed society keeps score in a very narrow way it celebrates the famous it celebrates the visible it celebrates the ones who made it big and got recognized and everything else all the quiet work all the hidden effort it gets diminished but I'm here to tell you your daily efforts are everything they're the foundation of everything they're the reason that some people end up living remarkable lives and others live ordinary ones it's not talent it's not luck it's showing up it's the daily work that nobody sees but you it's the decision you made this morning to keep going even though yesterday was hard it's the choice you made right now to keep reading this instead of giving up on yourself a man works in construction and he builds buildings nobody knows his name nobody points to a skyscraper and says that was built by Frank he'll never win an award he'll never be on a magazine cover
[17:57]but Frank knows something that society sometimes forgets Frank knows that his work is solid Frank knows that his foundation is strong Frank knows that he showed up and did good work and that building that building will stand for a hundred years because Frank chose dignity over recognition Frank chose to do the work right even when nobody would ever know it was him and that's enough that's dignity that's something to build a life on that's legacy that's integrity that's the kind of person who can sleep at night knowing they did what they said they would do regardless of applause let me ask you some questions rhetorical questions so just think about them where would your health be if for the next year you were consistent with exercise and nutrition not perfect just consistent where would you be imagine yourself a year from now what would that version look like where would your finances be if for the next year you were consistent with saving and learning about money not getting rich overnight just making deposits instead of withdrawals what would that look like where would your relationships be if for the next year you were consistent with presence and attention and care what if you actually showed up for the people who matter where would those relationships be where would your skills be if for the next year you were consistent with practice and study and improvement what if you got one percent better every single day at the thing you care about compounded over a year over five years what would you be capable of now the beautiful part you have the power to find out you can actually build that life the healthier version the financially stronger version the more connected version all of it is available to you not tomorrow not next year but starting today starting with your next action here's something about the people who watch you fail because some will watch you fail some will actually hope you fail if we're being honest because your failure validates their decision not to try your failure makes them feel safe in their choice to stay small but here's what you need to know that's not your problem to solve that's their journey that's their choice your job is to make your choice your job is to execute on your vision your job is to show up and something miraculous happens when you do something shifts the people who were hoping you'd fail start to change their mind some of them will actually want to know your secret some of them will become inspired by your consistency some of them will actually follow your example and the ones who don't the ones who stay bitter well you'll have your results to show for it and they'll have their doubts and I think you know which one is better let me give you the strategy here's what I found out works first be clear about what you're building crystal clear you have to know what success looks like for you not what it looks like for anyone else for you what does your success look like second commit to the daily process not the result not the outcome the process the daily work the showing up the doing that's what you control that's what you can commit to with certainty third expect doubt expect it from others but more importantly expect it from yourself there will be days when you doubt what you're doing
[21:53]days when you doubt yourself that's not a sign to quit that's a sign that you're doing something difficult that's a sign that you're in the arena fourth don't argue don't defend don't explain build work create results let those results be your argument fifth measure your progress not daily not hourly but regularly monthly quarterly look back and see how far you've come because you will come further than you believe right now the compound effect will surprise you you know I think about that farmer all the time I think about him out there in that field and I think about how easy it would have been to quit how easy it would have been to say well I guess they're right I guess it is impossible I guess I should do it their way but he didn't he just kept planting and now I realize that story wasn't really about farming it was about faith faith in yourself faith that if you do the work the results will come faith that consistency compounds faith that showing up matters wouldn't that be something wouldn't it be something if you became the kind of person who shows up who keeps going who stays consistent until your doubters actually have to take you seriously until they have to look at your results and reassess everything they believed was possible that person is closer than you think in fact that person is you right now today this moment you have the power to become that person not through some dramatic change but through small consistent choices through daily actions through showing up and here's what I want to leave you with cause this matters more than anything your life will become what you do today and tomorrow and the day after that not what you plan to do not what you wish you could do not what you're thinking about doing what you actually do so here's the challenge be consistent not perfectly not flawlessly but genuinely show up on the days when showing up is hard do the work when the work feels like it doesn't matter yet keep planting when nobody's watching keep planting when everybody's watching and laughing keep planting because you believe in the harvest not because the harvest is already here and then watch what happens watch how the doubt changes watch how the doubters watch you differently watch how your life transforms because you made a simple decision to be consistent that's not just success that's power that's mastery that's what terrifies doubters stay consistent until it terrifies your doubters that's the principle that's the play that's the way
