Mastering the Science of Achievement: How to Amplify Business Success & Fulfillment

Chip Schweiger: 0:00

In the science of achievement there are three steps. The first step to achieving anything you want is to focus. There is no way to reach a goal if you cannot focus on it. The second step is one we generally understand because we can feel it. It's to go beyond hunger and drive and desire. But you've got to activate these emotions to get yourself to consistently take massive action. The third step to achieving whatever we want is grace Now, not necessarily religiously, but acknowledgement of the fact that life happens for you, not to you, and allowing that grace to grow with your appreciation. Chip Schweiger here. Welcome to another edition of Things Entrepreneurs Should Know, the top business podcast for entrepreneurs, founders and business owners who want to build lasting financial value and supercharge the growth of their business. Have you ever been curious why some business owners are able to achieve all of their goals while maybe others seem to struggle? Goals alone are a funny thing. Most people who set them never really achieve them. Most were hardwired to fall short of many of the goals that we set. But according to research, there is one thing that you can do to double the likelihood you'll achieve your goals. So today on the show, we're going to talk all about the science of achievement. You'll learn how one simple trick can double the likelihood that you'll achieve your aspirations, and we're also going to talk about the surprising reason some business owners achieve their goals while most don't. We're going to talk about why motivation on its own can diminish your likelihood of achieving your goals and the three things that you can do now to increase the possibility of reaching your goals. After the show, check out the show notes at TESKPod. com. Hi and welcome back If you're like a lot of the owners I work with. You started your company with a goal to build a really valuable business that can thrive without you doing all of the work. Maybe one that you could sell one day. So how did the coronavirus pandemic impact your goals? Or maybe you're challenged by the rising interest rates and looming recessionary pressures. Not wanting to experience the trauma of a past few years again, many of the owners I work with have become even more motivated than ever to build a valuable company. But one of the things I talk with them about is that the reality that motivation is unlikely to get them the outcome that they desire. In fact, motivation on its own is largely worthless when it comes to achieving our goals. So check this out. These days, given all the media attention about underlying mental conditions, many of us have set a goal of exercising regularly to maintain a healthy weight, but a study in the British Journal of Health Psychology reveals why most of us will fail to achieve our goals Now. The researchers behind the study measured how frequently 248 adults exercised over a two-week period. Study participants were divided into one of three groups. The control group were asked to log their activity every day. Before they began, they were asked to read the first three paragraphs of a totally unrelated novel. The second group was inspired to exercise through motivation. Like the first group, they too were asked to keep track of how frequently they exercised over the observation period. But before they began, each person was asked to read a brochure on the benefits of exercise for reducing the risk of heart disease. Participants in group two were also told that most young adults who have stuck to a regular exercise program have found it to be very effective in reducing their chances of developing coronary heart disease. Now the third group was the action plan group. After being told to track their exercise, they also read the same motivational brochure and got the same speech as group number two. Now, this was done to ensure that group number two and group number three were equally motivated. Unlike group number two, however, the action group were also asked to develop an action plan for when and where they would exercise over the following week. Each person in the action plan group was asked to develop a plan describing what they intended to do using the following framework During the next week, I will partake in at least 20 minutes of vigorous exercise on this day, at this time of day and at that place. So very specific. Now, two weeks later, the researchers were surprised by what had happened in the three groups. In the control group, 38% of participants exercised at least once a week. The motivated group actually performed slightly worse, with just 35% exercise in weekly. In the action plan group and this is really amazing 91% of the participants exercised at least once per week. Simply by writing down an action plan that said when and where they intended to exercise, the participants in group three were much more likely to actually follow through. Most of us are motivated to achieve our goals, but the British researchers discovered that what pulls that desire out of us and what turns it into action isn't our level of motivation, but rather the action plan for implementation. Now, in case you're just tempted to chalk this up to kind of cheeky brits who would prefer to go to a pub rather than exercise, the same findings have been validated all over the world. For example, dr Gail Matthews at Dominican University in California led a study on goal setting with 270 participants. Now the results of that? Well, you're 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. So hopefully you can see that this is not enough to just want success, be it a valuable business or a successful career. In fact, just being motivated may actually have detrimental impacts on your results. What you need is motivation combined with a specific action plan detailing three things what you're going to do, where you will do it and by when you're going to do it. And it's not just control groups and scientific studies. Everyone has heard about Tony Robbins, motivational coach, and I'm also a guru of kind of living an amazing life on his own terms, and what has made Tony Robbins successful was him sharing his life mission on helping people find just that. Now, in full disclosure, I'm a fan and a follower of Tony Robbins, but I don't work for him. My thoughts about his views on the signs of achievement are what I've gathered over the years by myself. Now, to find and live the life that you want, there are two main focus areas that you must take into account the science of achievement and the art of fulfillment. In the science of achievement, there are three steps. The first step to achieving anything you want is to focus. There is no way to reach a goal if you cannot focus on it. The second step is one we generally understand because we can feel it. It's to go beyond hunger and drive and desire, but you've got to activate these emotions to get yourself to consistently take massive action. The third step to achieving whatever we want is grace, now not necessarily religiously, but acknowledgement of the fact that life happens for you, not to you, and allowing that grace to grow with your appreciation as important as achievement is. There's a second skill that you'll also need to master if you want to create an extraordinary life. This is the skill that Tony calls the art of fulfillment. Now, the art of fulfillment is an even more important skill to master, because if you master the external world without mastering the internal world, how can you be truly and sustainably happy? That's why he'll tell you, your greatest obsession should be the art of fulfillment. And here are the two main principles to focus on growing and giving. And that's because when we're growing and giving, we're living at our fullest, knowing that money doesn't equal happiness. Success without fulfillment truly can be the ultimate failure. Now, if you have no one to share it with, what's the point? Without the best success, what is there to share? That's why I offer one-on-one coaching via Zoom to help our clients achieve their goals of really rebuilding a valuable company. So let's pivot a little bit and here's how the science of achievement plays out in real life. To begin with, we sit down and provide an estimate of value for the company and an analysis of how the company performed on the eight factors that drive the value of every business. Just like any exercise program, this allows us to benchmark where our clients start and monitor their improvements over time. Next, we'll explore each value driver and see how they're performing relative to the ideal. When there's an opportunity to improve, we'll add a specific action item Leveraging the science of achievement goals. Clients are also asked to describe the specific improvement they want to make, who is responsible and by when it will be completed. Once they have their benchmark set, we'll meet once a month and complete one of the 12 modules in building a more valuable company. Now each module comes with a video tutorial, an online tool and a one-on-one Zoom meeting with me where we discuss their action plan. At each step, we capture their plan for achieving improvements. Those action plans will also always be available for us to review and to check off accomplishments along the way. On the anniversary of our work together and every year thereafter, we benchmark the client's progress against their long-term vision of building a valuable company, and I can tell you this is a really very effective process, and I think it's because it tracks exactly to the science of achievement. So here's your takeaways to achieve anything on a consistent basis, regardless of your motivation, we've got to write down a specific action plan for achieving that goal. That includes the what, when, who and how of every goal, and remember the first step to achieving anything you'll want to get focus. There's no way to reach a goal if you can't focus on it. It's okay and, in fact, will help you achieve your goals any goal by being passionate about everything that goes into achieving that goal. And committing your action plan to writing, as we've talked about, helps you keep invested and passionate. Those who consistently achieve their goals are constantly reviewing what they've accomplished and making adjustments. As I've said many times, we all reserve the right to get better, and my last bit of advice is have fun with this. I've heard people say that life is a game. We'll play the game every day and have fun. Well, that about wraps up another edition of the Things Entrepreneurs Should Know podcast. Be sure to check out our website at teskpodcom, where you can find the show notes and an archive of our past episodes and other resources to help you grow your business. That's teskpod. com, and if you haven't done so already, I'd really appreciate it if you take one minute to give us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify. It It helps out a lot to get this to more entrepreneurs and business owners. And if you've already done that, please consider sharing this show with family or friends who you think might get something out of it. As always, thank you so much for your support. This is Chip Schweiger, reminding you that if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got. We'll see you next time.