Working a Straight Line to Success

This is going to be a short post, but one I believe is super-import to anyone's success.   Once again, it stars one of my favorite fitness, Internet and business gurus, Bedros Keuilian.

If you'll take a look at the title, notice the "straight line" part.  Ya, that's the gist of Bedros' talk, suggesting that if we work on that straight line, we're going to reach our goal faster than any other way.

Now, I spliced together the following video from Keuilian's longer one (provided at the end).  Have a listen to Bedros, and I'll catch you on the other side...

Do you get that straight line concept?  Ya, I'm sure you do.  It's pure common sense.  I hope you also noticed those hills and dales Bedros drew up and down along the line, as he suggested the potential for a lot of things that can drag you (or me) off course.  

In fact, that whole discussion should remind you of an earlier post of mine, that entitled "Dealing with Bumps in the Road".  In it, if you'll recall, there was a similar sketch, that showing a straight, upward forward line and a whole bunch of those bumps in the road...

As I was listening to Bedros, I was reminded of some experiences from when I was an older teen -- 19, I think.  I was playing semi-pro football at the time, and I'd struggled for my last few years of high school attempting to put on more strength and weight.  My struggles mirrored Bedros's presentation, though, as I tried this lifting program and that one, this and that diet, and every exercise you can imagine.  Yup, I was jumping around with no real direction, and going everywhere but on a straight line.  Suddenly, something struck me...  What if I settled on the best training program I knew, and just stuck with it for 90-days?  That was the promise several programs had made, ya know:  "Stick with this and you'll experience miracles in just 90-days!"  So, I picked a program -- I just trusted it for 90-days, and went from 140- to 180-pounds in that span.  Amazing it was, but it was also just a matter of staying as close to ye olde straight line as possible.

This aside...  My dad had helped me build the start of my own home gym back then, that to include a basic weight set and a safety rack (for safety, and for working out alone).  As for doing heavier and heavier lifts, I found myself spending a good part of my paycheck on extra plates every few weeks. I tell this short tale to suggest that it was far easier for me to do my lifting at home, and not have to spend an extra hour or so per day traveling to an outside gym, and waiting in line for some machine or weight station.

My strength gains were also a matter of saying, "No," too..  I mean, everyone knew that I wasn't doing anything else until my workout was finished, and that went for a girlfriend who eventually learned to be very understanding.

Actually, I'm betting that most folks who read this have had their own straight line experiences, and maybe also dealt with some distractions or bumps in the road.  It's all common sense, though -- isn't it?

So is that thing about learning to say, "No!"  As I've mentioned in a few other posts, I'm frequently asked by family and friends to do this and do that when I'm in the middle of a project, and I've only recently gotten into the habit of sticking to my guns.

Then, one last thing...  I'm going to suggest that working the straight line can even overcome some wrong moves.  In other words, I'm guessing that the strength program I chose wasn't the best one out there.  Yet sticking to it -- or maybe sticking to any strength program for the prescribed amount of time -- was going to get me some pretty good results.  And, I'm further guessing that the same goes for the route we take in business -- or doing anything else.  Sure, there have to be better ways, but perhaps sticking with something we truly believe in -- sticking with it and sticking with it -- is going to also achieve the results we want. 

Lastly, if you have kids, I wonder if this might be a good principle to share with them.  I tend to think so.

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For some interesting reading, I recommend an article I did long ago for CoachChic.com, where I describe breaking skills (and other tasks) into small, do-able steps:  "The Best Advice I Could Ever Share"

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Here's that full-length video I promised.  And, if you like Bedros Keuilian, you might click through to his YouTube.com channel where you can discover a lot more...