Greetings Tribe!
This is the 10th newsletter of James on Success!
My current focus is working on a list of success principles. I have about 78 principles that I plan to turn into my first digital product. In the meantime, I will wrestle with each principle in this newsletter.
The power of principles can help anyone, no matter what level they are at or what they are doing.
Now, for this week's principle.
Measure What Matters
If you are not building something, measurement doesn't matter, progress is not important, completing the work is not even an issue.
If you are building something, if you are working towards a dream, if you have big plans in life, then you want to make progress. How do you stay on track and make progress?
Measure what is meaningful to you.
Why Measure
We measure because distractions are relentless.
If we need two hours a day to work on something meaningful, then that's what we should measure. Protect that two hours. At the end of the week we should have a minimum of 10 hours. At the end of the year we should have 520 hours. If that sounds too small, then increase the daily amount.
Measuring builds a protective wall around what matters to us.
We measure to have concrete evidence of work that we are achieving our goal.
When we have evidence of work, it empowers our feeling of success.
Measure What You Can Control
We have a tendency to try to achieve things that are not real goals, and create timelines that are out of our control.
For example, someone might set a goal to be a millionaire by age of thirty.
Becoming a millionaire is too vague (you could play the lottery, invest in stocks, or build a business). A target date "by age of thirty" is really out of our control. Money can come and go.
Instead, we should measure what is within our control. Then, year after year, we will accumulate measurable knowledge and skill in achieving wealth.
The clear and achievable goal is: I want to continuously improve my understanding and skills of obtaining wealth.
Then create a system of daily actions that will push you toward your goal. For example, set aside one hour a day to read a financial book. Set aside one hour a week to create and maintain a financial plan. At the end of the year you will have 260 hours of study and 52 hours of practice. That is evidence of work.
Add to What You Build
If someone asked you today "show me what you have been building all these years you have lived," what would you tell them?
Over my lifetime I have produced many things that are simply not valuable to me today.
My past building efforts were not well planned, mainly because I was unclear about what I wanted. I didn't have a purpose. I didn't have a plan. I went with the flow. I didn't have a builder mindset.
The key is: What adds value to your life year after year?
Self knowledge, financial knowledge, relationships, community, certain skills, reputation, wisdom, and love. These are just some of the things that have life-long value.
For me, it has become important to have something that I can build on each year.
Vision and Annual Review
I've practiced annual self reviews since 2014. I start off the year with my vision and list what I want to build and complete by the end of the year.
It is a valuable tool to see how we grow and change from year-to-year.
We can't control the consequences of our effort, but we can control the time we invest. That should be celebrated.
Summary
I used to not measure anything. Then I measured too many things. Now I measure what matters to me.
Measure results that are within our control.
Measuring builds a protective wall around what matters to us.
We measure to ensure that the work we do each day contributes to our goal.
What we measure is concrete evidence that we are achieving our goal.
Invest in things that you can build on each year.
Evidence of work (what we measure) empowers our feeling of success.
Create a vision and annual review document to track your progress.
Measure what is meaningful to you.
Your goals and dreams matter!
Take 5
Take 5 minutes and think about your goals. Are you making progress? Do you measure the time you invest in yourself?
If there is something you can improve, take a simple step today to start the process.
Finally
I publish this newsletter once a week, every Monday. As I continue to write these newsletters I will learn more and adjust (that's a principle).
Feedback is crucial (that's a principle). Got feedback on this topic? I would like to know what you are struggling with, what you're interested in, or what you want to accomplish.
My definition of success:
"I believe the best definition of success is living a life of integrity while pursuing your dreams in a way that serves others."
If this resonates with you, then I'm confident we can grow together.
To your success!
James Wilder
Quote of the Week
“Things which matter most should never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” -Goethe