Research. Iterate. Repeat.

I saw this quote in one of James Clear’s email newsletters and it really resonated with me. (Well, to be honest, almost all of his quotes resonate with me, so this isn’t a shocker.)

The older I get (and trust me .. I’m ooooOOOOoooold) the more I realize that there is really just two skills that make someone successful in life. And if you do one of these two things, you will be successful in your endeavors.

Sharing is Caring

The first is Empathy. Or rather, it is caring about what you are doing and caring about how it impacts other people.

In some people’s lists for success they also talk about solving problems. I heard someone (Jim Rohn, maybe?) say that the degree of success (however you define that — financial, social, etc,) is directly related to the size of the problem you are solving.

But I realized that solving those problems require putting yourself into the shoes of people who have that problem. Easy to do if it is you, but if it isn’t you, or includes more people, then you will need to employ some empathic skills into the mix.

And, if you are empathizing with others, that also means you are taking some ownership over what you create. And a sense of ownership also brings about a desire to maintain high standards with whatever you are producing.

So, rather than have 3 different items — solve problems, take ownership, and maintain high standards — I combined each of those into one: empathy.

And this is the first part of being successful.

Always Adapting

The second one is Consistency. Specifically, taking an action in a direction, and then grinding away and never stopping.

But one thing that the quote above specifies that a phrase like “be consistent” doesn’t really do, is emphasize the importance of reviewing the results of what you are doing and revising your approach based on that analysis.

As a designer who often has to iterate on various visual elements as a part of my job, I recognize the importance of this methodology in improving the effectiveness of whatever consistent action you are taking.

After all, if your goal is to lose weight, but your consistent action is to eat a Snickers bar every day, then you will probably not have much success. But if you analyze the results of that action and realize that maybe it is worth changing what you eat, or the frequency of eating candy bars, or the quantity of candy, or any other myriad options that exist with that consistent action, then you enhance your ability to improve your chances for success.

So I think rather than just saying “consistency” as the second methodology for success, I will revise that to two things: “consistency” and “adaptability“.

Research Pre-search

And the other idea that quote talks about is researching what you are doing before you start doing it. I think that sort of pre-work is also vital to success.

If you are going to try to help small business owners with their email marketing, but you don’t actually research current methods of email marketing, existing tools in the marketplace, or the challenges that those people have with the current systems, then you have a high chance of reinventing the wheel, or at least making a wheel that doesn’t have any market value.

So, whatever action you have to take, you must first do it intelligently. And this comes from asking a few questions:

1. Who cares? <– learn who you are serving
2. What already exists? <– learn what they are doing now
3. What are the problems with it? <– learn their challenges

And with that knowledge you can figure out the solution.

And this isn’t just about a business idea. It is equally applicable to personal projects too. Weight loss, going to school, learning an instrument, studying a language. You can adapt this approach to those goals as well.

For example …

Weight Loss

1. Who cares? You do! And your family and friends who want you to be healthy.
2. What already exists? Log what you are currently eating so you can analyze and figure out how to improve it. See what weight loss nutrition plans are out there which you can try out.
3. What are the problems? What struggles do you have with food? Exercise? Other aspects of weight loss?

Just these three questions can get you a decent distance in setting up a plan for success. And the word I think that summarizes this idea, rather than “research” is “prepare”. Because preparation is one of the ways you can speed up and guarantee your progress.

In Summary

So, long article short, here is my newer four keys to achieving success:

1. Empathy
2. Consistency
3. Adaptability
4. Preparation