What It Means To Be a 95% Person
I have a recurring discussion with new coaching clients, which I thought I would share. Fervidly, they will tell me, “I want to be a writer,” or, “I want to be lean and fit,” or, “I want to have better dating options.”
But as soon as we start implementing, the dynamic changes. I will push for strict rules, like “Write 500 words per day, or you must pay $100 to an anti-charity.” And they will refuse me (at least initially).
They will argue, “What’s the big deal if, one day, I only write 350 words? Why do I have to pay $100 for a transgression that minor?”
In essence, my clients don’t appreciate the strictness. To them, my approach seems too radical.
But the truth is — to achieve extraordinary results, you must become a radical. You must draw sharp lines in life.
We struggle with this, for several reasons. First, we don’t want to pay the price. For example, going to bed at the same time every night — and consequently missing out on social opportunities — is not fun. We want to have the option of “occasionally” skipping a habit — in truth, whenever we feel like it.
Also, we don’t see the necessity. What is so terrible about missing two or three nights out of seven? You are still succeeding 60–70 percent of the time. That doesn’t sound so bad.
Lastly, our whole environment is taking a more relaxed view. All around us, people are operating at 60 or 70 percent. If everybody is doing it, it can’t be that wrong.
But the difference between operating at 60–70 percent or at 95–100 percent is staggering, especially if you factor in the compound effects over time.
It’s the difference between looking chubby vs. people complimenting you on your lean, athletic physique.
It’s the difference between being stuck in a mind-numbing 9 to 5 vs. traveling the world as an online entrepreneur.
It’s the difference between enduring a sexless marriage vs. dating attractive people that you truly connect with.
The difference between 60–70 percent and 95–100 percent might not seem like much at first glance — but it is profound.
Note: When I say 95 percent, I am accounting for the fact that sometimes people get so sick, they can’t go through with their daily habits. But that is the only scenario when a radical achiever will miss a habit.
In the same vein, I can almost always tell how quickly a new client will see success by looking at certain details.
Are they on time for their coaching calls? Or are they usually a few minutes late?
Do they fill out our shared tracking spreadsheet on time? Or are they always a bit behind?
Do they reschedule calls a lot? Or do they never miss one?
If someone is strict about these details, chances are, they will also succeed with their daily habits, and eventually, with their goals. If they are lax about these things, success is typically much further off in the future.
Now, being “strict” (aka a 95–100 percent adherence rate) is not to be confused with another phenomenon, what I call hero efforts.
Hero efforts are when people from one day to another completely change their behavior and try to reinvent themselves. This almost never works.
An example would be a person struggling with ADD-like symptoms committing to one hour of meditation per day. That’s way too much. Start with one minute, then slowly build it up.
Another example would be an obese person committing to daily 2-hour gym sessions. Again, overkill. Start with 1000 steps a day.
But the thing is — you never, ever miss your one minute of meditation. You never, ever miss your 1000 steps. Unless you are in the hospital connected to a machine, you do these small daily habits. Those are the right instances to be strict.
Interestingly, the 60–70 percent crowd is in love with hero efforts. The idea of going hardcore, of “sprinting” your way to success, is extremely appealing to them. In their minds, everything should be a 30-day challenge.
And here we get to the core problem — impatience. The 60–70 percent crowd has a short-term mindset. If success is not right around the corner (which it never is), you might as well not bother. So, they take it easy.
The 95–100 percent crowd has a different outlook on life. They have already overcome the misguided notion of instant gratification. There are no quick fixes and no hacks. There is only consistent action over time. In other words, they can think long-term.
Fortunately, it is possible to switch camps. I have seen it, and I have helped people do it. But it means letting go of your laissez-faire attitude.
Learn to embrace the strictness.
I am leaving the gloomy German fall behind; flying to Bangkok on Tuesday. I also bought a new camera for YouTube, very excited to start recording again. This one has an inbuilt fan, so the process should be a lot more pain-free this time around. We'll find out soon.
Until next time from Thailand,
Niels