What if I told you there’s a method of operation that guarantees a 100% success rate each time you apply yourself to a project?
This message is about a simple mode of “behaving” that guarantees a 100% success rate. It’s about one of the ways we take action to achieve desired results. Really, it’s a success lesson I learned from my Uncle Julius.
My Uncle Julius was the oldest of my father’s 14 brothers and sisters working our family farm in Canada. He was a metal smith. And he was very good at what he did. Imagine a leathery-skinned farmer in the workshop wearing no safety glasses other than his own pair of bi-focals. No other filtering mask than his own beard. A true ‘salt of the earth’ figure.
As Uncle Julius was the welder on the farm, I remember hearing his disc saw sawing through metal. I can still hear his plasma torch cutting through steel. His torch blazing through a rusty beam that would be sent to the scrap yard. I remember looking over his shoulder in amazement at the distinctly bright blue blaze of a welding rod, thinking how cool it would be to melt two pieces of metal together.
What struck me most about Uncle Julius, the real lesson here, was the immense amount of pride he took in his work. If he cut a piece of metal, he would hold it up to the sun and scrutinize it. To make sure the cut was straight. If he welded metal, he would chip the slag away, put his glasses on, and lean in silently, inspecting his own work, and making sure the weld was strong and secure.
When he eventually took me through my metal education, showing me how to use a TIG welder, MIG welder, and plasma torch, he used the same approach. Every time he showed me through a step, he’d take a step back and inspect the weld and the seam. Like he was gazing at a captivating piece of art. His art.
And he kept saying over and over, “Jay, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.”
It’s this message that has come to be my most profound “method of operation.” Uncle Julius taught me to “behold” my work, to fall in love with my labor, and to throw my whole being into the job the first time around.
So how can I guarantee your 100% success rate with this lesson? It’s not actually by “doing it right.” Perfectionism can be debilitating and a hindrance to your progress. Instead, this is how you refine your approach:
Ask yourself, “Did I do my very best?”
The passion for your work and the love for your craft will help you achieve that edge necessary to assemble one win after the next.
Here’s what I mean…
When you let go of being perfect (or waiting for perfect conditions) in exchange for doing your absolute best, regardless how “good at it” you think you are, there’s a compounding effect. First, you achieve consecutive “wins,” because you decide what brings you the most pleasure, not someone else. Secondly, you create a standard that nothing can trump. No outside input will get in your way when measured against your personally excellent standard. Finally, mistakes don’t even enter the picture here. You may make a mistake, but when you start a project fully conscious that you’re out to do your best–nothing more, nothing less–you’ll only have to make that mistake once. And you’ll be okay with whatever the outcome.
And now you have a sneak peek into my brain and behavior… I believe that when you start out saying to yourself, “I do my best; I give it my all; I am in love with my craft,” every good thing comes your way. You allow yourself to tap into 100% of your own potential. You guarantee your own 100% success rate. You are the judge and the only person you cannot fool.
Take this moment to make the decision to do your best in everything you do. You will sleep better than you can imagine.
Let me know how this message sits with you by leaving a comment below!
Best,
