Today I was doing some research for an article I’m putting together, so I decided to reread Tony Robbins’ Personal Power. Definitely a book worth picking up, but for me when it comes to Tony Robbins, you just can’t beat his audio stuff. Get The Edge is a personal favorite of mine. In it, he talks about his “hour of power.” It got me thinking, just how powerful is an hour?
Most people who aren’t fans of personal development are quick to dismiss it as hokey stuff. I admit, I was one of them. However, when I ran into some business trouble in my early 30s, I turned to books for answers. I think it was Robert Kiyosaki mentioning how much he had learned from attending one of Robbins’ seminars that made me decide to give his material a shot. I’m glad I did.
So just how much can we get done in just one hour? Not much really. But here’s the thing, that single hour is often what separates the winners from the losers.
|
So just how much can we get done in just one hour? Not much really. But here’s the thing, that single hour is often what separates the winners from the losers. Let me explain, we have 24 hours a day, much of which is taken up by life in the form of work, school, chores, routines, and entertainment. After removing all of that, most of us are left with a few precious hours at our disposal. It’s that time that determines much of our success in life.
Consider two athletes, both of which are gifted. Both of which attend all the practices, both of which take care of their health. But one chooses to spend an extra hour shooting on his own, while the other hangs out with his friends. On day 1, the effect is negligible. The same for day 2 and 3 and 4. But what about on day 569 or day 1241? The gap will have widened and will continue to do so.
It’s not what the hour is, but what we can get out of it that matters. Steve Jobs, the most beloved CEO in recent history brought us three of the most iconic products on the last 20 years – the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. All runaway successes that took Apple from the brink to the world’s first trillion-dollar company. You might think that during each of their developments that’s all he did every day, but you’d be wrong. He spent just three hours a day on each of those devices.
We might not have three hours to spare, but we can all “find” an hour to get started on writing a book, building our business, getting a six-pack, creating a new product, or crafting a new song. Progress can be slow (especially when it’s exercise), but stick with it and you’ll activate what Darren Hardy calls The Compound Effect.
Too many of us give up WAY too early on our path to success whether it’s our business, our health or our dreams.
|
Speaking from experience I can say that for the first three years of doing karate I felt like I was just going through the motions. I didn’t feel any stronger, nor did I feel capable of protecting myself. All I could do was some Kata (forms) and basic Kumite (fighting). And then something happened. It was around day 1277, when I suddenly noticed my strikes had more zip, my muscles started reacting more naturally to the movement. It was a weird feeling. All those hours of strikes and practice suddenly took on meaning.
Too many of us give up WAY too early on our path to success whether it’s our business, our health or our dreams. Start with setting aside an hour a day to work on your life, and in less time that you realize, you’ll be that much closer to achieving them.
Photo by Hutomo Abrianto on Unsplash