3 Types of People in Life and How to Coach Them w/Jim Robinson

Quotes

“Education is creating strategies based on historical values or content. Whereas wisdom is teaching you drive, and effort, and focus.” (19:38)

“You want to share love, and you want to be loved, but decision making sometimes offends and hurts feelings. You just have to be able to understand that that’s a limited thing…You really need to go back to the purpose of the decision, right? Make that decision even though it’s going to hurt a feeling in the moment. That feeling will pass if growth is the target.” (30:32)

Underachievement is commonplace, but what is its primary cause? Whether they are a family member, friend, or colleague, everyone can think of someone that did not reach their potential. These people are often talented and educated, and sometimes they are even wealthy, but these traits do not equate to success. So what do you have to do to reach your potential or encourage your team to be successful?

Calvin Coolidge once said, “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

As Coolidge said, persistence is the only tried and true way to reach one’s full potential, but learning to press on is not easy. Here are four ways to grow your ability to persist:

Create Rich-uals

Persistence is continuing in a direction despite opposition to such action, and creating habits and rituals teaches you the discipline that persistence requires. Throughout the 21 days that it takes to make a habit, you learn discipline through the repetitive nature of completing an action or task that you may not want to do.

These habits come in many forms. They could be waking up an hour earlier to exercise before work, putting your phone down to read a book before bed, or organizing your desk at the beginning and end of each workday. Whatever these rituals are for you, they teach you discipline through repetitive action, preparing you to persist towards your growth goal each day.

Know Your Why

The second step in learning to be persistent is knowing your why. Understanding your purpose is central to your ability to persist, as it provides the fuel you need to work through opposition and achieve your goals. This is not merely knowing your general-purpose on earth, although that is also important. You must know your purpose behind each task. Defining the purpose behind each action reminds you of the action’s significance in the face of hardship. Without a purpose, you abandon tasks for lack of compelling reasons to see them through to completion.

Create a Social Contract

Connecting with other people and communicating your goals and expectations is vital to persistence. You generate accountability by telling others about your plans. You have created a social obligation to complete your project or reach your goal by letting other people in on your motivation. Communicating your goals also informs others of the expectations you have for them. If you have a meeting with someone, and they understand your purpose for the meeting, they are more capable of fulfilling your expectations and helping the meeting be a success.

Learn Through Example

When you surround yourself with people who exemplify persistence, you yourself are much more likely to persist. Having this trait consistently modeled for you allows you to learn along the way. People follow in the path of those that are around them. If you surround yourself with underachieving people who give up when times get difficult, you will likely do the same. When you surround yourself with people who press on towards the goals that they set, you are likely to find the encouragement necessary to do the same.

This week, grow your persistence by creating rituals, defining your purpose, connecting with others, and surrounding yourself with good examples.