(5 min read)
"In the beginning, you can make up in numbers what you lack on skill"
How many times did you fall learning how to ride a bike? Did you park your car perfectly on your first attempt? Did you make your first sale on your first sales presentation? Have you ever felt inadequate, clueless, or frustrated when you were beginning to learn a new skill? If you do, great! It means you are human. Welcome to the club.
So, what is the Law of Averages, and what does it has to do with being successful?
The Law of Averages states that if you do something with enough frequency, you will get a ratio of results. Once this ratio starts, its natural tendency is to continue. Also, this ratio of results can be improved over time if you continue the frequency of execution of such activity, thus, your skill and effectiveness in doing such activity will increase. In other words, the results obtained from a large number of trials should be close to the expected result, and will tend to become closer as more trials are performed.
Ok….. but… how is this related to the subject of achieving success?
Let’s use an example. Let us say that you get a new job as a salesperson, and let’s say that during your first week, you made 1 sale out of 10 sales presentations. This means that your starting ratio is 1:10. Now, the interesting thing about the Law of Averages is that even with this starting ratio, you could beat the best salesperson on the office, with a sales ratio of 9:10. This means that this salesperson can make 9 sales out of 10 sales presentations. With this ratio, how could you possibly beat this sales record? Well, you simply make 10 times more sales presentations than the other person does, in order to get better results (more sales). So in other words, you put in numbers what you lack in skill, and take determined and massive action to reach your goal of making more sales.
Now the other interesting part is that the more you do certain activity, the better you will get at it, and your ratio of results will inevitably improve. “Repetition is the mother of skill”. So, not only will you get the results you want as a result of taking massive action, which is a bonus, but you will also increase your level of skill in that area. And this is the priceless part. As you keep practicing and you keep getting better, your results will improve exponentially rather than linearly. You could accelerate this even further if you decide to invest on yourself and take courses or read books on a specific area to improve your knowledge and skills and put into action what you learn. Nothing replaces action.
If you want to become good and exceptional at something you have never done, at the beginning, you will probably fail. But failure is not a bad thing. In fact, most of the successful people on this planet were confronted with temporary defeat before they could reach success. Napoleon Hill said:
“Temporary defeat is not permanent failure”. And this is true as long as you don’t quit. Quitters never win, and winners never quit. I also like the way Robert Kiyosaki describes this principle:
“Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.”
There are numerous examples of successful people, who encountered temporary defeat before success. To list just a few,
1. Silvester Stallone got rejection after rejection for his movie script “Rocky”. Various movie companies told him that “it was too predictable” and “uninspiring”. They told him he couldn’t act, and he got financially broke during the process. He did not quit. He kept trying. One day, one company said “yes”. Rocky was filmed, and it was a huge success.
2. Henry Ford failed in many attempts to create an automobile that would serve the people. Even the first versions of his famous Model T had 5 years of failures before success. He did not quit. He kept trying. The Model T became the best automobile in the world, and Ford revolutionized the automobile industry if his time.
3. Walt Disney’s concept for one of the most visited tourist sites and theme parks in North America was turned down over 300 times by bankers and financiers. He did not quit. And as a result of this, today we have several theme parks in different parts of the world in which we can have a great time and create beautiful memories with our loved ones.
4. At the age of sixty-five, Harland Sanders (creator of Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises), after running a restaurant for several years, found himself penniless. He started travelling by car to different restaurants and cooked his fried chicken on the spot for restaurant owners. If the owner liked the chicken, they would enter into a handshake agreement to sell his chicken. He was turned down 1009 times before his chicken was accepted once! He did not quit.
5. Thomas Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” He did not quit.
And the list could go on, and on…… until you get bored, and that is not my intention here.
So, keep taking massive action towards the attainment of your goals and dreams, even if it seems that you are losing. Don’t use the fact that you don’t know how to do something as an excuse for not doing it and taking action.
After all, life and success are a numbers game, and you can always make up in numbers what you lack in skill, if you get to work with commitment, discipline, and consistency.
Itís difficult to find experienced people for this topic, however, you sound like you know what youíre talking about! Thanks