Consistency a Key Ingredient for Success

I am a big fan of Simon Sinek, the leadership consultant.  I have read most of his books, and watched his many You Tube videos and TED talk.  His focus on leadership is simple and has been widely adopted. You would do well to check him out.

Recently, while on LinkedIn, I came across a recent Sinek video that I had not seen before.  It features Simon in an interview format, talking about key features of successful leadership.  His major point is that there is no magic wand in becoming a leader.  Rather it is many small acts that are consistent over time.  This notion of consistency, however, does not just apply to leadership, but has impact just about everywhere. 

To nail this point, he asks the interviewer if he has someone in his life that he loves.  When the interviewer says yes, Sinek asks how he knows this, and when did it happen.  In the end his point is that love doesn’t just happen, but is based on many small things consistent over time.  Same too with fitness.  If you consider yourself fit, when did this happen?  Was there one thing that occurred, or that you tried, that deemed you to be fit?  Probably not; rather, it was your consistent commitment to fitness that carried the day. 

Yet, at the core of consistency is the notion of discipline.  That is, in order to be consistent, you have to be disciplined to your cause.  With fitness, it is having the discipline to be regular at the gym.  In relationships, it is the discipline to stay aware and focused on the other person.  And in leadership, it is remaining consistent with the important features associated with successful people skills.

Of course there are other important issues that apply to successful leadership, or fitness, or in relationships. Still, the notion of consistency really matters, and when we keep this in mind, or more, when we consistently apply key factors we are bound to incur greater success in life.