The Ultimate Success Formula

STORY.

Reilly had no idea what to write about for this weeks blog neither he planned to tackle about a formula to success. So he did what he always did when in the grip of writers block. He legged it out the Flaggy Shore in search of inspiration from universal intelligence. And as is so often the case the universe responded.

Coming around Carruths Crescent he observed a taciturn looking girl strutting her stuff purposefully in his direction. The day was warm and she was clad in no more than a t-shirt and shorts. It was the t-shirt that most grabbed Reilly’s attention.

In large bold letters beneath the image of a pair of serious high heels was the sentence.

‘I HAVE HEELS HIGHER THAN YOUR STANDARDS.’

It was all the inspiration that Reilly required for the following post detailing the three word formula for success.

You may have seen the YouTube clip doing the rounds in the past week about Brian Cody’s formula for success.

Like his handshake with Henry Shefflin, it didn’t take long.

Just three words.

‘Raise Your Standards.’

He gave the example that if he was taking training in Nowlan Park at 7pm he’d be there at 6pm. That was his standard. Not surprisingly, these standards of excellence percolated through to every member of the squad.

That’s the thing about raising your standards. It impacts everyone else too in your sphere of influence.

It reminded Reilly of another occasion in the ExCel Arena in London in 2009. For twelve hours a day, over four days, Tony Robbins belted out his formula for success to 9000 people. And on the final day, just before Reilly was legging it out for the N17, Robbins summarised the entire seminar.

Also in three words.

‘Raise Your Standards.’

Robbins made the point that the only difference between us as people is our standards.

Think about that. The only difference between any of us is our standards.

And the great thing about it is that you can raise your standards the moment you decide to. It was the theme of Smácht Mór in Newtown Castle on Friday last.

THE MECHANICS OF RAISING YOUR STANDARDS.

1. Make a conscious decision and a choice to raise your standards. As Jim Collins famously declared in his epic ‘From Good to Great,’ ‘greatness is not a function of circumstance, greatness is largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline.’
2. Assess the quality of your current standards. At Smácht Mór we scored our business standards under the headings strategy; mindset; accountability; communications; health; and time (acronym Smácht.)

3. Turn your ‘Shoulds’ into ‘Musts.’

How often do you tell yourself what you ‘should do?’

‘I should lose some weight.’

‘I should earn more money.’

‘I should be a nicer person.’

People have an almost infinite number of things they believe they should do. And as Robbins says ‘these ‘shoulds’ carry about as much weight as a New Years’ resolution – that is, if it happens, then that’s exciting. But if not, it won’t be too disappointing because you kind of knew it wasn’t going to happen anyway. You didn’t raise your standards enough to make it happen.’

‘But what happens when you decide something is an absolute ‘must’?

What happens when you cut off any other possibility than you succeeding? When you upgrade your standards and decide that you will never settle for less?’

‘When you raise the standard for your life and turn ‘shoulds’ into ‘musts’, you are making an inner shift to take control over the quality of your life. Only when you decide to accept nothing less than your ultimate goals will you achieve them.

At Smácht Mór, Sylvie Neylon, MD, and founder of Neylon’s Facility Management described the power of turning your ‘shoulds’ into ‘musts.’ Describing the day in his life in 2004 when he was made redundant he related how he got into his car and drove the whole way to Dublin to explain a new business idea to a prospective client.

‘I’ll never forget it.

I had no business; no team; no income. But what I did have was a laser-like realisation that I had a young family to feed and that I had to make that meeting count. It’s amazing just how high you can raise your standards when you burn your bridges and cut off any means of escape.

‘I drove back that night to Eyrecourt with a new contract and a pledge to operate at the very highest standards.’

‘Neylon’s Facility Management today employs 1800 people and core to their success is the Neylon’s Academy of Growth. The Neylons Academy for Growth is a unique in-house training programme that provides all staff with an opportunity to progress to the management level. It was created in 2014 when Neylons recognised the increasing need for skilled site managers. The Academy is used to train individuals who are keen to fill this need and work at the highest possible standards.

The curriculum boasts 12 core areas to raise your standards in from communications skills to customer service to behaviour management.

LEARNINGS.

• Take comfort that you can change the entire trajectory of your life now by choosing to raise your standards. Remember what Oliver Wendell Holmes once said. ‘It’s not as important where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.’
• Do an audit of your standards in every area of your business and life.
• Turn your ‘shoulds’ into ‘musts.’

QUOTE.

‘Honey, I got heels higher than your standards.’

—Written under an image of a stiletto on a girl’s t-shirt walking the Flaggy Shore last week. Reilly thought it was more than apposite given this week’s topic.

QUESTIONS.

1. What are your standards in terms of strategy; mindset; accountability; communications; health; and time?
2. What ‘shoulds’ will you turn into ‘musts’?

(By way of trying to raise his own standards in terms of communications Reilly has finally turned to create a new website from a ‘should’ into a ‘must.’ As such, the advice being given is to publish ‘The Life O’Reilly’ on his website from now on where you will be able to comment. Please be patient with this change. And Reilly would love your comments on the website. Does it pass the Grunt Test? Ie. Do you know what he does and how to buy it from him?)

Choose and benefit from Padraic O’Maille services: Smacht Programme, Keynote Speaker, Business Coaching, Business Mentoring, and One-to-One Coaching.

Join a Smácht Mastermind group. Learn how to become more decisive and take responsibility for making a difference in the world. Book a call today.