I hear people talking about “getting to the next level,” or “taking it to the next level.” I hear this all the time, on Twitter, on line and everywhere else.
But what does that even mean? What does “the next level” mean for most people, who–if they are like me–are walking a razor thin edge between prosperity and bankruptcy. What’s the “next level” then? What is the next level for someone who’s working like a dog and barely paying the bills?
What I’m really asking, is this: the “next level” implies incremental improvement. And it’s limiting. It compares you not with what you could be but with what you are. Yes, it allows for improvement. But if you only think in terms of where you’ve been, you don’t see how rich things can be, how much potential is in us, and what can get done.
So I’m saying it: F#@% the next level. Hard. And without remorse. It’s your problem, and it’s the limiting factor in your life. Being content or complacent with “just a little better,” is the reason that I haven’t become what I am going to become.
The “next level” is self congratulatory. It begets complacency when you look not at what you are about to be but what you have been. I look at my IRS debt–debt that should be gone by now–and I think “man it’s not as bad as it USED to be.”
“I’m not nearly as fat as I used to be.”
“I’m not the asshole I used to be.”
“My customer service doesn’t suck as much as it used to.”
All of this improvement is nice, but it doesn’t get to the right question: are you as good as you can be? Are you holding yourself accountable to the right standard? Are you free to improve as fast as you can?
Or is comparing yourself to yourself limiting you?
If You Like It, Put A Zero On It!
Each quarter this year was about 15% better than the last quarter for me. My business grew solidly–in fact monthly revenue is double what it was last year. I became more diverse, doing product sales (http://flatratewebjobs.com/blog-setup) as well as some consulting, as well as everything else.
Because I was getting myself out of debt and losing a few pounds (mostly in the 1st quarter), I was proud of what I was doing. Patting myself on the back. Giving myself an “attaboy”.
But I was blind and stupid and limiting myself by what I’ve already done. By only imagining being *slightly* better, I didn’t have a high enough standard.
I had–at best–shoddy customer service.
I had half hearted sales and marketing efforts because at some level I wasn’t happy with my customer experience.
Getting “one level” better at any of this would still have been bad. Part of it was the mindf@#% that comes with being in debt, and seriously, more of my mental capacity is free now that I don’t constantly think and rethink how I can pay my bills. But “one level better” would limit me to still being BAD at the things that I’m bad at. Didn’t help. Being 10x better at customer service, at accounting and other things were needed for me to be “good”.
Now, I know, I know Marcus Buckingham and play to your strengths and all that s#!%. I know, that’s where you’re supposed to go. And I agree. But, it doesn’t excuse you from acquiring baseline competence in all aspects of business, does it?
No, it doesn’t. I don’t have to be a master accountant, but baseline competence is the ticket to enter any business world.
It’s time to make everything 10x better. It’s time to start from scratch.
How good could something you make be? What goal would be ideal? Just “making a living,” or representing a standard of excellence and service so high that the world rushes to pay you?
Ten times better. Ten times more revenue. Ten times better service.
That opens the mind up a little bit. How can I get ten times better than I am to day. How Do I put a zero on it?
How do I go from the 90th to 99th percentile.
How do I go from the 99th to the 99.9th?
How do I be the best in the world?
I’m gonna focus on that in the next few posts.
How I will “put a zero on it.” on everything I do. Go from “meh” to “how do I hire that guy?”
Better, just flat better, at everything.
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