In scenario 1, you have a goal, and there are all these different unlimited ways on how to approach getting there, right?

The problem is, which one should you choose?

Scenario 1 is all about anxiety. If you don’t know which thing you should do and you are overwhelmed with options, that will come with anxiety.

Or…

Scenario 2, you don’t even know what to do to get there. You feel hopeless. It’s not even about picking; you just don’t know where to start.

Anxiety is about the overwhelm of choices. Hopelessness is about the lack of choices.

Both lead to the same emotions: sadness/frustration.

And I’ve had my fair share of those emotions…

When you can’t decide on what to do, it’s the clearest case of a lack of something I want to get you very clear about…

Because if there is a gap between where you currently are and where you’d like to go, there’s only one thing I know of that could get you there…

It’s STRATEGY.

Strategy is a word that gets tossed around a lot… Yet, nobody really knows what it means…

They just know it’s probably important, but in my opinion, it is THE MOST IMPORTANT.

Let me break it down for you what STRATEGY actually means, because it’s really simple… It’s all about prioritizing.

Figuring out priorities, that’s all it is.

In layman’s terms, it’s about what’s going to get us the most bang for the buck. How can we achieve the most with the least? How can we progress in the best way humanly possible?

Or if you want my fancy definition:
It’s about how to choose to allocate resources that are limited against unlimited options.

That is what I mean by having…

PRACTICE STRATEGY.

The tough part, however, about strategy in general is…

Strategy is about choosing which one from all those options you could take is the one that will take you furthest the fastest.

Because the most costly thing about progress is not just the unknowns, but it’s about the unknown unknowns…

The things that you didn’t even know you could choose from.

Because the counterintuitive secret of progress is that fundamentally progress is not about working harder than other people.

It’s not like those who achieve the most are hyperactive.

They might choose to be, and trust me, there is always a time for doing more. I’m a big fan of brutal relentless effort, but basically, and more importantly, it’s about getting more out of each step.

Strategy is not just about how to do more, it’s about capturing the most from every unit of effort.

And the ones who achieve the most, either consciously or unconsciously, are using the right strategies.

When you have better priorities, when you allocate your resources of time, focus, and energy to doing the fewest moves that get you the most for the least, you make the most progress. Simple as that.

So the equation for success is: Volume X Leverage = Results.

Leverage = Strategy.

The more you do something X the better the strategy = The more you get out of it.

Now if you’re lazy…

Guess what, you better have a lot of leverage to make up for the volume.

Yet, if you’re a hard worker putting in the hours, but have no leverage… you’re not better off.

And if your progress is not growing as fast as you want it to… the truth is you are working simply on the wrong stuff.

It means you haven’t properly identified the priorities…

It means your strategy is lacking and you need to change it to something that’s actually working.