habits | The Caleb Barney Collection

Lead measures and lag measures – you reap what you sow

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

There are lead measures and lag measures.

Lead measures are actions you should track to help you get to your goal (such as how many prospecting phone calls you made, deals you analyzed, days or minutes per week you exercised, or calories you consumed). Lead measures typically don’t get you too excited, but they are necessary for you to hit your goals. These are the seeds that you plant.

Lag measures are results-based. Examples of lag measures might be how many deals you closed, how much weight you gained/lost, hitting a PR in a specific exercise, etc. Lag measures are the end results. Their success depends on what you’re doing for your lead measures, therefore they are lagging behind. This is the harvest you reap.

Obviously, you don’t always want to only plant seeds and never receive the harvest. You need both to stay motivated and keep getting the results you desire. But don’t expect the harvest to always be there if you stop planting seeds daily/regularly.

Remove the clutter while adding healthy habits

Make one big decision that leads to others.

Create healthy habits and remove bad habits.

Pair two tasks to increase productivity (like, I’ll listen to an educational podcast or audiobook when I drive to my appaointments).

Create rules for yourself.

Pre-commit to your goals.

Use select accountability partners to reach your goals.

Overnight success

Consistent good or great action will produce great results. One great action does not.

Did the person with a six pack only do one really hard ab work out or did they work out consistently and eat well every day of the week? People who become rich… Did all of them inherit that wealth or hit the lottery? Or did they work hard, save money, and invest consistently (and intelligently) over time? There are very few overnight successes – only illusions to make you think that there are many.

The key to excellence, greatness, and success

“Consistent, hard work gains success.” – Dwayne Johnson

There is a quote attributed to Aristotle that says, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”

Excellence, success, greatness…these are things to strive for, but you don’t achieve any of them with a single action. They come with consistent action towards your goals. Set goals, review them daily, and decide what are the most important actions you need to take today to bring you a little (or a lot) closer to your goals. What habits do you need to have in place?

A lot of us (myself included) get caught up with wanting to learn more. Learning is great. Gaining more knowledge is great. But it won’t get you anywhere near success if you don’t apply that knowledge and turn it into action. Don’t confuse reading with taking action towards your goals…yes, it could give you a good foundation. It can help you avoid making the same mistakes that others have made, but often we lie to ourselves saying that we are preparing to take action, when really we’re procrastinating.

Take consistent action everyday. Live purposely. Act intentionally. Success, excellence, and greatness will come if you are consistent with your actions, but if you’re not, you’ll miss the opportunity when it’s here.

Maturity is doing what is best for you, not necessarily what feels good

Prioritize what is important to you. Every decision you make has short-term and long-term consequences. Most of the time, if you can do what’s best for the long-term, you will eventually win. Sometimes that means delaying gratification (not doing what is fun/feels good right now). Dave Ramsey calls that maturity.