**Most things we need to do to succeed are boring. **But we all want a perfect formula that does the work for us. Something new, flashy, easy.
That’s why ridiculous fad diets, get-rich quick schemes and overnight success are all the rage. We know what it takes to change, succeed, and win, but we know those things are hard.
Everyone knows how to lose weight. You just need to burn more calories than you consume over time, and viola the number on the scale starts reading lower.
Building a popular blog means writing well, over time, and boom you’re an overnight success.
Retiring well means spending less than you earn, over time, and investing wisely in boring mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that return well, consistently, over time and wham you’re a millionaire who never even made six figures a year.
Building a movement of university students fits here too. Helping students walk with Jesus, by sharing your faith with them and teaching them to do the same, over time, leads to lots of people walking with Jesus and leading others to him. But it takes time.
You want an instant formula for success? Here you go.
Effort combined with consistency over a period of time.
It’s not all the rage. It’s not a sexy, overnight plan. You aren’t going to hit the New York Times’ Bestsellers List peddling this advice. Because we already know. But we don’t want to put the work in to make it happen.
So today, stop reading about the 4-hour workweek. Stop planning the conference that attracts thousands of people but doesn’t lead to lasting change. Stop eating cabbage soup to detox your body.
Start with small, hard steps. Do the boring things. Do them consistently. Do them over time. And a year or two or twenty from now, we’ll celebrate you for your novel ideas and overnight success.