Being Average for Above-Average Length of Time = Results

I came across this video recently. It’s from an interview with author and investor, Morgan Housel.

There’s lots of good advice and insight within the video, but there’s one minute that I think is absolute gold – not just for investors, but also for singers. I’ve time-stamped it for the most relevant minute, but here’s a paraphrased transcript for you:

My strategy is to be average, but for an above average period of time. Not only will it achieve the goals that I have, but over a long period of time it will put me in the top 10%.

INTERVIEWER: “I think what’s really hard to appreciate, is that what is short-term optimal and what is long-term optimal are often two completely different things.

“[As an example, there was] this investor, who in any given year found he was never in the top 50% of investors, versus his peers.

“But look over a 20-year period, and he was in the top 4%… Because everyone else who was beating him in a given year couldn’t keep it going.”

It’s all about sustained consistency

While this video is about investing and finances, this advice echoes the findings of countless other disciplines. Athletes, musicians, entrepreneurs, even personal development, all know that sustained consistency is what breeds results.

Moreover, trying to rush ahead sometimes gives initial results, often tends to be frustrating and unsustainable, but also tends to cause a regression shortly after. This regression can often appear as inexplicable malfunctions or poor performance, which leads to yet more frustration.

Building businesses

I was chatting with a few business owners over the last few months, about how difficult we remembered the first few years. How we used to be terrified that some uber-talented new market entrant would appear, steal all our business, and show us up as the beginners we felt we were.

Fast forward 10-20 years for many of us, and that worry has gone now. Why? Because we’ve been consistent for an above-average period of time. We’ve knuckled down on the skills that make businesses solid, and kept grinding at a consistent pace, through thick and thin. That foundation is not built by intelligence alone, but by consistent returns on investment/work over time. You can’t cheat that. This means there’s no shortcut for someone else to undercut us.

The upside and downside are the same thing

This is an upside for those who have put in the consistent work, and those who are still putting in the work. It never disappears, and is a bedrock for future work. The downside is, for those starting out, there’s no shortcut but to do the work. And if things feels shaky or inconsistent, that’s reality telling you the bedrock isn’t solid enough – yet.

To remain consistent over time, and to do the work for an above-average length of time. Most people lack the discipline to stay the course on anything, let alone something no one else sees until you decide to show them.

How fast or how slow you can progress is down to you as an individual, but truthfully, the speed doesn’t matter. Consistency over time is your super-power. The key is to be consistent with what you can manage, and to keep doing the right things with that same sustainable pace.

If this is something you’d like to learn to implement in your own practice, to get yourself on the right track and make it sustainable, feel free to book in via my booking form right here.

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