I saw a really good success philosophy on display a couple of weeks ago when Alabama played Mississippi State in football.
I only caught about 5 minutes of the game, but thankfully I saw Alabama coach Nick Saban interviewed as he was going into the locker room at the half. Alabama was up 30-0 and the reporter asked coach Saban how he was going to keep his team motivated with such a lopsided score at the half. His answer indicated a brilliant philosophy. He said, "We don't play to the score, we play to a standard."
In other words, don’t define yourself by the score, hold yourself to a standard and demand that you perform at that level. Don’t play up or down to the competition. Winning or losing doesn’t matter, performing to your best does.
That is a great lesson that can be applied to business as well. Too many times people are attached to the outcome. If they are doing well, they are happy. If they are not doing well, they are sad and frustrated. Let's be better than that. Attach yourself to the PROCESS, NOT the outcome. If you lay down foundational habits and have solid and consistent processes, the outcome will eventually be what you want it to be.
This reminds me of the very fist golf lesson my son received from a pro. My son was 6 at the time and the coach was having him really establish a rhythm to his swing, correct form and a consistent follow through. He didn't care where the ball went at all, just wanted to lay the foundation that he could build on. Wow. That really hit me. I am a weekend golfer who has played golf (off and on) for many years, yet I have NEVER taken the time to really build a foundation to my swing and approach to each shot. I only had cared about results, not the process. So, as a consequence, I have NEVER had consistency. It seems so obvious, but I had never thought about it or practiced that way before.
In business, are you chasing results or building foundational habits and systems/processes that will lead to abundance? If you are always chasing results, you will never have consistency. Lay a solid foundation. Play to a standard. A standard of excellence.