Make your bed.
Every morning. Accomplish something that sets a tone for the day.
I remember the first time I heard this advice.
It was from a 2014 graduation speech at The University of Texas at Austin.
And given by Admiral William H. McRaven.
His reasoning for making your bed first thing was on point:
“It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”
Plus—this one little task shows us how much the little things matter.
As the Admiral tells us:
“If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.”
Ask yourself this today:
“What is one small thing I can do to set myself up for success today?”
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Lesson 5: Do The Little Things Right For Your Customer (The Simplicity of Success)
Admiral McRaven is telling us that we set ourselves up for success by doing the little things well.
- Craft the perfect email
- Wear the right attire
- Give a smile when it’s hard
- Meet in-person instead of over Zoom
- Pick up that piece of trash just to do it
Little things.
They add up — and provide internal motivation to do the bigger things.
And do them well.
So, today, prepare yourself to help others.
Make your bed.
Do the small things that get attention.
Then, prepare your people to do the same.
Make them your evangelists.
Gary Vaynerchuk has this approach he calls the “Taylor Swift Rule”
Taylor went out of her way — especially in the beginning of her career — to go to people’s events if they invited her. She would sing at their wedding and go to a dance with them.
As he puts it — it’s low ROI for her in terms of her time.
But, the impact is enormous in terms of publicity.
That’s why Gary Vee shows up in the comments of all his posts.
He’s doing something small that has a big impact.
That’s the kind of compounding interest you’re looking for.
Invest in the small things.
Be available to your clients — when others aren’t.
Do something that “wows” them.
Something small.
That adds up to something big.
Ok, I guess I should go make my bed now.