Let’s face it, there is one sure fire way to get ahead–go the extra mile. The above subject line is in Latin, and translates to “nothing good achieved without hard work.”
Turns out rich people say that is their secret to getting rich too. 87% of all rich people say their success is attributed to hard work. If you think you need to inherit money to be rich, not so. Only 30% of people worth over 25 million inherited it.
Living the Fantastic Life means we always go the extra mile. In our work, our relationships, our workouts, our diet, and our goals.
Rule #4 from my book The Fantastic Life: All of Life is Connected
Going the extra mile will cultivate a new habit of hard work that has far-reaching effects. Put in the work in one area of your life and watch it impact all areas of your life beyond your wildest imagination.
“The Extra Mile Is Never Crowded”
By: Eric Ravenscraft
12/17/15
Every day, when you get to work or start your projects, you get to decide how much effort you’re going to put in. A little, the normal amount, or go completely overboard. Few choose that last option, which gives you an advantage.
As writer Adam Chudy points out, going the extra mile isn’t very common (or else it would just be the normal mile). Which makes sense! Why put in more effort than you need to? If you can keep up with everyone else by walking five miles, why go six? Well, there’s at least one good reason: because you immediately stand out just for putting in the effort.
Did you really want that job you applied for? So did the other 1,000 online applicants. How many of them do you think got on Linkedin and reached out personally to the hiring manager or someone in the organization? I can promise you it was a lot less than 1,000. How many of those who emailed, called the front desk, asked for that person, and left them a personal message? Probably nobody. Maybe 1…
If you want people to know your name. If you want the job. The fans. The body. Whatever it is you want. Go the damn extra mile, because I can promise you… it might be lonely but it’s certainly not crowded.
The crazy thing is, we all know this already. We flock to the exceptional like moths to a flame. When someone’s the best at something, we’re in awe of it. We’ll share their videos, post their pictures, tell their stories. It’s easy to assume that they got there because they’re special. Because they were born with just the right set of genes, or circumstances that led to them being the best through no fault of their own. While that helps, more often they simply put in the extra effort where most other people don’t. Being willing to do more than is necessary is often the key distinguishing factor between average and extraordinary.