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Success Isn't What You Think It Is. And That's Brilliant.
Three cups of coffee in, staring at my laptop screen at 6:23 AM on a Thursday, I had what the Americans call an "aha moment." After seventeen years of helping executives, tradies, and everyone in between figure out their professional lives, I've realised something most business gurus won't tell you.
Success isn't about grinding harder. It's about getting ridiculously good at the boring stuff.
The Melbourne Revelation
I was running a workplace training session for a construction company in Melbourne's west. Big blokes, hard hats, zero tolerance for corporate fluff. The site foreman – let's call him Dave – pulled me aside during smoko.
"Mate," he said, "I've been doing this for twenty-three years. Same job, same site office, same problems every bloody day. How come some blokes just seem to have their shit together?"
Dave had accidentally nailed the core of habit formation. The successful ones weren't necessarily smarter or luckier. They'd just figured out how to make the right things automatic.
Why Most Success Advice Is Complete Rubbish
Here's what drives me mental about the self-help industry: they sell you motivation when what you really need is systems. Motivation is like deodorant – it wears off, and you need to reapply it constantly.
I used to be one of those consultants who preached about "finding your why" and "manifesting your dreams." Complete bollocks, honestly. Then I watched one of my clients – a quiet accountant from Adelaide – systematically build a seven-figure practice by doing three specific things every single day for eighteen months.
No vision boards. No morning affirmations. Just three habits, executed religiously.
The uncomfortable truth? About 67% of people who attend success seminars are in exactly the same position twelve months later. The other 33% didn't get inspired – they got systematic.
The Four Pillars That Actually Work
1. Start Stupidly Small
I mean embarrassingly small. Want to read more? Don't commit to a book a week. Commit to one page. Every day. No exceptions.
My mate Johnno from Brisbane wanted to get fit. Instead of joining a gym and promising to work out five times a week (classic amateur mistake), he committed to putting on his running shoes every morning. That's it. Just the shoes.
Six months later, he'd completed his first half-marathon. Not because putting on shoes is magical, but because habits compound. One small action becomes the trigger for bigger ones.
2. Stack Like Your Life Depends On It
Habit stacking is linking a new behaviour to something you already do automatically. After I brush my teeth, I'll write down three priorities for the day. After I grab my first coffee, I'll check yesterday's numbers.
The beauty of this approach is you're hijacking existing neural pathways instead of trying to create new ones from scratch. Much less mental energy required.
3. Design Your Environment for Laziness
This is where most people stuff up completely. They rely on willpower instead of engineering their surroundings for success.
Want to eat healthier? Don't stock junk food. Want to read more? Leave books everywhere and hide your phone charger. Want to exercise? Sleep in your gym clothes.
I learned this lesson the hard way after failing to maintain a meditation practice for three years running. Finally worked when I put the meditation app shortcut exactly where Instagram used to be on my phone. Muscle memory did the rest.
4. Track Everything (But Make It Simple)
If you can't measure it, you can't improve it. But here's the thing – most tracking systems are way too complicated.
I use a simple wall calendar. Green tick for days I do my three core habits. Red cross for days I don't. That's it. Visual, immediate feedback without the faff of complicated apps or spreadsheets.
The Compound Effect Nobody Talks About
Here's what happened with Dave, the foreman I mentioned earlier. We identified three habits:
- Check the weather and adjust plans accordingly (every morning at 7 AM)
- Do a five-minute site safety walk (before the crew arrived)
- Update project status in real-time (instead of batch updating on Fridays)
Tiny changes. After eight weeks, his projects were running 23% ahead of schedule and safety incidents had dropped to basically zero. The company promoted him to regional manager within six months.
The compounding wasn't just professional. Dave started applying the same systematic approach to his personal life. Lost weight, improved his relationship with his wife, even took up photography.
The Dark Side of Success Habits
Not everything's sunshine and rainbows. Building habits is boring. Maintaining them is harder. There's no instant gratification, no dramatic transformation stories for Instagram.
I've seen brilliant people give up on perfectly good systems because they weren't seeing immediate results. Success habits are like investing – the magic happens in years, not weeks.
Also, be prepared for people to think you're weird. When you start showing up consistently, when your standards become non-negotiable, some folks get uncomfortable. Success habits expose other people's excuses.
The Australian Advantage
We've got something unique going for us in this country – we're naturally suspicious of over-the-top promises and grandiose claims. That skepticism is actually perfect for building sustainable habits.
While Americans are busy "crushing their goals" and "smashing their targets," we can quietly get on with the business of showing up every day. Less drama, better results.
What to Do Right Now
Pick one habit. Just one. Make it so small you'd feel ridiculous not doing it. Link it to something you already do automatically. Set up your environment to make it easier. Track it simply.
That's it. No life coaching required, no expensive programs needed.
I mentioned earlier that I used to get this completely wrong. Thought success was about inspiration and breakthrough moments. Turns out it's much more mundane – and much more achievable – than that.
Related Reading:
The successful people aren't special. They just figured out how to make the right things automatic. Everything else is just noise.
P.S. – If you're in Perth and struggling with this stuff, book a coffee. I'm probably more help in person than on paper anyway.