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How have you been in a situation where you've focused so much on the outcome that you forgot to pay attention to what helped you achieve it?

I've been there too, we all do, and if we continue to follow societal expectations, we will end up running low on the resources that help us achieve the outcomes or, worse, never create the result, ever.

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So how do we balance both? Well, our effectiveness is balanced between the Desired Outcome [O] and Sustained Resources [R] = O/R

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This is best told using Aesop's Fable story of The Goose and the Golden Egg. It tells the story of a farmer who owned a goose that laid golden eggs daily. The Farmer became incredibly wealthy because of this particular Goose and the valuable eggs it produced.

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The Farmer's greed started to consume him. He became impatient and desired to acquire all the golden eggs at once. He thought, "If the goose can lay one golden egg each day, it must have many more inside." So one day, the Farmer cut open the Goose to find all the golden eggs.

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However, to his dismay, he found the Goose was like any other ordinary goose on the inside. There were no golden eggs hidden within.

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The valuable lesson here: greed cost him his source of wealth—the importance of being content with what we have.

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What is the Farmer's effectiveness; the desired outcome is the Golden Eggs, and the sustained resource is the Goose. If he spent all his time obsessing over the golden eggs, he'd neglect the health and well-being of the Goose, the resource that sustains the outcome.

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Alternatively, what if he solely focused on the Goose? Constantly cared for it and nurtured it. Never concerned about anything else, he'd have a bunch of eggs which hold little value. Soon enough, he'd have no food, and neither would the Goose.

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Clearly, a case of failure to be in a balance of O/R.

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Let's look at some examples.

We can apply this simple concept of O/R to our lives to assess the effectiveness of maintaining our results.

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Example 1

Outcome:

Have a healthier lifestyle.

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Sustained Resources:

Health, Nutrition, Conscious Eating, Discipline, Commitment, Focus, Sacrifice, Excercise, Mind Management

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Result:

Our ability to achieve and maintain a healthier lifestyle depends on sustained resources. Focusing solely on the outcome without nurturing these resources leaves us unable to achieve lasting health. Merely relying on exercise to compensate for unhealthy habits, such as consuming fast food, proves ineffective. To transform our lives and sustain a healthier lifestyle, nurture these essential resources; only then can we embrace lasting, meaningful changes.

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Example 2

Outcome:

Make up the bed without being told

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Sustained Resources:

Communication, listening, playing, leading by example, celebrating, relationship

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Result:

To ensure children willingly and enthusiastically make their beds in the morning, we must foster a balance between nurturing our resources and focusing on the desired outcome. Merely fixating on the outcome may lead to nagging, shouting, or losing our temper when the expected result is not met. However, the true lesson lies in their long-term growth, which can only be achieved by consistently nurturing.

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Example 3

Outcome:

An effective personal brand

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Sustained Resources:

Self-navigation, discipline, personal development, laser-focused, empowering beliefs, principle-centred, no validation, self-directed

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Result:

To achieve and sustain an effective personal brand, we must build upon our inner resources and establish success-oriented parameters. If our focus solely revolves around the outcome, we risk perpetually seeking external validation and adopting identities that deviate from our authentic selves. Instead, by cultivating our resources, we can maintain the essence of our personal brand and avoid becoming disconnected from our core identity.

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“People spend all their time focusing on the external aspect of success and never address the internal aspect that produces it.” - Billy Alsbooks

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We've all experienced the pressure to deliver results in our jobs consistently. One instance that comes to mind is when I worked at SUBWAY, a sandwich chain, and the owner purchased a new coffee machine. As the years went by, the machine inevitably began to wear down.

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Despite our inconsistent ability to provide quality coffee to customers, the owner refused to invest in fixing the machine while simultaneously demanding an improvement in service quality. This imbalance in the Desired Outcomes (O) and Sustained Resources (R) is evident. Without balance, the effectiveness of the company suffers.

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This situation is reminiscent of how we often handle our vehicles. We tend to neglect to spend money on maintenance until something breaks down.

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Similarly, when my sole focus was losing weight, I tried all the hacks and trade tricks. I did succeed in losing weight—four stones, to be exact. However, in half the time it took me to shed those pounds, I gained back three stones. My inability to maintain my weight loss highlights my inefficiency in sustaining the desired outcome.

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Could you be more effective, Champions?

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Assess your effectiveness, and balance the short-term with the long-term:

1. What am I trying to achieve? What's my outcome?
2. Where am I investing my time? O/R?
3. What changes do you need to make?

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Until next time, get yourself in a state of effectiveness.

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