The #1 Difference Between Those Who Are Successful and Those Who Aren’t

Have you asked yourself these questions before:

• How have others had that success?
• Why haven’t I had the same success?
• How do I elevate the success I’ve had even more?

I have had many people over the years asking me (this is not a brag because I do this to others too):

• “How have you been successful?”
• “How have you been able to do the things you've done?”
• “How have you been able to reach certain goals?”

These are the questions that I get asked. These are the questions I ask others, my colleagues and my clients.

But why do we do it? We ask because we want an easier and simpler way. 

I have to state that there are so many factors based on 

• who the person is
• what their business or career or industry is
• the steps they take
• the mentoring they have
• the coaching they have
• the programs they buy 

What is the one trick that can go across the board with all successful people? What is one thing that no matter who you are, where you are, you can do? Because there is one major difference between those who are successful and those who aren't. 

Let me first share a story…of how I learnt that trick

I am part of a mastermind led by a coach who I've been with for six years. I go to his mastermind three times a year with all the other coaching clients. I see clients come and clients go.

I've seen how people come and they learn all this fabulous material. Then we go back into our own worlds and our own businesses. Then we come back and we learn more incredible material. People were noticing that I was getting ahead and having really great success with what this coach was telling me. 

Also, as I was growing up, people would say to me, 

• “Wow, Diane, how have you been able to have the success you've had?”
• “How have you been able to be the captain of this team or the president of that or win this award?” 
• “How have you been able to do the specific things in your business?” 
• “How have you been able to have a successful coaching practice, while also having two young children and being pregnant for some of that time?” 
• “How have you been able to publish books?” 
• “How have you been able to be consistent with your podcast?” 
• “How have you been able to launch new programs and continue to launch new programs?” 

Now, on the practical side, I have probably given numerous answers… very specific to each of these things. Again, I'm not saying all these things to brag by any means. I'm just saying them to prove my point. 

Let's go back to the new members coming into this coaching community and asking me, “How have you had so much success with this coach's program?” 

It all comes down to one single word.

Implementation. 

I had to really think about what is something that anyone could do, no matter who you are, what industry, what position you are in, no matter what it is. It’s implementation. 

When I learn a technique or strategy, I also write down how I would implement it and prepare the steps I will take. Either I'd send it off to my team, or I'd do it myself. 

Then when I showed up at the next mastermind, I had things done. For example:

• another book done
• my speaker brochure done
• put into place a specific sales tactic that I use when I offer from stage

Now, you may say, “Well, Diane, you have a team.” That’s true, but not everything I had my team do. I also didn’t always have a team. I just did the work. Implementation is the thing that helped me get forward. 

My peers would come to me and say, “Oh, how have you had so much success?” The answer, “I just implemented what I was told.” 

• It's kind of like, we all know what to do to be healthy. We all know what to do around exercise and nutrition. But are you implementing it? 
• We all know what we're supposed to do to have a more positive mindset and to be more in tune with ourselves. But are we doing it? 
• We all know how to have a good night's sleep, but are we going to bed early? Are we actually implementing what we have learned?

Sometimes when I've given a talk, people say, “Oh, yeah, I know that” or “Oh, I teach that.” But the key thing is, are you actually implementing it? 

There's a huge difference between KNOWING something and IMPLEMENTING something. Being TAUGHT something and IMPLEMENTING something. That's the difference between those who have been successful and those who haven't. 

Is this just a wonderful idea on paper? Or is this actually something that you are putting into your business or your life? ​

Now, I get that not everything you’re taught should be implemented. Either it's not right for your business or your life, or you're focusing on other pieces. Therefore, you have to put those ideas on the backburner. If I go back to the health topic, if you are wanting to be healthier, it's maybe not wise that tomorrow you implement a healthy eating plan, a fitness plan, a sleep plan, to reach out to all the different doctors and to implement everything you possibly could, because you still want to have balance in your life. But which piece can you implement right away and how do you make it easier? 

Suggestions on how you can Implement Faster and Better!

1: Decide what you want to implement

Go through these questions:

• “What do I want to implement?” 
• “Which ideas do I want to implement?” 
• “What do I want to have success in?” 
• “What results do I want to have?” 

2: Come up with a plan

After deciding what you want to implement, you have to come up with a plan of how you're going to actually do it. Also, is it you or someone else implementing it? If you want someone else to do it, hire someone else to do it. If that seems overwhelming, we can talk and have my virtual assistants implement for you. 

But the key thing is, you have to take some steps. You have to move forward towards getting it done. 

You have two choices: (1) you can implement it very quickly and all at once or (2) you can take your time. 

You can lock yourself in a room and write your book over the course of the next few weeks. Or you could do a thousand words everyday and be done in a year or be done in so many months.   

You have different options on how you implement. But the key thing is to just get going. A lot of it is around making a commitment to having it done.

3: Reflect & Commit

Reflect right now on your life and ask yourself, “What are the things I want to do or I want to have happened?” “Do I have an implementation plan for those?” Maybe you don't. Maybe that's why you haven't had as much success as you had hoped. Maybe the reason why you haven't reached some of your goals is that you're just not implementing what you want. A lot of that comes down to:

• Is it a SMART goal? 
• Is it a life goal? 
• Is it something that you like right in front of you that you're being reminded of?

98% of people don't implement. That's the funny thing. There are so many reasons why people don't implement. I'm not going to go into all of them, but it's a choice. 

When I'm working with a client, we set up what they are committing to. There's accountability. There is support on how to do it. There's a due date. If you don't currently have that with your coach, get that into place. It's all good and well to have all these amazing ideas come your way, but if you are not going to set up the accountability and know when you're going to do it, and how you're going to do it, and what the due date is, there is a very high chance, not even a chance, but a guarantee that you're not going to achieve it. 

Wrapping Up

Last two questions: 

• What is it you need to implement in your life? 
• What is it you need to implement in your business? 

I'll give you an example of something that I'm implementing in my life. I need to implement a better nighttime routine, so that I actually go to bed at a decent time. I've been wanting to do this for a long time. I've been reading the 5AM Club and want to move myself to getting up at that time. This is one example of something to implement… to put into place. 

Then on the business side, what I'm really implementing is a lot of systems and processes in my business because I don't want to be so valuable to my business that I can't step away from it when it's necessary. 

Let me know, what are some things that you need to implement in your life? Trust me, they are going to make you so much more successful. I’m not defining successful as lots of money or successful in the way of promotions. That can come. But successful just in how you look at your life, and if you can say, “Wow, I'm so proud of myself. I feel satisfied with what I've been able to do.” That is really the true testament of success. 

What now?

Go implement one thing. One thing. Don't take the fuel and the time that you've invested in reading this blog in vain. I hope it's inspired you. 

P.S. If you do want someone to help you implement, we can have a conversation about that. I do have a team of virtual assistants in the Philippines. They are skilled. They are hardworking. They're vetted already by me. They're trained. They have a lot of systems and processes from me. If you want to know more about that, just reach out to me by sending an email to diane@dianerolston.com

Read my other blogs here:

1. 3 Things to Help You Spend More Time Doing the Things You Love
2. 3 Solutions to Stop Spreading Yourself Too Thin
3. 4 Steps to Stop Judging Yourself