03-15-16

Some projects never end. We peck and peck at them without praiseworthy progress.

Derek, Project Manager, for a civil contractor in Battle Ground, WA, told Session 4 of Turbo’s Leadership Development Lab (LDL):

“I started taking courses at Clark College when I was in 10th grade at Battleground High School so when I graduated at age 17 I already had several credits. I was able to finish at the age of 18 and graduated with an Associate’s Degree. Now I was considering the next move in my life and career. I had wanted to get a Bachelor’s degree, but the amount of time and money it would take was staggering.

“When I talked with my counselor she told me that most students take 2 to 3 years to finish up with their Bachelor’s, and they usually take 3 to 4 classes per semester. Two or three years? I knew this was too long for me. I asked her if I took 6 classes per semester for a year and a half, would that work? She chuckled and said – I’ve never had anyone take that many classes at once, but you could certainly try! Just let me know if it is overwhelming, and we will drop you out of a few of the classes.

“I hammered down and worked through (and finished up) all of the classes in a year and half. Like the counselor had said, it was tough, but it was worth it. I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in Marketing & Sales earlier this year at age 19. And when I walked across the stage to get my diploma anyone who knows me can picture how I celebrated. I did what I had done when I graduated from high school. I did a backflip right there on stage!

“The lesson I learned from this experience is that when I have a tough task ahead of me, it is better to dedicate my full attention to it and work at it until it is totally done instead of pecking away at it a little at a time.

“The action I want you to take is to think of something you’ve been pushing off or just pecking away at, create a schedule, and set a deadline on your calendar to finish it.

“The benefit you will gain when you finish yet another project you’ve been hoping to get done for a long time is an increased feeling of self-confidence and strengthened self-esteem.”

This is an amazing story of collapsing time frames. If we look at how long it takes the average person to do most anything, we can attack it with 5x more enthusiasm, collapse the time frame and achieve the goal in half the time.