Take the Stairs
7 Steps to Achieving True Success
When you appraoch a set of stairs and an escalator what do you do? If you're like 95% of the world, you hop on the escalator but Rory Vaden tells us if we want true success in our lives we need to quit looking for shortcuts and Take the Stairs! In the Note we'll look at how to quit being a Should-head, embrace the Pain Paradox and get our Visioneering on.
Big Ideas
- Self-DisciplineThe 7 strategies to build it.
- The Pain ParadoxEasy now = hard later + vice versa
- Are You a Should-Head?“Should I?” --> “How do I?”
- Focus Is PowerMagnify your energy
- Silencing Mr. MTurn up your positive self-talk
- VisioneeringVision + engineering
- The Rent Axiom+ The law of diminishing intent
- Lifestyle of ActionYou must develop it.
“The last time you came up to a set of stairs and an escalator, did you Take the Stairs? If you’re like 95% of the world, then you probably didn’t. Most people don’t; most of the time we look for shortcuts. We all want to be successful and we all want to have a happy life, but we constantly look for the easy way. We look for the ‘escalator’ in hopes that life will be easier. Unfortunately, in our search for making things easier, we are actually making them worse…
Take the Stairs is about self-discipline—the ability to take action regardless of your emotional state, financial state, or physical state. This book isn’t about doing things the hardest way possible, but it is about doing the hardest things as soon as possible so that you can get whatever you want in life—as soon as possible.
Imagine what you could accomplish if you could get yourself to follow through on your best intentions no matter what. ”
~ Rory Vaden from Take the Stairs
What do YOU do when you approach a set of stairs and an escalator?
I’m smiling as I type this because I just LOVE this metaphor.
I’ve been having fun taking the stairs *every.single.time* for years—not only as a way to get a little more movement into my life, but as a commitment to the principles Rory Vaden talks about in this book.
Society conditions us to look for the magic bullet or “Secret” that’ll magically manifest all the shiny things we want in our lives.
But, Rory tells us, that’s not how it works.
Successful people have developed their self-discipline to consistently do the things most people don’t feel like doing.
In short: They’ve mastered themselves. And, in this great little book, Rory walks us through his 7 strategies for achieving that mastery and the success the follows.
I really enjoyed the book. Get a copy here.
For now, let’s have fun working out our self-mastery muscles as we explore a handful of my favorite Big Ideas!
Download MP3
Download PDFSuccessful people have all had to do things they didn’t feel like doing in order to get where they are.
Get the Book
Listen to the PodcastTHE 7 STRATEGIES FOR SELF-DISciPLINE
“In the chapters that follow, I will introduce you to the seven strategies you’ll need in order to Take the Stairs to the life you’ve always wanted. They are seven principles that you can count on that are reflected in the minds and lives of the people I’ve met, seen, read, or talked to who are living their dreams…
The seven principles for simplifying self-discipline to liberate your potential are:
- Sacrifice: The Paradox Principle
- Commitment: The Buy-In Principle
- Focus: The Magnification Principle
- Integrity: The Creation Principle
- Schedule: The Harvest Principle
- Faith: The Perspective Principle
- Action: The Pendulum Principle”
The book is built around those seven strategies for making self-discipline simple.
Let’s start with the first:
THE PAIN PARADOX
“So, counterintuitively an easy life in the long term comes from the sacrifice of completing more difficult tasks here and now. But the paradigm-shifting insight and breakthrough that successful people have made that many others have not is that often these more difficult activities are only necessary for a short amount of time.
Which brings us to the Pain Paradox of decision making that states the short-term easy leads to the long-term difficult, while the short-term difficult leads to the long-term easy. The great paradox is that what we thought was the easy, what looks like the easy, what seems like the easy way very often leads us to creating a life that couldn’t be more opposite of easy. And inversely the things that we thought were most difficult, the challenges that appear to be the toughest, and the requirements that seem most rigorous are the very activities that lead us to the life of easy that we all want.”
The Pain Paradox.
Essentially: Doing that which is easy now often makes things difficult later while doing that which is difficult now often makes things easier later.
Simple but powerful insight that Rory brings to life with a great story about cows and buffalo.
Growing up on the plains of Colorado, Rory noticed that cows responded to a storm very differently than buffalo responded to the same storm.
The short story: Imagine a storm moving in. Cows wait until the storm has arrived and then they try to run away from it. Problem is, once they start running, they can’t outrun the storm so, paradoxically, they get rained on longer.
Buffalo, on the other hand, notice the storm is coming and then wait until it reaches the crest of the peak of a mountain and then CHARGE DIRECTLY INTO the storm. By doing so, they dramatically reduce the amount of time they spend getting dumped on.
Very smart, these buffalo.
How about you?
When you sense a storm brewing in your life, how do you respond?
Do you avoid the challenge and then try to run away from it like the cows? (Thereby extending the amount of time you get wet?)
Or, do you RUN STRAIGHT AT the storm and thereby decrease the overall time you’re wet?
There’s our Pain Paradox.
By pursuing the easy in the near-term, we create more difficulty over the long run. But by leaning into the difficult NOW, we make it easier for ourselves over the long run. As Rory says, “Problems that are procrastinated on are only amplified.”
Let’s charge into our challenges!
P.S. This reminds of Paul Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress where his hero has a shield that makes him invincible with one caveat: He has to head STRAIGHT AT his challenges. If he turns and runs away, the shield loses its power. :)
Are you a should-head?
“Another illustration of the difference our simple choices can make comes in a powerful book by Mac Anderson and Sam Parker called 212: The Extra Degree. In the book, and a corresponding short video, the authors demonstrate the fact that at 211 degrees water is hot—but at 212 degrees it boils.
‘With boiling water comes steam; and steam can power a locomotive. It’s that 1 degree that makes all the difference,’ the authors say. They go on to illustrate the impact of 1 degree through several life examples.
I believe it is that 1 degree that is the miniscule, almost unnoticeable, nearly invisible, yet tantamount difference between choosing an attitude that says, ‘I’m not sure yet,’ and one that says, ‘I’m in for good.’ That is, one that asks, ‘Should I?’ versus one that asks, ‘How will I?’
This 1-degree difference of commitment distinguishes which people you can count on and which ones will flake out on you.”
This is from the second chapter on the importance of Commitment.
Rory walks us through what he calls “The Commitment Continuum” where our attitude varies from “I’m not sure yet” where you’re kinda sorta almost committed but still not 100% to “I’m in for good” where you’ve made a true 100% commitment.
When you go from 53% or 81% or 92% or even 99.7% committed to an ABSOLUTE ALL-IN 100 (!!!!) % commitment, you quit being what Rory calls a “should-head.”
When you’re truly committed, rather than constantly asking yourself, “Should I do this?” (imagine hands wringing and a pained expression), you ask yourself, “HOW will I do this.”
There’s a HUGE difference between those two questions.
Imagine something in your life that you’ve kinda sorta almost really committed to. Can you see how much time you waste negotiating with yourself because of your ambivalence?
Always checking in to ask yourself “Should I do this?” is like bringing your water up to 211 degrees. You might be pretty hot, but you’re not BOILING.
If we want to create extraordinary power in our lives, we need to add that extra 1 degree.
And the way we do that is through our COMMITMENT.
Switch your should to how and watch the water boil.
FOCUS IS POWER
“If you were to lay a piece of paper down on the asphalt on a hot summer day, nothing would happen to it, but if you held a magnifying glass between the piece of paper and the sun, the paper would catch on fire.
Why? Because focus is literally power. Sunlight focused enough creates enough energy to set a piece of paper on fire. Water focused enough, or streamlined enough, can cut through steel. The Magnification Principle of Focus simply states one of life’s most important truths, that Focus Is Power.”
Focus is power.
The opposite of focus? Diffusion.
Rory tells us that too often we dilute/diffuse our focus by allowing ourselves to get too distracted. He tells us that figuring out what NOT TO DO is actually even more important than figuring out what to do.
This is the essence of his second great book, Procrastinate on Purpose. Check out those Notes for more.
For now, let’s do a quick inventory. And, let’s be direct.
How do you waste your time?
I waste my time on these activities:
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________.
Got it. Awesome.
Now a good time to eliminate those distractions from your life and FOCUS?
P.S. Did you know the average American over 2 years old watches 34 hours of TV a week? That’s 9 years of their lives. That’s officially INSANE.
SILENCING MR. M
“If you’re going to Take the Stairs and you’re going to be successful, you have to learn to discipline yourself to use positive affirmations. Train your mind so that every time you here Mr. Mediocrity going off about something, your personal alarm will sound and you will immediately exterminate his fire by spraying it with a blast of positive self-talk. This will feel stupid at first. Actually, it might always feel a little silly. I will tell you right now that most people do not want to use positive affirmations. But remember: Successful people do what others don’t feel like doing—and that is why they get extraordinary results.”
Mr. Mediocrity. Mr. M for short.
That’s the name Rory gives to that tiny little guy in your head who’s constantly talking to you. He’s so small he’s almost invisible. But WOW does he have a big mouth! Hah.
If we allow him to do his work, Mr. M is the great killer of momentum.
We need to discipline ourselves to notice the moment he takes over the airwaves with his negative banter and turn his volume down by cranking up our positive self-talk.
Replace, “Oh, you’re an idiot.” “Why’d you say you’d do that?” “Blah blah blah blah blah.” with something along the lines of “I’ve got this!” “Yes!!!” “Let’s do this!!” or whatever else fires you up and keeps you strong.
Let’s focus our thoughts and feel the power.
Visioneering
“Focusing our thoughts is the entry point for all creation in our entire life. Before we create anything in our physical world, it first must be conceived in our mental world. Some people call it purpose, some call it vision, and some call it possibility. The term I prefer is ‘visioneering.’ I got the term from author Andy Stanley and I love it because it appropriately accounts for the two most critical aspects of creating a new idea—a ‘vision’ and ‘engineering.’
Regardless of whether you call it a goal, a purpose, or a vision, the bottom line is that you need to have one. Developing a vision isn’t an academic exercise, it’s not an element of a business plan, and it’s not a metaphysical meeting with the universe. A vision is an inspiring mental picture that propels you to take action. Your vision is important because the amount of your endurance, and the intensity of your focus, is directly proportionate to the clarity of your vision…
A great vision is like a powerful magnet pulling you into a future of becoming a better you.”
Visioneering.
I love that word.
One part VISION and one part ENGINEERING.
Let’s start with the vision.
What do you want in your life? Wave a magic wand and imagine five years from now: You’ve worked hard, things have come together and you’ve created your ideal life.
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
Take the time right now to imagine it. What is your life like? As Rory asks: “How clear is your vision? What do you want? If you could live any type of lifestyle, what would it look like? Isn’t it worth the time to write it out?”
This is my ideal life five years from now:
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Fantastic.
Now, let’s do the engineering part of the equation.
Who do you need to BE and what do you need to DO to bring that vision to life? What fundamentals will you integrate into your life? How will you show up day in and day out? What systems will you build for yourself?
This is who I need to be and what I need to do to make that a reality: ____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Exciting. Let’s make that happen. :)
P.S. One of the most powerful ways to engineer your vision is to focus on creating what Rory calls ideal days. I call them “Masterpiece days” in this video you may enjoy. What’s your ideal day look like? Map that out. And crush it. :)
the rent axiom + the law of diminishing intent
“They [people who set New Year’s resolutions but don’t follow through] are simply, through their own unawareness, victims of the law of diminishing intent. They are people who do not realize how fickle—and fleeting—our own intentions can be. Understanding this phenomenon explains why New Year’s Resolutions rarely work. We can’t make a resolution once a year and expect it to leverage us to action for that entire period of time. Instead, as Albert Gray wrote in 1940, ‘Any resolution that is made today must again be made tomorrow.’ And the next day, and the next day, and the next day (remember the Rent Axiom?).”
Wonder why New Year’s Resolutions rarely work? Because people forget the law of diminishing intent—we may start all fired up (!!) but unless we cultivate that spark of inspiration EVERY.SINGLE.DAY, it’ll fade and we’ll fall short.
Rory calls this the Rent Axiom which, in essence is “the mind-set success is never owned—it is only rented—and the rent is due every day.”
We need to re-commit day in and day out. We need to pay the rent every day. Let’s do that!
you must develop a lifestyle of action
“You must develop a lifestyle of action. You must commit to action. You must embrace action. If you act, if you do, if you move, then you can have anything you want. If you do not act, then you understand but do not believe. If you do not act, you are merely an informed derelict. If you do not act, you are an unfortunate harbor of unused potential. If you do not act, if you do not do, if you do not move, then you shall not have.
You will act. You will win.”
Action. That’s our final strategy and the one that brings it all together.
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