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Hi Team,

Several decades ago I bought my first house (a terrace house in Albert Park) in partnership with my brother, long before I was a builder. Together we had grand plans to fully renovate and extend the Victorian Terrace, but we had no idea about how to go about this ambitious task. Luckily, a family friend who was a builder (who I ended up working with for 4 years 2 years later) gave me the following advice "every day just do something positive to do with the renovation. That way you will make a little progress each day, which will build up over time". Over several months this consistent action compounded, and we made significant leaps forward, a year later the renovation was finished.

Another significant example of the power of consistent action in my life has been our property at Shoreham. For 18 years every time I visit the property, I make sure that I do something small to improve the property. That way every time I leave the property it is slightly better than when I arrived. Again, the consistency of doing small positive things have compounded over 18 years to create the special place my family gets to enjoy together.

"Consistency is an underappreciated form of intentional magic disguised as a mundane doing." Victoria Erickson

Over the last two years I have written several Weekly Emails about "habits and discipline". In # 91 I explored 
"Excellence Through Constant Improvement” and how you can improve what you do even when times are tough by making small consistent changes to your work. In # 98 I explained why "Work Ethic" is one of the most important ingredients in the recipe for success (i.e., showing up each day and doing the work). In # 106 I outlined the belief that "Willpower and discipline are not enough for long term success" and I used the example of how Michael Phelps trained 7 days a week for 5 years without missing a single day leading up to the 2016 Olympics, because he loved his work and totally believed he could be the best swimmer of all time. Then last week a Blog article by Shane Parish, tied all the above teachings together for me when he simply explained that all long-term results come from consistency.

"Consistency is what transforms average into excellence." Unknown

It appears to me that consistency is one of the most underrated life skills. Discipline can only take you so far, because discipline needs a lot of effort and will dwindle over time. But consistency on the other hand takes very little effort, and once you develop the habits and routines needed to maintain the consistency, it pretty much takes care of itself.

"When people seem uncommonly disciplined, look for a powerful ritual hiding in plain sight." Shane Parish

Successful people consistently do what they are good at doing, they follow their routines and execute their habits. This structure and rhythm give their work momentum so that it's hard to stop and easy to keep going. They no longer need to rely on grit or motivation, and it no longer feels like hard work. So, what looks like skill or talent is often just a series of habits and routines carried out consistently. This is how consistency creates talent.

"If you are persistent, you will eventually get it. If you are consistent, you will keep it." Unknown

Thanks for reading,
Stay safe and strive for consistency.
David