My wife sparked the idea for this post.
A couple weeks ago she was frustrated after researching some medical information.
She said:
I don’t know what to believe.
So many people. So many different opinions and pieces of advice.
And I definitely get that feeling. I’ve had it many times over the years.
Here is one little story from my life…
An Overweight Athlete
You can read the full story here.
But a quick overview…
In 2011, I was getting tired of hearing all kinds of advice about losing weight. I wasn’t really overweight or obese.
But I was a guy that had been active his entire life. Always playing sports. But also eating whatever I wanted.
I followed all the standard advice:
- Count calories
- Eat less
- Eat less fat
- Eat more whole grains
All that BS.
Then a light bulb went on.
All the people telling me this traditional advice were in bad shape themselves. Overweight. Exhausted all the time. Even my doctors.
That didn’t make sense. I guess I had been following their advice and I was on the path to being just like them.
Go figure.
So I made a choice to find people that were healthy and to do what they were doing.
Simple.
So I found that site, Mark’s Daily Apple (and others like it), and things changed and they’ve been great ever since. That’s 6+ years now and my health has been great.
Results Break Through The BS
We’re getting close to the NFL season. You see a lot of BSers around the NFL. A lot of coaches that talk a big game, but don’t deliver. Same with general managers and players.
Words don’t really mean much, though. They can talk concepts and this and that and whatever.
But unless they’re winning consistently is it really worth listening to them?
It’s the same in the business world. People will promise things. It can sound great. But do they have the results to prove it? Are they even following their own advice?
Final Thought
The next time you’re looking for information and you’re struggling with what to believe just take a moment to step back. Look at the results.
Humans are great imitators. When we’re kids we learn the most by simply watching what others are doing. We learn to walk by watching others. We learn to talk by listening to others.
That never really goes away. Not unless we ignore it.
Don’t ignore your instinct to follow others. Just be careful about the ones you’re listening to and following.
If you want to be successful at something then do what the successful people are doing.