Iteration

Webster defines iteration as:

a procedure in which repetition of a sequence of operations yields results successively closer to a desired result

Read that again, and this time really let it soak in: REPETITION….leading SUCCESSIVELY CLOSER…to a DESIRED RESULT.

From this definition, we can glean several key points -

1. Accept that goals won’t be obtained the first time you attempt to reach them.
2. To get to our destination, we have to know PRECISELY where we’ve been.
3. Give each iteration your all because forces outside your control may make it your last.
4. Counter balance #3 with the faith that you will have the time to reach the goal you want

Let’s go over each point in turn:

No one is perfect

Whatever goal you pick, you won’t reach it perfectly the first time you set out to achieve it. If you want to learn piano, your first time playing will likely produce pain and suffering for you…and those around you. It will take many iterations, many practice sessions, to gain real profiency. But, that’s okay. As a matter of fact, I find substantial value in making mistakes. The best teachers make the most mistakes because they also know what NOT to do. This gives them the ability to anticipate student’s mistakes and allows for correction of the infraction the moment it occurs. So, recognize that every iteration not only brings you closer to your goal, but also teaches you key lessons along the way.

Know where you’ve been

You must measure everything.

Out of all these points, mark this as the most import. No other trait have I seen shared between so many successful people and companies. Successful companies use statistics from previous quarters to drive the success of the next quarter. Olympic athletes ruthlessly time themselves to gauge improvement. Football teams spend hours and hours watching film of their games trying to weed out errors. To accurately judge progress, you need multiple data points or else you might as well stand still. Each data point you get increases your amount of accuracy. And, since the human mind tends to put the best light on past situations, instead of measuring by making a “mental note”, put your trust in a video recorder.

Give it your all

The world is a crazy place. Your life could dramatically change, or even end, tomorrow. Don’t let that lead to inaction. Let it motivate you instead. To quote the illustrious Samuel L. Jackson, don’t”go out like a punk”. Be in the moment, and make this iteration count. If you exercise, “leave it all on the floor” during that next work out. If you’re married, take the time to intimately connect with your partner everyday. Partition your time, partition your mind, and fully focus on the current iteration. Treat each iteration as your last.

Keep the faith

Execute like the future is unknown, but set goals like you will live forever. As stated in point one, the more you iterate the more you learn, so setting goals in easy reach robs you of valuable learning experiences…in addition to wasting your time on easy goals. However, when you aim high, giviving yourself several checkpoints along the way, you will have a series of life long mini-achievements that you can lean on as a source of confidence for conquering the next iteration.

Earn success through iteration

True success isn’t made, it’s earned, and it’s earned over time. By structuring that time into well-defined iterations, you will have a reference point to track progress. Setting lofty, life-long goals will give you many iterations to make mistakes, learn things along the way, and still achieve lasting success that you can be proud of.

That title references a concept introduced by Stephen Covey in his landmark book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This concept encompasses three “habits”:

1. Be Proactive
2. Begin with the End in Mind
3. Put First things First

Even if you haven’t read the book, each of these should intuitively make sense. I will loosely based this website on exploring each of these habits and applying them to your life. Why dedicate a whole website to this concept? Simply because I find it instrumental in creating a good life. As mentioned at Philosopher’s Notes, “if we want all the joys of outward success, first we must master ourselves”.

Covey also introduces one other concept I will address: Sharpening The Saw. This means to create a daily process of renewal, for example exercising, meditating or reading. In some cases, I will break this into two separate topics:

1. Creating a flexible, efficient daily process that takes little effort to maintain.
2. Defining renewal in a way that uniquely applies to you.

Plenty of people experience private victory everyday, and sometimes those victories become public. They range from the famous:

• Bill Gates – through an almost maniac strength-of-will and dumb luck, this Harvard drop-out started the most successful software company in history.
• Oprah Winfery – despite sexual abuse and poverty, Oprah reigns supreme with a world famous talk show that influences the opinions of millions of Americans on a daily basis.

The pseudo-famous:

• J.K. Rowling – divorced after just giving birth to a new baby girl and diagnosed with a suicidal depression, she rose above welfare to become one of the most well-known authors of the 21st century.
• Randy Pausch – a brilliant and highly respected CMU professor earns a spot on Time’s 100 Most Influential People list for giving the lecture of his life (literally) and through which touched the hearts of millions of Americans, only to succumb to pancreatic cancer months later. As an added note, due to his professed love of Star Trek, J.J. Abrams sent Mr. Pausch a personal email offering him a small part in new movie. He even got to keep the uniform.

And, the almost famous:

• Steve Pavlina – a man whose journey of personal growth started while sitting in a jail cell for shop-lifting, overcame his own inner demons to transform into a well-known and respected voice in the Internet self-improvement community, even publishing a book called Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth.
• Sean Stephenson – the most confident man in the world, due to an incredibly debilitating illness, remains permanently bound to a wheel-chair, but he speaks with a reality so strong and a charm so infectious that chair and disability melt into the background, leaving one of the most inspirational, humble and motivational human beings you’ll ever hear.

Of course, I could list many more. In fact, I will leave you with one of my favorites: the story of Chris Gardner, a self-made millionaire who lived homeless with his young son for a year while training at Dean Witter Reynolds. Will Smith portrayed Gardner in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness and I’ve embedded the trailer here. Do your best to pause it around 2:13:

For me, that image epitomizes the essence of private victory: a man walking in a crowd, yet still alone, appaulding himself for perserving enough to do the impossible while knowing that he can’t ever share the true depth of the experience with anyone.

Private victory.

By the way, if you haven’t seen the movie, I suggest you pick it up. Will Smith upped his game and gave the performance of his life…another private victory.