In your pursuit of your dream you will hear a lot about how you have to do the little things. That usually means more than just dotting your I’s and crossing your T’s.
Doing the little things may not always be fun or easy. And sometimes they are not even easy to recognize.
You may just have to do the uncommon things that others might not even consider.
In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins explains that, “Those who turn good into great are motivated by a deep creative urge and an inner compulsion for sheer unadulterated excellence for its own sake.”He says that these people go as far as “rinsing their cottage cheese!”
Collins tells the story of Dave Scott, who won the Hawaiian Triathlon six times. Collins says that, “In training, Dave would ride his bike 75 miles, swim 20,000 meters, and run 17 miles – on average, every single day. Dave Scott did not have a weight problem! Yet he believed a low-fat, high carbohydrate diet would give him an extra edge. So, Dave Scott, a man who burned 5,000 calories a day in training, would literally rinse his cottage cheese to to get the extra fat off…. He believed that rinsing the cottage cheese was simply one more step…. that added to all the other small steps to create a program of super discipline.”
Was the reason that Scott won six Hawaiian Triathlons because he eliminated a little extra fat from his cottage cheese? Maybe or maybe not.
That isn’t really what is important.
Scott had enough discipline and focus to do whatever it takes to win. But there was more than that.
His competitors were likely focused on winning as well, but Scott found an uncommon strategy that reinforced his dedication.
Scott mixed in some creativity with his commitment to create a recipe that certainly gave him an edge. I’m guessing the guy who finished 10th in the triathlon probably didn’t even know rinsing his cottage cheese was an option.
Something that seems little and odd can make all the difference.
What does “rinsing your cottage cheese” look like for your dream?
That might not be an easy question to answer. But finding an answer might just be the difference between finishing 1st and finishing 10th.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
