The Biggest Secret to Success: Normalization

So you have your goal, your vision, your specific number that will take your business to the next level.  Now what? How do you transform that wishful thinking into a wonderful reality?

Everyone sets goals, but without transforming them into something of a habit, goals remain nothing more than an unrealistic achievement. They never become something that seems normal and attainable.

My first goal as an entrepreneur was to make $10k per month. Then I started hanging out with these entrepreneurs who were doing way more than that, and I thought, “$10k is embarrassing. I need to do more than that.” The principle I stumbled into that day has continued. I’m constantly seeking out people doing $15M, $20M, etc. and finding ways to be around them.

So let’s talk about this idea of normalization and how to actually implement it in your life, business, relationships, health, etc.

The biggest secret 

Normalization is the process of making something that seems far out instead seem close and real. It’s setting a goal and believing that the goal isn’t some crazy, pipe-dream, but rather, a normal threshold that your company can and will reach.

There are a lot of things that are normal to us. When you hit the light switch, it’s normal for the light to turn on. When you twist the knob on the sink, it’s normal for water to flow out of it. You wouldn’t celebrate these things because they are normal to you. You’d be concerned, maybe disappointed if they didn’t happen.

If you look at every successful person, there was a point where their success was a pipe dream. Most people have the idea that they had to achieve results before their success became normal. The truth is, for most people we know—ourselves included— it became normal first, then it became reality. That’s normalization. Here’s how it works.

In business, it’s a shift in perspective. Rather than getting trapped in this mindset of “wouldn’t that be nice,” normalization transforms what was once a goal into a business achievement that’s second nature.

Analyze and Change Your Environment

One of the most strategic things you can do to make your goals become reality is to change your environment and community.

Suppose you want to lose 20 pounds, but your normal group of friends doesn’t go to the gym. They survive off of fast-food and coffee. You can’t lose 20 pounds when you’re submerged in this environment where you aren’t surrounded by like-minded people.

Now suppose you want to lose 20 pounds, but this time you surround yourself with fitness gurus and personal trainers. You better believe your goal of losing 20 pounds is something normal for the people you’re surrounded by. As a result, that goal now becomes normal to you. It’s going to be very difficult to not hit that goal now. In fact, it wouldn’t just be difficult, it’d be embarrassing.

The same is true for your business. If you’re working towards bringing in a certain amount of revenue every month, the fastest way to do that is by developing relationships with people who are doing 3x, 5x or 10x that amount. Surround yourself with people who, if they only hit X—your goal—they’d be embarrassed.

Why Is Normalization the Biggest Secret to Success?

Many people believe skills are the foundation of success, and while your skill-set does determine a lot of what you are able to do, it doesn’t determine the success you are able to achieve. Your cap will always be what you believe to be normal. When we implement this in our own lives and businesses, we find ourselves hitting our goals automatically, almost by accident, simply because it becomes par for the course.

When you identify your goals and change your environment to best meet those goals, your skill-set will actually advance up to the level at which you’re operating. Your skills are necessary for your business to exist, but normalization is the catalyst that ignites improvement and motivates future growth.

Normalization takes a vision that seems out of reach, far away, and then shifts your surroundings and perspective around to recognize it as an achievable, and normal goal.