The mantra of professional athletes everywhere is ‘short-term pain, long-term gain.’ It’s an expression that rings as true in the office, the boardroom, and the workplace, as it does on the football field, the running track and the baseball pitch.
As branding expert Sherri Nourse explains, “I tell everyone that if you want to succeed in all aspects of life, you should never lose sight of the big picture. Never settle back and say, “Good enough.” You must always keep striving and chasing your goals. It’s all too easy to get distracted in this push-button age through instant gratification and immediate reward, but real, meaningful, and lasting success takes time and a whole lot of effort. You’ve got to play the long-game if you want to be a real winner.”
One look at the California girl’s track record will tell you she puts her money where her mouth is. As the founder of Ambition Media and its subsidiary company @motivationmafia, Nourse knows all about helping others realize their dreams. But she doesn’t sugarcoat the process which can make it happen. She’s the first to admit if you want to make your big idea a reality, you’ve got to give 101 percent and then a little more.
“I tell my clients straight off the bat, no matter how much blood, sweat, and tears you think you’ve given, be prepared to give a little more,” explained Nourse. “The trick is to keep your eye on the prize and ask yourself, ‘What am I really in this for? A small slice of the cake or the whole buffet?’”
Helping businesses and entrepreneurs make their mark and achieve their goals is what Nourse does for a living. She has a habit of making it look effortless, but that’s only because she’s exceptionally talented at what she does. She’s often asked the secret of her success, but she’s always quite modest in her response.
“It’s really quite simple,” she revealed, “Work hard and don’t get carried away with the first flush of success. I’ve seen too many people who are not prepared to sacrifice short-term gains for long-term goals. They think only of today and tomorrow and not three years from now. This is always a huge mistake.”
Nourse added, “Long-term goals are so important because they help shape you as a person. They give you a sense of greater purpose, they help create a compelling vision for your company, and they tell the world that you are a person of integrity, ambition, and vision.
“I tell my clients not to get overwhelmed or daunted by long-term goals. I always advise to break up what you need to do into small, sizable chinks and concentrate on the task at hand before moving on to the next. It’s like walking up a mountain, it’s hard to believe you’ll ever reach the top, but unless you make those first few small steps, you’ll never breathe the air of the heights. And although it’s important to take rest breaks along the way, you should always keep going until you get to the top.”
