Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / A Quick Masterclass in the 1% Method

Transcript

A Quick Masterclass in the 1% Method · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:12
  Hello, welcome back to the show. Hello, welcome back. How are you doing? I'm so good. So, so good. How are you doing? Me too. I'm feeling great. I feel like we're both in good vibes today and I'm super excited to jump in. We're going to make this a quick, snappy, high value episode all around something called the 1% method. And people that have been listening for a while have probably come across this concept because, Dune, you love this, right?
• 0:42
  I do love the 1% method. I operate and live by it. Exactly. And when we were in Bali recently, you hosted a panel talk one evening. And it was along with Alex Ekon from Intelligent Change and Marie and Jake Snow to travel influencers. I mean, that doesn't encompass everything they do. They're brilliant. Yeah.
• 1:04
  And I feel like this topic just kept coming up again and again. This idea of consistency, chipping away at things, playing the long game, and using the 1% method to build this compound effect of success over time.
• 1:19
  Let's dig into it. Yes, let's dig into it. So you summed it up really well, but the 1% method really, I actually do feel like I talk about it all the time, but it really is the focus and the kind of like prioritizing literally just the 1%. So what does that mean? It means prioritizing, taking daily tiny actions, taking daily daily actions, taking
• 1:41
  consistently over a long period of time and eventually all of those millions of tiny actions really add up and compound. And so then you feel like you've been pushing this huge rock up a hill and then eventually you get to the top of the hill and you're like, holy shit, I did it. And I'm finally here, even though it feels like you're not making much progress in the moment. And I think for me, the reason why I talk about it all the time is...
• 2:08
  I don't know, like life is just, you've got lots of stuff going on. There's like lots of projects you're working on. Like you've, you're balancing like your personal life, your, you know, your love life, your friendships, your family, your hobbies, your pets, like whatever. And sometimes it just feels like you're not getting enough done. And, or, or even like for me, sometimes I'm like not motivated or like I have my period. I feel like shit. I'm like far out. I can't get anything done. And
• 2:36
  That idea of like achieving so much in a day just like goes out the window. And so for me, it's really about, okay, what's the 1% thing that I could do today that shifts the needle forward? And usually I'm like, okay, what is the one thing that if I just get this done and off my list, I'll be proud of myself that I like, you know, took that action. So maybe it's like something you've been delaying on that you've been kind of like,
• 3:01
  I know I need to do this and it's actually really important, but I haven't been doing it. It's kind of like choosing that one thing to do and getting it off your list and then being like, okay, well, whatever else is, you know, not going to happen today, but I did that one tiny thing. And when you do this consistently over a long period of time, eventually that compound effect over, you
• 3:30
  When we're building businesses,
• 3:32
  It really is just millions of tiny actions. And it's the same as like, you know, social media or building a podcast or a TikTok channel, whatever it is, nothing happens overnight. It's this tiny action consistently over a long period of time. And it's a habit and a skill that you need to master because, of course, we all want everything to happen overnight. We all want everything to happen really quickly. But consistent action over the long term is where the magic happens.
• 4:01
  Absolutely. And it's maybe not the sexy thing that gets the headlines and gets these crazy stories. And I think that's why we either forget about it, or we think that things should just happen overnight, because those are the stories that make the headlines. And I read a stat, I think this whole concept comes from James Clear's Atomic Habits. I read about it in there once. So we'll link that in the show notes. Great book.
• 4:24
  And in there, he highlights it as if you do 1% of improvement for two years, every single day, after those two years, you'll be 1400 times better at that thing, which is just mind blowing, right? It's, it's huge.
• 4:39
  It's better than working at something 5% every single day, completely exhausting yourself, going above and beyond and not being able to maintain that consistency and playing the long game and getting completely burnt out. Like you're saying, it's a way to be kind to yourself while still really keeping the needle moving and keeping the ball rolling.
• 4:59
  Totally. And I think the other way that you can also view the 1% method is like, you can implement it into your kind of like home life and personal life. You might be like, oh, I'm just not in the mood to do the dishes. Like, or I'm not in the, I'm feeling lazy and I don't want to like clean up, you know, something or whatever. But it's like, if you just like let the 1% kind of pop into your mind and you're like, you know what, 1% better. I am going to just do the dishes. Like, it's just like this tiny little thing and it can like help you kind of just, you
• 5:28
  take those tiny actions to just do that one thing in the moment and be like, yep, 1%, that'll be 1% better. And I'll be happy with myself, like after I've done the thing. So you can also really use it in like your home life, your personal life to, to make tiny improvements.
• 5:44
  Absolutely. And I was talking about this yesterday and something came up which got me thinking and I wanted to get your take on this. And it's how do you balance this consistent action? So doing something every single day and sticking with it and staying on track with this need to pivot and change and be flexible. Because I feel like we hear both narratives and I think they can live alongside each other. But how would you kind of see this?
• 6:15
  Yeah. So I think that for me, and I think I was talking about this last week when I was at the Startmate event, but for me, you know, I've obviously done a lot of different pivots in my career and with different businesses and things like that. And I really operate under that theory of like, you've got to try things and find things that you don't like to move closer to what you do like. And so I'm,
• 6:39
  I have pivoted multiple times. And when I look back in hindsight, why I've pivoted was because I wasn't really in the past working on something that I felt truly connected to, like I hadn't found my thing.
• 6:54
  I didn't have a strong purpose and a strong why and a strong North Star. And so when you do eventually, you know, try a bunch of things and you finally land on this thing that feels good and you love and you feel that it's in alignment with what you want to be kind of putting out in the world and who you want to be.
• 7:14
  I think that when you do find that, it makes it easier to just continually chip away at because you're kind of just, you're knowing that your North Star is really clear and you're working towards that. And it makes it easier to ride the low seasons and the low points versus like, if you don't really have a strong connection to something or a strong purpose, it's really easy to give up because you're like, you know what? I actually just don't care about this that much. And I just don't really like it. So like, I'm going to move on from this.
• 7:42
  So yeah, having a strong North Star and having a strong purpose kind of like keeps you going in those times when it's tough and you don't really feel, I don't know, like you're thriving, I guess. So yeah, that helps me stay kind of like consistent and just being able to like even just get that one tiny thing done that day and then be like, you know what, fuck it. I'm going to go and enjoy the rest of my day away from my computer because I'm not being productive.
• 8:08
  And I think that North Star, it's such a good point because especially in working at something consistently every day, I think it doesn't need to mean...
• 8:18
  kind of lack of adaptability or resistance to change. Like when you have that North Star there and you're working towards that goal, it doesn't mean that on your way there, you can't pivot and stay open to change and find easier ways to reach that North Star. As long as that North Star remains the same, you're free within that to find your way
• 8:38
  together, if that makes sense. Totally, totally. And I think actually there's something really, there's two kind of like sayings or not even sayings, but two kind of sayings that go together here. And it's like, you should be obsessed with the problem because the product will iterate and evolve. And that's like kind of part of the startup journey. And it still applies for your North Star. It's like, if you're obsessed with your North Star and like what you're doing in the world,
• 9:05
  maybe the product or the pathway is like a bit windy and it takes you like in different directions, but you're still kind of going back to that North Star or that problem that you're solving, that really big, juicy problem. And yeah, like I think in the startup world and especially, you know, the more I hang around with VCs and things like that, it's very much like be obsessed with the problem, not the solution, because the solution will change over time. And I think that also applies for your kind of North Star. Oh, I love that. That's brilliant.
• 9:35
  Do you have any tips or tidbits that have helped you stay on track, especially on those days where you're feeling meh and you feel like giving up and it's hard to even do that 1%? I really structure my days around small moments of joy. So even if I'm having a shitty day, I just try and pack in like the tiny things that I absolutely have in my control that I love to do. So cold showers. Glimmers.
• 10:03
  Sorry? Glimmers. They call this glimmers now instead of triggers. Oh, glimmers. I love that. I didn't know that. Yeah, so like a cold shower. I just love to start my day with a coffee. I love to like cuddle with my dog. These tiny little things that as long as they're like packed in and you prioritize these like small moments of joy, you can still have a great day. So like going for a swim at the beach or just going down to even see the water. Yeah.
• 10:32
  And yeah, cold showers is definitely a big one for me. That's a biggie, right? Yeah. And at the start of this, I remember going through this process a few years back in therapy, having a week where I would just note down absolutely everything that made me happy in a day, because it can be hard to kind of pull these things from the sky. And the thing that might be something for someone might not be the thing for you. But if you self audit yourself for a whole week, and every time you have one of those moments of like, ah, yeah.
• 10:59
  I love this. Write it down. Literally. And then you know exactly kind of which things to pour into your week to keep that positivity up. Yes. It's vibes. To fill your cup. It can be even as simple as just going and putting your feet on the grass outside or like looking up into the sun and getting some vitamin D on your face. The simple things that you really can do consistently every single day and you know that it just brings you a glimmer of joy. Yeah. I love that.
• 11:28
  Yeah, me too. I wanted to leave listeners with just a little advice piece because we've had a few stories on the podcast that are just brilliant consistency stories and really highlight this idea of, you know, reaching overnight success after 10 years.
• 11:47
  keeping going even when you face failure and keeping persistent and keeping on the grind. So I'll link those both in the show notes. But it's one episode with Angela Scott, the founder of the office of Angela Scott, and a brilliant recent episode with ShowPost founder Jane Liu, which talks all through her journey and the power of not giving up.
• 12:09
  So I hope that inspires someone. Love both of those episodes. I was just with Jane a couple of weeks ago and, you know, she has such a powerful story of, you know, the pivot and the resilience and the not giving up. So definitely, definitely take a listen. And if you liked this quick masterclass in the 1%, do let us know in the Facebook group so we can do more of them. Yeah, please do. That's the pod. See you next week. See you next week.
• 12:42
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 13:06
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• 13:29
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