Go the extra mile - it's less crowded as Featured on Griffith University
It has been an amazing year and you might of heard recently about my recent feature article on the Griffith University website. I have been trying to spread my positive influence to the younger crowds and this was the ideal topic I thought that would make a difference to younger women.
Here is my article: Go the Extra Mile as Featured on the Griffith University website.
“Hey guys,
It's been a while since I dropped in, but I wanted to chat to you about something I've been thinking a lot about lately – going the extra mile. You've probably all heard someone say, "go the extra mile because it's less crowded" and its something that I've been really pondering on personally, as well as professionally when I coach women through their own breakthroughs so I did an IGTV story about it this week.
I've come to realise that plenty of people don't see the power in going the extra mile. I believe that's because so many people underestimate themselves and overestimate everybody else. They also overestimate what they can achieve in the next year and underestimate what they can achieve in the next ten years.
These people don't realise that in just committing to their goal and showing up, they're going to go further than everybody else around them. If you think about it logically, when you're ahead of everybody else, you're going to have more chance of success.
Going the extra mile in my own life.
When I thought about this in my own life, I started thinking about everything that I've achieved – personal goals, professional goals, financial and business milestones. If you know me, you know that I'm not that special! I may be book smart but not street smart (I can be quite the blondie!). I've got great work ethic, and I'm pretty resilient, but I'm really just that girl next door. I didn't come from money but I am white, and I grew up in the Western World, so I am aware that I have plenty of privileges that I am so grateful to have.
But there's nothing that I have that is stopping you from having it too. It's not that I'm special or I have a certain characteristic or trait that you don't have. What I do have is the commitment to take the action that most people won't.
Just take my book, for example. How many people out there want to write a book? Since publishing my book, so many people have come up to me asking me how I did it because they want to write a book too. I know that anyone can write a book and it's a dream for many. The only difference for me is that I worked out the tangible steps along the way that could make me one of the few people that actually did what they said they wanted to.
Credit: Lauren Kerr Babes in Business - sitting with her new book
What did those steps look like?
IDEA
Firstly, obviously yes you've got to have an idea – and that's probably the most challenging part. Your idea could be something that relates to your credentials, your background or your story. We all have a story - never underestimate the power of yours.
COMMIT
Next, you need to put time aside to write the book. Most of us have jobs, families and other commitments, which means life is already pretty busy and stressful. If you don't consciously set aside time to write, the chances are that it probably won't happen.
JUST START
Then, you've just got to start. A lot of us spend too much time in our head getting ready to get ready…and never actually start – and that can relate to plenty of things in life, not just writing a book.
FINISH - SEE IT THROUGH
Once you get started, your focus needs to be on finishing. So many people set out with a desire, a vision or a dream but the hard work and effort become too much, and they never end up finishing.
HAVING RESILIENCE & ACCEPTING JUDGEMENT
After reflecting on these steps, I've realised that this process is how I've achieved everything in my life so far. I went the extra mile, I committed the time, I got started, and I finished. But then, what really helped me get to where I am is having resilience. I submitted my book to plenty of publishers, and I got lots of nos. I think it was six months until I heard back from someone that said they loved my book, believed in me and wanted to give me a chance. I mean, I got two offers from 30, which is 28 nos!
So many people out there would take that sort of rejection personally and just give up on their goal and dreams. Who cares if someone else doesn't believe in your vision?! If I like the colour blue and you like the colour green, does that mean I should stop liking blue?
There are tens of thousands of people around the world that have read my content, and the reality is that not everybody is going to like what I do. I need to be okay with judgement, criticism and opposition because it's just inevitable.
Credit: Lauren Kerr Babes in Business - enjoying the day outside
The ripple effect of going the extra mile.
There have been so many points on my journey where I could have given up because I was too scared or it was too hard or I simply just didn't have the time or I was worried about what people were going to think. Now that I can wake up every morning and look at all the photos that you beautiful people tag me in of you reading my book or consuming my content, it reminds me of the ripple effect of choosing to go the extra mile and backing myself.
My book is just one example and as I look back at my life, every chapter, milestone or achievement, I realise that the secret ingredient in every one of these instances is just going the extra mile, committing to walking a little further where most don’t dare to go…so they don’t - but I do, which makes my chances of success even greater!
Another moment in my life that reflects this idea is when I moved to the Gold Coast 10 years ago. Some of you might know that the reason I moved 14-hours away from my family and hometown was that I got a scholarship to study at university. And this significant change was no different.
The only reason I got the scholarship was that I backed myself and I applied for it. I am confident that there would have been plenty of equally deserving candidates; the only difference was that I didn’t allow my self judgment or ego get in the way. There was no self evaluation of whether I was ‘good enough’ or ‘worthy’. I just filled out the application without any emotional attachment.
Me applying isn’t me ‘thinking I am amazing’ or better than anyone else. It’s more logical (and statistical) and understanding that most people feel like they aren’t worthy and let their brain manipulate them so they don't apply.
You have better odds and more chance of winning or receiving the position merely just by putting yourself forward to be considered. Rather than sitting back with the masses who spend a lot of time talking about what they don't want instead of taking opportunities and risks to create something they do.
What do they say…you’ve got to be in the lottery to win it?
I can't promise you that I'm going to be good at everything I pick up. I can promise you that I'm going to try and I'm going to go the extra mile because I made a commitment to myself and to the people that I'm making commitments to. I maintained that approach throughout university, and I ended up receiving another scholarship to study in Hawaii, graduating with honours.
Since then honouring this philosophy has manifested in me gaining a graduate position in child protection, starting a network marketing business which totally transformed my life and lifestyle, talking on stages around the world in front of thousands of people, writing and publishing a book.
Credit: Lauren Kerr Babes in Business - standing on stage in front of a crowd
It's not about thinking I'm special or thinking that I am above everybody else, it's just a promise I make to the people around me and a guiding principle in absolutely everything I do. Anyway, like I said. I have always done this.
And some of the best things of my life have come from saying yes and exploring new opportunities instead of letting fear of rejection or failure keep you stagnate in the same place whinging and moaning about how you aren’t where you want to be.
When we go the extra mile, we inspire others to do the same.
I also proved the power of going the extra mile to my little brother. My brother got an AFL 100% tuition and accommodation scholarship for construction management at Bond University - that's a pretty fancy degree at a very prestigious university on the Gold Coast! And it's the same thing.
He's just the dude next door, and we're not anything special (sorry bro). He simply backed himself capitalised on his strengths of AFL, leadership, empathy and community work to level out his academic marks. I'm not saying that everyone can get a scholarship (or even wants one), I am saying that you don't know what you can achieve if you never put yourself in the ring.
It's not about being 110% all the time. Imagine if you just gave your best in that very moment consistently? Wherever you are in your life right now, you can always go the extra mile and open a new door or discover a unique opportunity. I promise you that everyone else is sitting there watching the people around them and thinking, ‘I can't do that’, so why not be the person who puts their hand up and says ‘I’ll try’…or even better ‘I’ll learn’.
The Bystander Effect.
You know I'm all about research and backing up what I say with studies, and there is a psychological phenomenon called the Bystander Effect. If you Google it, you'll discover that it sadly came about when a lady was being murdered.
Numerous people heard her getting attacked, yet nobody did anything about it because they all thought someone else would do something. This woman had been screaming for hours, by the time anyone did anything about it she was already dead. The larger the group of people, the easier it is for responsibility to be dissolved.
Take radical responsibility for your life and your results.
Credit: Lauren Kerr Babes in Business - holding a flower in a grass field
The Impact
I'm seeing the impact of the Bystander Effect right now with an incentive that I'm running with the beautiful women I mentor. It's a competition, and most started really strong because they overestimated what they were willing to commit to and what they could achieve short term.
By the end, they starting to slow down because they weren’t getting the level of results they had hoped for, they underestimated what they could achieve long term and overestimated others thinking that everyone else was doing better than them. So they give up. I see time and time again with competitions like this that it's not the people that perform incredibly well that end up winning, it's the ones that commit to showing up and being consistent that do.
It blows my mind because it's always seems to be the everyday people that just commit to going that extra mile that are successful - not because of their skills, but mainly because no-one else is there to compete with them.
Don’t be the Bystander
So next time there is an opportunity, a scholarship, an idea – don't be the bystander. Don't overestimate what everyone else is doing. Apply. Take responsibility. Put your hand up. Be the person that shows up. Be the leader.
Go the extra mile and take that opportunity without the emotional attachment or judgment. I promise that most people start things and they don't finish them, so then just even by completing the task, you're already ahead of the game (and most of the people trying to play it!).”
It’s not everyday that I get to share such amazing information with a younger generation of up and coming women. I really hope I have inspired a young group of women to have more confidence in themselves to have a go and not let opportunities pass you by.
