If you watched the most recent NBA draft, you know that Zion Williamson was the 2019 No. 1 pick. When interviewed, he said he set his NBA goal at a very young age. His mother, who was his first coach, concurred, saying that Zion has steadily worked toward his goal since he was 5 years old, trusting the process and, more importantly, doing the work. Catch the interview here: https://bit.ly/2Yhn1l9
In many ways, Zion paid a big price to be where he is today. It took many hours of practice and untold sacrifices. It took overriding desire and strict discipline. Many people talk about lofty goals, but not everyone is truly willing to pay the price to achieve them.
Many of the people I coach have paid the price to be successful in their own ways. One of those people is Price Hightower, president of Tower Homes.
Over 25 years ago, Price left the security of his corporate bank job to start flipping houses full time (with no partners or outside investors). He had a young wife and a baby on the way. His only capital was a line of credit on his own home. Today, Price heads a successful company that was listed #66 on the list of largest privately held businesses by the Birmingham Business Journal.
Price says he was able to walk away from the security of his bank job for several reasons: First, he comes from an entrepreneurial family; his father owned a successful car dealership in downtown Birmingham. Second, he was confident; he wasn’t scared of hard work, and he wanted a faster career trajectory than the bank offered. But, most of all, it was his and his wife’s ability to embrace delayed gratification. Since early in their marriage, they had lived a “Dave Ramsey type” of financial lifestyle, meaning they lived below their means, paid off their house and had no debt.
That discipline gave Price options. One of those was starting his own company.
The first year was brutal. Things didn’t go well, and Price faced failure on a deal that went bad. The second year things got much better, but Price still talks about a decade’s worth of stress over the risks he was taking at the time. Through it all, Price learned to control what he could control and not worry about what was out of his control. Interestingly, he found you can actually control quite a bit if you are strategic about it.
How He Did It
Price worked hard and smart. He surrounded himself with overachievers at the office. He found mentors and sought advice from people who were older and more experienced. He was careful to wisely use the time they offered him. He came to meetings with specific questions and found that most people are willing to share their experiences and knowledge if you are bold enough to ask. Price says he’s a product of so many of his mentors. He says he has “cut and pasted so much” of the advice they gave him.
Today, Price has people coming to him for advice on starting a career. Price accepts those meeting requests because so many men helped him along his way, and he enjoys investing in a younger generation. They want what he has, and Price is quick to tell them: “Yes, I have a great business, but the first two decades of running it were very hard.” He talks about the sacrifices he had to make and the discipline it took to do that. And he shares this advice:
- Slow and steady wins the race. Price doesn’t know anyone who got rich quick. Also, he says: “Don’t get distracted by other successful people. Run your own race.”
- Running your own business will be 10 times harder than you think. He’s not saying don’t do it, but he is emphasizing that you can’t be scared of hard work and setbacks.
- Succeeding requires an enormous amount of discipline. Bottom line: Success has a price.
Details of Discipline
A few words about discipline: First, there’s the discipline of doing the right things every day, every week, every month, etc. Second, there’s the discipline of not doing what you want to do. (For example, Price loves golf and, over the years, he sacrificed many hours of playing to work instead.) Third, there’s the discipline of doing what you don’t want to do. (Price happens to hate exercising, but he made himself do it every day in order to stay healthy and live the life he wanted.) In all those years of sacrifice, Price said his faith, family and participating in his children’s events were non-negotiable. He made those a priority.
When Price started his business, he had a crystal clear vision of where he would be in 5, 10 and even 20 years. He was intentional. He committed every day to doing what would help him achieve his goals. He focused on work, of course, but he also was disciplined about finances, family, faith and fitness (right in line with our 7 F’s of True Success). When faced with obstacles, he kept his eyes on his long-term goals, and he never wavered.
Price was willing to pay the price for the success he enjoys today. Are you willing to do the same? That’s how you truly do what you do better.