One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned about life and business in the last year, I actually learned at the gym. Let’s face it, we all have busy lives, and I was no different. For years, I had always worked out 3 times a week, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Well, let’s be honest. 3 times a week was the goal. The reality was, sure, many times I did go 3 times a week, but just as many times, it was twice. Or once. Or, as we say in my house, “none-ce.” I found it so hard to get into a rhythm.

My gym “habit” was inconsistent, so it wasn’t even a habit at all. Despite my best efforts, I felt like I was always swimming against the current. It was hard to go 3 times a week and my subconscious assumption was always that it would be easier to go regularly less often. But I didn’t see any point in going once or twice a week. You have to go enough to get results (which by the way, were minimal because of my inconsistency).

So, I was stuck. I thought, “I’m having trouble consistently going 3 times a week, and once or twice makes no sense, and surely going more will be even more challenging, right?”

Wrong.

Enter, The 100% Rule.

The 100% Rule is a paradox. It says that 100% commitment is in reality easier than 98% commitment.

Well, that can’t be right, can it? It can and it is.

I first discovered the 100% Rule in a fascinating Ted Talk of the same name by Dr. Benjamin Hardy. I really couldn’t believe the premise at first. How can a total 100% commitment be easier than a 98% (or even less) commitment? On the surface, that makes no sense.

We all know someone or know of someone, who embodies commitment and consistency. I have a close friend who has run literally every day for over 10 years. He hasn’t missed a day. At one point, he turned his ankle on a run and sprained it severely. Against what would surely have been his doctor’s orders (had he gone to the doctor), he hobbled on it for the next several weeks and kept the streak alive. To be clear, I don’t recommend or endorse that choice.

But my dear friend, also named Paul, by the way, has always been one of “those” people…hyper disciplined, super consistent, diligent.

I, on the other hand, had always been inconsistent, always struggling to find a rhythm. My inner dialogue was dangerous and very telling. “I’m lazy. I’m undisciplined. I’m not the kind of person that can buckle down like that,” I told myself.

The problem was not my behavior. The problem was my identity. It was how I saw myself.

Fast forward: years later. I first go full-time as a voice actor after years of doing it as a side hustle. I had booked $40,000 (that’s not a typo) of work in an 11-day period and that was my on-ramp to going full-time. I knew I’d likely never have another opportunity to make the leap.

And I leapt.

I was a single Dad in a 1-income house. This HAD to work. There was no other option at the time. It’s what Hardy refers to as a point of no return.

Because this had to work, I instantly became a person who did whatever they had to do to make it work. For me it, that was finding work every day: prospecting.

And so, I became the type of person who prospected and reached out to leads every day. I also drove for Lyft to bring in extra money at night and on the weekends. This (being a full-time voice actor) HAD to work, and so whatever I had to do, as Simon Sinek says in The Infinite Game, to stay in the game, I did. Drive Lyft? Fine.

Suddenly, rather than seeing myself as lazy, inconsistent, and undisciplined, I saw myself as “whatever it takes” guy.

But a funny thing happened over time. As my business began to stabilize, work was coming in steadily, and other options began to appear. Thoughts of, “Well, hey, if this doesn’t work out, I can always drive more or go back and get another crappy job” started to creep in. I had gotten a little complacent. I had forgotten how much I hated working for someone else. My commitment became less than 100%, but I didn’t even know it then.

Cue: COVID-19.

March of 2020 hits. The world shuts down. Advertising voice-over work dried up overnight. 6 million people are out of work. Going back and getting another crappy job is literally not an option. Having strangers in my car is not an option.

There is only one option: 100% commitment.

The start of the pandemic made it immediately apparent that I was not as fully committed to my business as I thought I was.

At that point, I was all in. 100%. I found ways to systemize and scale my prospecting. I developed ways to decrease the amount of time I spent on necessary but repetitive tasks. I made sure I reached out to leads EVERY. DAMN. DAY.

My business went up almost 10% in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. It doubled the following year.

My shift in identity happened in 2 stages. I had, in effect, 2 points of no return.

Fast forward again: April 2021.

Armed with my new-found identity, and now aware of Hardy’s 100% rule, I decided that I needed to get serious about my training at the gym. I programmed a 6-day on, 1-day off training schedule and decided that I would have a “perfect” month at the gym, only taking a rest day on Thursdays.

And that’s when the reality of the 100% Rule really hit home. I found it is so much easier to train 6 days a week than it is 3 days a week. It truly becomes a habit. I don’t think about it. It’s as easy as brushing my teeth or putting on my shoes.

I encourage you to implement the 100% Rule in your business and your life. Commit 100% to the small, daily habits that will ultimately bring you success, and you’ll likely find them easier.