Upgrade Your Standards To Reach Your Full Potential

In 2019 I saw Ed Mylett give a speech that changed my life.

Ed said that when he thinks about death, he envisions himself meeting God for the first time.

“Ed here is the man I designed you to be,” God will say to Ed, “This was the man, husband, father, and businessman you had the full potential to become. But here’s who you actually became.”

Ed started crying on stage during this story and said that’s one of his biggest motivators.

To reach his full potential and become the best version of himself.

I’ll never forget that speech. It changed me. 

There are a lot of factors into reaching your full potential

• Goals
• Vision
• Mindset
• Work Ethic
• Environment

These are all critical in your success. 

But the one factor that I believe has the greatest impact is your Standards.

“You get the standard you accept. You get to decide,” Ed said.

Standards are the system of how you live your life.

They are the non-negotiables that shape the future of our life. 

Simply put, they are the personal rules of our life. 

Show me your standards & habits, I’ll show you your future. 

The most successful people that I know are as consistent as the tide.

They are consistent with their attitude, behaviors, actions, and habits.

Their standards don’t change because of their feelings, environment, mood, stress levels or criticism. 

They have clear and purposeful rules of life (aka standards) that they live by every single day.

Let’s take Craig for example.

I believe one of the biggest reasons Craig has been so successful is because of his standards. 

• Doesn’t Swear
• Doesn’t Hit Snooze.
• Doesn’t Drink Alcohol.
• Doesn’t Engage In Drama.

Just to name a few.

It doesn’t matter where he’s at or what he’s doing, Craig embodies these standards every single day.

As the great NFL coach Mike Tomlin says, “The Standard Is The Standard.”

The Power of Standards Include:

• Increase Your Confidence … because your mind rewards your consistency
• Helps You Hit Goals … because consistent actions bring better results
• Simplifies Decision Making … because you have rules for your life
• Allows For More Self Control … because it requires less willpower
• Attracts More Great People In Your Life … because people crave consistency in others

Now let me be the first to warn you.

There is one major mistake you must NOT make when it comes to standards.

Do not copy other people’s standards.

Your standards are YOUR standards.

A few years back I learned this the hard way when I tried to copy one of Craig’s standards.

Being that I respect Craig so much, I thought it would be “cool” to copy his “I don’t swear” standard.

I tried to stop swearing several times. And failed each time.

Why? Because it wasn’t meaningful to me.

(Craig tells a similar story about how he tried to learn chess in 2013… he quit after a few days because he just didn’t care, and was only learning chess because he thought “that’s what smart people did”. Instead, he switched his efforts to becoming consistent with meditation – something that mattered to him – and he hasn’t missed a day since – over 10 years later.)

For me, I didn’t have a strong purpose and personal pull to Craig’s “no swearing” standard.

I was trying to live someone else’s standards.

Don’t make that same mistake as you create your own standards.

You must create your own rules of life that will help you reach your full potential.

Now I know what you’re thinking…

“Alright Daniel, I’m ready to create my own standards. How exactly do you do that?”

Great question! Let me share with you my Simple Standards System that will help you create a life of meaning, purpose and personal fulfillment. 

Step #1: Choosing Your Standard Quadrants

What are the 4 most important areas of your life that you have full responsibility over? There is not a right or wrong answer here. These are YOUR 4 areas that mean the most to you.

Here are mine below to give you an example….

Family

Health 

Discipline

Leadership 

Step #2: Create Your Mission Statement for Each Quadrant

Write out 2-3 sentence statements on why each quadrant is so important to you. This will help you create your standards and provide more purpose behind each of the 4 areas that mean the most to you. 

Here are mind below to give you an example:

Family Mission Statement: My family comes before anything else in life. They are my #1 priority and take precedence over any and everything else in this world.

Health Mission Statement:  My health is the greatest asset I have that will not only influence my wealth, but has a direct impact on my family. I want to be the Gold Standard Example for my kids on what a healthy dad looks and acts like.

Discipline Mission Statement: Discipline is my greatest superpower. When I create systems that protect my time, focus and energy I am truly unstoppable and nobody can compete with me.

Leadership Mission Statement: Everything that transpires in my life is happening “For” me. I must always take full responsibility and lead by example for others. This means embracing challenges and never shying away from tough times and conversations.

Step #3: Create 3 Standards under each quadrant (you’ll have 12 total standards)

Now you are going to create 3 standards for each of your quadrants that you listed out in Step #1. These can be habits, behaviors and/or core values. Your standards are YOUR standards and should be what’s most important to you. Use your mission statements from above to help guide you on your standards (aka rules of life)

Here are mine as examples…

Family: 

1) Tell my family I love them daily

2) Don’t make non family commitments after 4pm

3) Always #TeamWoodrum

Health:

4) Exercise Daily

5) Prioritize Micro Walks 

6) Limit 2 Coffees Daily

Discipline:

7) Don’t Hit Snooze Button

8) Limit Social Media 30 Mins Daily

9) Follow Big 3 Bedtime Routine

Leadership:

10) Take Extreme Ownership for Everything

11) Always Praise Others

12) Embrace Tough Conversations 

Step #4: Creating Stickiness

Once you create your 12 Standards, now it’s time to make sure you execute. I encourage you to find 3-5 people that you trust (trust tribe) and share with them your standards. Ask them to hold you extremely accountable for living by these standards. You should also print out your standards and have them posted up where you can be reminded of them daily.

I truly believe your standards are the key to your success. If you need any help or feedback on your standards, please let me know how I can support you.

And always remember…”The Standard Is The Standard”

Daniel Woodrum (AKA: The Standard)
Head Coach, Early To Rise