Dr. Barry Lall: Consistency Is the Main Factor in Success

In today's society, we have become hyper-fixated on the idea of productivity being the key to success.

We search for ways to make the most of our hours, from time management techniques to sleep optimization. As mortal beings, we all feel as though we never have enough time. 

What if the answer to finding success didn’t require any sort of 12-step program or working yourself to the bone in the name of productivity? Time is not the enemy, inconsistency is.

When we give ourselves lofty goals, we often set the bar too high from the outset. We tell ourselves at the beginning of a new year that we will work out every day, and then wonder why we feel burnt out by the beginning of February when in fact even getting to the gym three times a week would create numerous health benefits and still be a significant lifestyle change.

Training for a marathon is a testament to the power of consistency. You may start out not being able to run further than a block, but with a dedicated and consistent training schedule that distance can get a little further every day. At the end, what once seemed insurmountable becomes achievable. 

It’s understandable that we would want productivity hacks to be the answer to success. We live in a world in which everything is closer to our fingertips than ever before thanks to the internet and smartphones. Ultimately a tried and true method for seeing results, in anything and everything you choose to pursue, is to approach it with consistency. 

When asked what advice he would give to young professionals hoping to achieve success in their industry, Dr. Barry Lall said his biggest advice is to begin slowly, but aim to be consistent in whatever you do. 

An entrepreneur and investor, Dr. Barry Lall is the founder, president and chief executive officer of the hotel management company Pinnacle Hotels USA. He was born in a British colony in Africa and attended medical school in Scotland before moving to the United States for his residency. He eventually settled in Southern California and practiced as a family physician for over a decade, before deciding to leave medicine in favor of pursuing his lifelong dream of becoming an entrepreneur. 

Today, Lall’s company sees annual revenues of over $40 million, operating nine hotels in California and Texas. While he says that hard work and a little bit of luck certainly played a factor in his own personal American Dream story, it was his ability to consistently apply himself that was the true key to his success.

“It’s not about how much, but even if it’s less, do it consistently,” said Lall. “If it becomes a habit, it becomes a practice.”

How Consistency Can Aid in Personal Development

According to Dr. Barry Lall, consistency is not a technique, but a lifestyle. One should aim to be consistent in all areas of life, and in that way develop a habit of always incrementally improving oneself. These are some of the ways in which consistency can benefit you and help in achieving success.

Indicating Your Trustworthiness as a Person

Nobody likes working with a person who has shown time and again that they are not dependable. When you have developed the habit of consistency, people will notice and come to trust that they can count on you to stick to your word and meet expectations. This in turn can help you further your professional goals, as you become known as a trustworthy and self-assured person. 

Building Discipline 

Consistency and discipline are two sides of the same coin. In order to be a disciplined person, you must be consistent in your actions. This requires a level of self-control that may require a learning curve, but practicing consistency instills discipline and makes us focused more aware of what we have to do. Like any other skill, once learned consistency and discipline can be applied to any area of life where you have a goal you wish to achieve. 

Reframing your Perception of Achievement

If you dip your toes into a freshly drawn hot bath, you may recoil at first at the sudden change in temperature. However, if you are sitting in a lukewarm bath that is slowly being heated, it may take you a while to notice a change is happening at all. This is the reality of success. It is not usually found with a sudden and swift incline. Instead, it is small, incremental changes that over time compound to have a lasting effect. When you develop consistency, you learn to become attuned to these changes, and rather than be discouraged by a lack of progress are motivated by the forward motion you perceive. 

How to Build Consistency Throughout Your Life

The power of consistency is integral to achieving success in whatever we wish to do in life. According to Dr. Lall, the first step in maintaining consistency is to come up with a clear and actionable goal. Unclear goals make it difficult to measure progress, leaving it hard for you to approach it with consistency. Your goals are the ones that will serve as the driver for your motivation and consistency.

Next, you need to come up with a plan through which you will implement consistency. There is nothing wrong with giving yourself a lofty goal – it is true that only those who aspire to great things achieve them – but recognize that this broad vision must be broken down into smaller, actionable steps. To return to our original example, if your goal is to run a marathon you are not going to simply try and run a marathon every day. You will come up with a training plan that ensures rest days are accounted for while also challenging you enough to help build your strength and stamina. Look at professional goals the same way. 

Once you have set your goal and made a plan for achieving it,the real work begins: doing things repeatedly and maintaining consistency. Many people can start with the goal-setting and plan-making steps, but when it  comes time to start doing something they give up midway through the process, if that. It's essential to prepare ourselves mentally to develop consistency in what we are doing.

From getting through medical school to building his hotel business, to now in life working to develop healthy habits for longevity, Dr. Barry Lall has cultivated his ability to apply consistency to make his dreams a reality. When in doubt, a great practice to put in place is to try and move forward at least one percent a day. While this number may seem small in the day-to-day, with consistency it will add up to attaining your goals.