Track Record Will Make or Break Your Future
Creativity is a team sport. And if you want to win, you not only have to develop into a trustworthy person you must also discern who you can put your trust in.
In this series on Trust, I’ve been sharing my thoughts from Dr. Henry Cloud’s book "Trust" and combining it with the metaphor of a diamond because Trust has not 1 but 5 facets.
Today we'll be turning the diamond to 5th and final facet of Trust: Track Record and cover the critical areas: Prediction, Pattern, Practice
Let’s start with:
Prediction - How Track Record reveals your future
Now I’m sure you are very familiar with the phrase “track record”. But do you know the origins of where it came from? I know I didn’t and I would bet you don’t either. (that was hint by the way), because "track record" originated from horse racing. It refers to the recorded history of a horse's performance on the racing track, which is used to evaluate its potential for future success.
And over time, this term became a metaphor to describe past performance in general. What’s paradoxical about track record is how it uses the past to predict the future. Think about that for a second. People bet money on horses who believe are going to win the race because of their past success. And we bet our hard earned trust on what people are going to do because of what they have already done.
“What someone has done before is usually the best indicator of what will happen next time. The best predictor of the future is the past.”
- Dr. Henry Cloud
Dr. Cloud says when we trust someone we put ourselves in a vulnerable spot. And the number one question Dr. Cloud says every humans asks is, "Is it safe?”
And there is nothing safer to a human being than predictability. Trustworthy people show up predictably, and consistently which demonstrates reliability, which makes the other person feel safe.
This applies directly to all us Creators because, if you’re anything like me, what I want to ultimately create is way bigger than me alone. I have to have others because Creativity is a team sport.
It’s not enough if you have all the acting ability in the world (facet 3) or understand the Directors vision (facet 1) or have her best interest in mind (facet 2), if you show up on set an hour late with your lines half memorized every single day of the shoot…(the Trust diamond breaks)
Keep that type of track record going and it’s going to be even harder for you to get the next gig. So, if you want to get more projects, get more predictable.
The second area of track record:
Pattern - How Track Record reveals your problem
Before we go any further down this rabbit hole, I wanna make sure I am very clear; as Creators, we are going to make mistakes. We are not perfect, and should never use perfection as our every day standard. If you need a reminder about the inevitability of failure or how to deal with it once you fail, check out my interview is Brian Dollar, who wrote the book on dealing with failure.
Because failure is inevitable and actually expected, especially when we're doing new things, we therefore should not see the problem of failure as the problem.
"Problems are not a problem, but patterns are." - Dr. Henry Cloud
When we do make mistakes that inevitably cause a problem, we need to do what Brian Dollar says, and own the mistake. But when we don't learn from the problem and allow it to change our behavior in someway shape or form. That's when we got a problem:
"If you do not address a problem and it does happen again, you no longer have a problem. Now you have a pattern—an established way of operating. And patterns will kill you.”
- Dr. Henry Cloud
However, not all patterns will kill you. Patterns by nature are neither good or bad they just repeat so if you have developed a good pattern, light consistently working out that pattern can turn into a virtuous cycle. But if you have a bad pattern like eating 50 pounds of steak, smoking cigars, and drinking Lagavulin every night and never working out, that's gonna turn into a vicious cycle.
These patterns begin to affect how you see yourself and can build up or corrupt your very identity.
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”
- James Clear
This brings us to:
Practice - How Track Record reveals the way forward
If patterns can build or break depending on what action their repeating, then being aware of and practicing the positive actions is vital.
"The most practical way to change who you are is to change what you do."
- James Clear
The best way I know to do this is with a Weekly Reset. And it goes a little something like this:
1. Rest
I have scheduled a time every week where I stop from doing anything that can distract me from the next step…
2. Reflect
This is where I get out my calendar, photo app and journal to look back over my week in which I do the next step
3. Rejoice
I celebrate any patterns I see that are healthy, positive, virtuous cycles. After that I move to step
4. Rethink
If I see any patterns that could break bad in my life, I try and replay that scene over again in my mind to see what I would have done differently. I then make a new strategy to activate in the near future.
"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward." - Steve Jobs
I hope this series on Trust has empowered you the way it has me. Thank you Dr. Henry Cloud on writing such an important book on one of the most vital topics every Human needs to develop and discern: Trust.
