The Last Lap

The goal has been set, the agreement has been made, the action has been aligned – and yet the numbers are frighteningly apart. The major chunk of the time has been spent, and the countdown to extreme stress has begun. What needed a reasonable amount of time to execute and achieve has come to the bare minimum quota of the last lap, the last week, the last day, the last hour. How do you still make it to the finish line? How do you still get your foot in the door and make it to the world that awaits on the other side of mediocrity?

1. Wake up and smell the coffee. If you are on the last lap and you still have a sizable chunk of deliverables on your plate, you are in deep trouble. Wake up. Take charge. Get real. Put everything else aside and with one track focus get on top of your game. In the literal sense put a DND sign on everything that is not related to work.

2. Be aware of consequences. Be fully aware on how your non-achievement will impact your career and your self-confidence. Your future progress is dependent upon your current successes. Failure to deliver expectations at work is not just slowing your progress but impeding it altogether. You don’t fail the organization; you fail your own future. The organization will get another employee, where will you take your future?

3. Be aware of rewards. You came to work to learn, to grow and to be a success. Promotions, incentives, bonuses and perks are available to those who deliver. Success brings with it guaranteed rewards even if they are not tangible at the moment. The ability to turn the tables, to achieve against all odds, to make things go right is an ability that is the secret ingredient in all successful actions. To master that and to be at the source of that is a guarantee of success wherever you go.

4. Be aggressive. When the water is gushing to your neck and the pressure is building up, don’t be afraid to push people to close the deal. Even if you have to pull them into a discount, or offer a freebie, or a special gift at your personal expense, use every card that you have or may have to borrow to make the numbers happen.

5. Pull all strings. Go to every length to make things happen. Ask favors if necessary. Go to your senior if need be to ask his intervention. Involve friends to help out, request colleagues to fill in, solicit help from family; do whatever it takes to get the job done. Don’t be afraid to bring people into your success.

6. Break all rules. If what you have done so far hasn’t worked yet and the clock is ticking on the bomb of failure it’s time to break all the rules. Do what ‘you’ think is right and take responsibility for your actions. You know the market better and the situation better because you are ‘in’ it and sometimes that gives you a better perspective and chance at making the right decision than your seniors. Make that move.

7. Ask for help and ideas. Don’t hesitate in asking for help when you see trouble ahead. People in general like to help. It makes them feel big and it makes them feel important. Asking for help doesn’t make you small; it makes you humble in sharing the credit with people when you make it to the finish line.

8. Eat, sleep and breathe success. Don’t stop till you make it. Every hour, every minute, every second counts in the last lap. Everyone you meet is a potential lead. Don’t judge who the person is, you can find a lead in every person. If he doesn’t qualify as your customer, he surely knows someone who does. Success is within your reach – reach out.

9. Keep your confidence and your wit at its very best. Ensure that you inject yourself with positivity on an hourly basis. Whether that comes from listening to good music, tuning into an audio book, consulting with your mentor or just having a friend pep you up¬ do it. You will need every bit of confidence, every pinch of positivity and every piece of your charm to keep you on top of your game, with the attitude of winning, and chances are you will.

There will always be pressure. When this month ends, another one will start. When one target is achieved, another one will be set. The game will always be on. The circumstances will always get tougher. The budgets will always get tighter. The competition will always get rougher. If it isn’t easy now, it will not be easy in the future. If you aren’t fit now, you never will be. There is no option other than pulling up your socks, rolling up your sleeves and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. It doesn’t matter how slow your start has been or how far you are still from the finish line, when your mind is made and the decision is firm, success is always within reach-go for it.