By John Nocero
john.nocero@barberinstitute.org
With the NFL season set to kickoff this week, take heed of these words of wisdom from NFL mastodon J.J. Watt: “Success isn’t owned. It’s leased and rent is due every day.”
Watt is clearly a gifted physical specimen. There is no disputing that. But perhaps his greatest gift is a ridiculously sick work ethic. There is no one that he can’t outwork. He is a machine on the field because he is dedicated and committed every off season. He knows that expectations always get higher, and there is always someone behind you to take your spot if you stumble.
Compliance professionals have no off-season, but organizations also set high expectations and there is always someone behind you to take your spot if you stumble. It may not be a hulking 295-pound defensive end who bench presses a Buick. It may be an auditor citing you again for a previous violation that you didn’t remedy, or a HIPAA inspector garnering more information about a HIPAA breach that you didn’t have policies in place to prevent. The bottom line is perception is reality. If you get branded difficult to work with, then you are until you change people’s perception. You want to be known as the person who gets things done, not the one who always thinks they’re right. The people who tend to stumble are those who forget how hard they had to work to achieve their success in the first place.
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Because your success is constantly moving, your experiences shape you. The longer you spend in the profession, the older and wiser you get, provided you work at it. Is it better for you to take five minutes and read regulations or sit on the couch and do nothing? You already know the answer. So why didn’t you do it? Doing something certainly leaves you in better position when various situations come up again in the future. Life often requires that we make choices and sacrifices that aren’t at the top of our list. The only thing your cell phone can bring you is a bill, but yet you’re on it. Did you spend Labor Day in the yard, grilling? The absolute worst thing that you can ever say is that you’ve made it. You haven’t. You never have. There are often hard realities and regulations in our lives that cannot be overlooked. That doesn’t change the fact that you should take time and do what you need to because you cannot do what you want.
Life is not easy. It isn’t supposed to be. We don’t always get what we want. The projected path is not linear. That does not means that you don’t need to be that best at what you can be. Doing that certainly beats the alternative. It is easy to take your compliance job for granted, but what do you do when it’s gone? To be truly legendary means to never lose that hunger. If you have the time to spend on the internet, you certainly have time to better yourself. There is always an opportunity to do something instead of nothing. Making that decision is easier when you set your priorities.
To continue to remain hungry means never settle for anything less than the best. Fortunately, you don’t need to be an NFL player to work as hard as J.J. Watt does. Emulating his example is useful regardless of your goals. Outwork everyone and everything around you.