How You Do Anything is How You Do Everything

An Interview with Joran Oppelt by Ashley Preston

​There are a lot of misconceptions around success.  

The dictionary describes it as “the correct or desired result of an attempt,” or “the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame,” but how it is measured is highly subjective to each person pursuing goals. 

So the question becomes, “how should we think of success?”

That’s why I sat down with Joran Oppelt, the founder of Illustrious Consulting and an international speaker and author to get his thoughts on what “success” really is, how it is achieved, and what kind of mentality we should approach it with.

Here’s what he had to say about his journey, the biggest lessons he’s learned along the way, and some of the most common misconceptions he’s seen about what it takes to be successful.

Q: How can someone find success?

A: There might be a formula for sales, there might be ways to template out content, there are aspects of a business you can replicate and train, but no one can just hand you the roadmap to a successful business.

I wish people knew there are no gurus or experts that can turn them into an amazing CEO or business owner or manager. People are making things up as they go all the time – they’re building their airplanes in flight.

Relying on a step-by-step process pigeon-holes you into a certain way of doing things. The best entrepreneurs accept that there isn’t a precise process, there isn't an exact framework. It doesn’t work that way.

Q: Why is it important to find your own formula for success? 

A: Everyone has different markets and segments, so one-size-fits-all approaches aren’t going to solve your problems. Success is found by those who are willing to go out on a limb.

You give your power away when you allow yourself to think that one person’s book or system can help you hit your goals. That puts your chance to succeed outside of yourself. You’re not taking responsibility for your own future. You're avoiding experimentation, which is a vital piece of this whole puzzle. It’s how you learn important lessons and collect valuable data. When everything is an experiment, all you get is results.

Q: How do successful people talk about their endeavors? 

A: When I hear successful people talk about their wins, I hear how they worked to make their ideas fit – to get over whatever hump they had to – and come out stronger for it. They are unafraid to learn how to create a sales process or a marketing campaign. They are willing to experiment and to fail and to learn. It’s about seeing themselves as leaders.

Q: What kind of mindset do you need to be a success?

A: I’m a big believer in “how we do anything is how we do everything.” There is harmony and balance in the cosmos. At the micro level, if you’re intentionally steering the ship, those micro-adjustments will make a difference in where you go.

Are you messy? Are you late? Did your team hit its goals this year? Did you hit your goals this year? Think about your role in your own business and in your own life. I'll bet that you can draw a straight line from the attitude you have when you wake up to how you show up for your team or business to the results you see at the end of the quarter.

Q: What do you hope to instill in your coaching clients in order for them to own their own success?

A: My biggest coaching breakthrough is always when the client sees themselves as the kind of person they want to be. They can’t do that unless they put the work into changing their habits and thought patterns.

Once we understand the interconnectedness of intention and presence and strategy, then we have something we can build from. That mindset -- that kind of vision -- gives you a direction in which to experiment, the ability to see failure as an opportunity, and the opportunity to be reborn every day as someone who transcends their problems and includes what they’ve discovered along the way.

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