Generally speaking, there are two types of people in life: the ones who want and wish to achieve something and those who actually go out and achieve it.

What's the biggest difference between these two groups?

You'll find that the former will focus on finding the way to achieving their outcome in the shortest amount of time and with the least amount of effort possible, while the latter will devote the time and focus to comprehending and mastering the individual components that collectively lead to greater achievement.

Like trying to sprint through a marathon or eat an elephant all at once, you can't become an expert or a master in a short amount of time.

Success is a process, and in order to achieve success, you need to trust the process that will allow you to attain it.

Living In A Quick Fix Society

Do a quick search on Google, social media or YouTube, and you'll see tons of "how to" videos promising people extraordinary results in ridiculously short amounts of time. If you go by the headlines on the internet, you can start a million dollar business this week, lose 30lbs by the end of this month and maybe even meet your spouse by the end of the day.

What's the catch? You just have to buy this "breakthrough solution" that someone is pedaling, promising you these results.

A rational person realizes that any and all such claims are completely bogus. In an age when technology has made everything so easy for us to receive and access, people who are desperately looking to lose weight or make more money or find companionship often fall into the trap of thinking they can just as easily receive and access such things.

At a greater level, it's part of human nature in general. For better or for worse, we live in a "magic pill" society. It's amazing that we live in an age where you can watch 20 episodes of your favorite show in one sitting, have your favorite restaurant deliver food with a push of a button and even swipe through hundreds of potential love interests with just a couple of taps on your phone. Unfortunately, those luxuries are doing just as much harm as good.

The Journey Of A Thousand Miles Begins With A Single Step

After spending a few hundred dollars on some online gimmick that didn't result in a single pound lost on the scale or any new love interests magically appearing at the door, some people might decide that anything worth doing is worth doing the hard way: by putting in some good old-fashioned work.

A lot of those people then become overwhelmed. Imagine how much time and effort it will take to lose 30lbs. Imagine how much trial and error you'll have to go through before you find that winning business plan. Think of how many "frogs" you'll have to kiss before you find Mister or Miss Right.

It's what we call "paralysis by analysis," becoming so overwhelmed by all your thoughts, knowledge and emotions that you end up doing nothing at all.

In the Tao Te Ching, famous Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu famously wrote: "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." It's considered to be one of the most profound proverbs in human history, for the fact that it summarizes a simple idea: regardless of how simple or difficult an endeavor may be, the only way it can be completed is by starting.

If You Fail To Plan, Then You Plan To Fail

Let's say you're one of those people who doesn't lack the motivation or the work ethic required to accomplish your goal. You're ready to face the challenge head on and break through any obstacles in your way.

We’d never intentionally deter such motivation. However, consider the fact that now that you know where it is you want to go, it's just as important for you to come up with a methodical, detailed and realistic plan to get there.

Project planning is one of the most discussed concepts in the business world today because it's a professional version of the problems people face personally: we have something we want to accomplish, but how do we do so?

Here's where we can borrow a page from the American Management Association, whose mission is focused on "advancing the skills of individuals to drive business success." To start your journey to greater personal success in any particular area, ask yourself these questions:

• What exactly am I trying to accomplish? (Be as specific as possible!)
• What is a realistic timeframe to accomplish this goal?
• How can I break up this endeavor into smaller milestones or "wins" along that period of time?
• What are some of the problems or "roadblocks" I might anticipate?
• How am I going to keep myself motivated and accountable?
• Who can I enlist to help me meet my goal?

Think of these questions as helping you form a roadmap for your journey to reach your goals. After all, you can't reach a destination if you don't know how to get there.

Focus On The Path, Not The Destination

As the famous quote brings to mind, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

Society often teaches us that we should judge things by our successes and our failures. The truth is, larger victories are usually the sum of a bunch of smaller victories; you need the latter in order to attain the former.

Continuing our elephant metaphor, instead of worrying about how many bites it will take to finish the elephant, how long it will take or even how you'll fit all of that elephant in your stomach, it's much more beneficial for us to focus on taking one bite. Take a bite, finish it and then move on to the next one.

Success Is Not Linear

Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player in the history of the sport, but he was cut from his high school basketball team and fell short of winning a National Basketball Association (NBA) championship in each of his first six seasons. The legendary Babe Ruth had almost double the number of strikeouts (over 1,300) than he did home runs (714). Even the great Muhammad Ali lost the World Heavyweight Championship title on three separate occasions.

Show us someone who has not faced a setback in his or her pursuit of excellence, and we'll show you someone who has never truly achieved excellence. After all, few things teach us more about life than failing.

No matter what you're trying to achieve in life, your path will almost certainly have breakthroughs and setbacks. You cannot let the latter get in the way of the former.

Patience Is The Ultimate Virtue

Let's say you recently signed up to become a contender at Gloveworx, with the goal of dropping a few pounds and getting in better shape. You come into each session, work your hardest and enjoy some great results after the first month.

After six to eight weeks, you suddenly stop seeing those same results. You're not losing weight at the same pace. You can't seem to take that "next step" in your fitness goals. It just feels like you're running in place, so to speak.

This moment is very important because it separates the winners from everyone else.

As discussed earlier, many people want everything to be quick, simple and effortless. Too many people think hard work is not worth doing. Sadly, even more people quit their pursuit of something the first time they encounter any adversity.

Once again: peaks and valleys are part of any process. Having an understanding of this, and more importantly, having the patience to keep working through this without necessarily seeing any direct results, is what will bring you even greater long-term success.

Remember, the people who are true "masters" at anything don't really focus on wins, losses, breakthroughs or setbacks. Rather, they maintain an unshakable focus on one thing: improving the tiniest of details in order to complete and perfect the step they're on in their greater path.

Success Is Created One Step At A Time

“Trust The Process” has become one of the most common phrases you'll hear in sports, business, fitness and numerous other areas of self-improvement. In fact, we've heard it so much lately that it's turned into something of a cliché.

There's a reason why it's quoted to the point of being overused: In today's world, we're so focused on desires, goals and outcomes, that we tend to take for granted the commitment, actions and discipline required to achieve anything.

Hall of Fame basketball coach Bob Knight said it best: "Most people have the will to win, few have the will to prepare to win."

When you learn to shift your attention to the process instead of the outcome, you'll learn to respect the work put into something, enjoy the thrill of accomplishing the small victories and eliminate all the potential distractions and deterrents that life can throw your way.

This is our philosophy at Gloveworx. We know we’re not going to turn a complete beginner into the next Ali during their first session; that's not our goal, because that’s not realistic at all.

Our goal, with each and every session, is simple: taking the time to coach you no matter where you are in the boxing continuum, with the goal of helping you become a slightly better version of yourself from when you first walked through the door.