If you ever find yourself wondering how your life will turn out, don’t waste time going to a fortune teller. Just use the following success formula, and you’ll know all you need to know about tomorrow.

In everything you do in life, you will either:

Do more than expected.
Do the same as expected.
Do less than expected.

Those three choices will determine your achievement in sports, business, school, relationships, any area of life.

Remember when you were a kid and you wanted to go on a ride at the amusement park? There was a sign that said, “If you are not as tall as this sign, you cannot go on this ride.”

Trouble was, you had no control over this minimum standard.

But now you do. You can chose how much you give in any situation.

I’m reminded of this whenever I go into a store and wait at the counter. I always notice whether people behind the counter stop to acknowledge my presence.

They don’t have to stop what they’re doing; they might be busy. But they should acknowledge the customer and say, “I’ll be right with you.”

Note: I’m not asking a lot. All the person must do is make eye contact and say, “I’ll be right with you.”

Sometimes I’ve walked out of a store when it failed to meet this minimum standard. Sometimes, out of pure, morbid curiosity, I actually measure how much time it takes the person to do what’s necessary.

But this is not about me, a store or a person behind the counter. It’s about you and your future.

The more you choose to exceed expectations, the more successful you will be.

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Would you like to improve at what you do? “The Improvement Factor: How Winners Turn Practice into Success” can show you how! Are you a coach? “Ten Things Great Coaches Know” can make you a better one. Looking for motivation? Read “Thank God You’re Lazy!: The Instant Cure for What’s Holding You Back.”