Have you ever heard of Sir David Brailsford?

I hadn't, until I heard his extraordinary story in a podcast the other day.

It's a story of bicycles, pedals and podiums...

Now I know nothing about professional cycling, Reader, but I learned that for more than 100 years, the British were terrible at it.

Apparently they were so bad that one bike manufacturer refused to sell them bikes because they were worried it would hurt their brand!

This is where Sir David B. comes in.

He was hired as British Cycling's new performance director in 2003, and within a few years, he completely transformed the team from absolute nobodies to Olympic champions.

And he did this in a unique way: by getting the cyclists to "focus on the pedals rather than the podium".

His take was that the more you focus on the victory, the more your performance suffers.

That's because the victory is a hypothetical event in the future, which you have no control over.

And the more you focus on the future, the less present you are and the less you focus on what really matters, on what you have control over.

So you know what he did?

Instead of obsessing over winning races and victories (the podium), he got his team to focus on what he called "marginal gains" - tiny 1% improvements in everything they did.

Better bike seats. Improved hand washing techniques. Finding the perfect pillow for better sleep. Teaching riders the best way to put on and take off their racing jerseys.

I know this sounds crazy.

But he focused entirely on what they could control. He obsessed on perfecting the process - the "pedals" - rather than fixating on the prize.

And the result was that British cycling went from zero to hero. Within a few years, they dominated the Olympics and won multiple Tour de France titles.

Now, you're probably wondering what this has to do with affiliate marketing and making money online.

My answer is: EVERYTHING.

I see this mistake being made constantly in the make money online niche.

Affiliates are totally focused on the "podium" - the big commissions, the money, the click, the sales...

...and as a result, they completely neglect the "pedals".

Which is why they fail to get the results they want.

All their energy becomes consumed by a huge, hypothetical future prize that they have no control over... and it just gets wasted.

Because to get results, the energy should be put into the present, and focused on the activities that they can control.

So here's my challenge for you today, Reader: stop obsessing over the prize for a moment.

Forget about the result!

Instead, pick ONE skill and focus on getting 1% better at it every day.

Maybe it's writing subject lines that actually get opened.

Maybe it's creating content that genuinely helps people.

Maybe it's understanding what your audience really struggles with.

Just pick ONE thing that needs improving and focus on the process.

The podium will take care of itself, I promise.

Just do it my friend - you owe it to yourself :-)

Sophie

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