Laura and I explore a large intersection with horsemanship and humanship in this episode. It ties in with the idea of “New Year Resolutions.” You know, those things people talk about every January about how they will go to the gym more, or start eating healthy. But the main point of these resolutions is to drive you closer to one thing: success.

Success is a difficult thing to talk about in some regards because success means different things to different people. Success for some might be meeting certain monetary goals. Others might define it as simply being happier. While I’ve had fun chasing belts and saddles and titles, success for me now is getting to help someone. Nothing makes me feel more accomplished than when I bridge a gap between a horse and human understanding.

We’re laying out how to set up a path for you and your horse to be successful this year. In other words: set it up to be successful.

Key Takeaways

The first step to success is figuring out what you want. I always tell people to ask themselves, “What do I want for my horse?” You want to be able to recognize when the horse does what you want, after all. But the same thing applies to us as well. You can’t get started very well if you have no idea where you’re going.

Once you take that first step you’re on your way. Just know the journey won’t be easy. That’s why it’s a journey, most likely a long one, but it starts with knowing what you want and taking a first step. Even if it isn’t completely in the right direction. Remember, the path you take to success will always be different from someone else's. You have to start moving down the path to figure out if it’s the right one. You will most likely have to course correct a bit. Change direction a bit here and there.

Get rid of your excuses. “Success occurs when your actions get bigger than your excuses.” There will be obstacles on everyone’s path to success. But fixating on those obstacles will only draw you closer to them, which can turn them into excuses for why you can’t move forward. You will have to change your path a bit to get around these obstacles, which can be scary. Often times we find comfort in familiarity, even if it is getting us nowhere. You have to focus on what you can do to overcome the obstacle, not what you can’t do.

Success is the sum of small efforts repeated over and over again, day in and day out. And like I found out, success is a heck of a lot more than just 1% a day improvement. Some days you might improve half a percent. Other days, none at all. And some days you or your horse might have a leap of 10% improvement. All of it is the result of staying committed to your path and moving forward, no matter how long it might take.

Again, find out what success means to you. For some, it’s managing not to get injured while riding for a whole year, or winning a major event. And for others, it may not be any kind of achievement or destination at all. It might just be ‘doing something’. Simply going on a journey with all its triumphs and tribulations.