If you want to really excel in business, school and life, go the extra mile. Give the people around you – your customers, your team, your family – more than they expect, and you’ll be handsomely rewarded with loyalty, referrals, opportunity and money.

Successful people go the extra mile – and they stand out as a result. They get the promotions and the loyal customers. They grow their businesses twice as fast and attract the best employees. They receive financial rewards and job security. Best of all, they go home at night feeling satisfied and bursting with self-confidence.

Don’t Focus on WIIFM

In Marketing 101, you learn that customers are always thinking “What’s In It For Me?” Although this might be common thinking, it’s the kiss of death when it comes to success.

If you want to excel, stop focusing on what’s in it for you. Don’t worry about whether it’s fair to give more when you’re not being compensated or recognized for it. Don’t adopt the “it’s not my job” mentality.  This type of attitude shows that you’re focused on yourself, but you’ll see bigger results more quickly if you make other people the focus of your attention.

Going the extra mile shows that you pay attention to detail, that you consider all the small things that really make a business successful, that you care about your image, and that you belong with all the other people who work hard to achieve.  You will attract new business and new opportunities.

4 Questions to Ask

Here are four simple questions that can help you evaluate how well you’re putting this principle into play in your life:

1. What do most people expect? To know how to exceed expectations, you first have to know what expectations are. What level of service do customers expect? What do your vendors want? How about your employees or master mind partners? Look at every important relationship you have, and discover what the minimum expectations are.
2. Take a candid look at your performance. Do you exceed expectations? Do you surprise people with more than they were expecting from you?  Do you look for ways that you could be of more service, or for projects that you could help out on? Or are you skating by, meeting expectations and providing average value?
3. How are you willing to go the extra mile? What kind of extra service are you willing to provide in order to stand out from the rest?  If you aren’t 100 percent willing to deliver service above and beyond expectations, why not?
4. What can you do to exceed expectations? What added service would your customers love, but don’t expect? How could you better serve your boss and company? How could you provide more value to your students? When Mike Foster ran a computer store, he never let anyone walk out of the store without a box of components. He delivered the computer, printer, modem and other components. He then spent two hours setting up the system and training the customer how to use it. He wildly exceeded customer expectations, and his store dominated his local industry as a result.

Hard Workers Become Success Stories

Listen to any success story and you will hear of someone who worked exceptionally hard to get what they wanted. You’ll hear how they put in the extra time, did what wasn’t part of their job description, and over-delivered on what was asked of them. You’ll hear how they stuck at it until they broke through, and usually you’ll hear how it only took them a couple of years to do it.

What have you been doing for the past couple of years?  The same thing?  How quickly have you advanced?  How quickly has time gone by?  Think of what you could accomplish if you made it a habit to exceed everyone’s expectations.  Image what doors could be open to you if you decided to be of better service and value.

Be willing to treat everyone like you’d treat your dearest friend.  Don’t skimp on service.  Don’t be mediocre or run of the mill.  Show people what you are capable of.  Show them that you care about your image and reputation.  When it comes to success, the people who are willing to go the extra mile get there that much faster!

Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul® and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success.