Cross-Through: The Science of Success

Whatever your goal—whether it's career advancement, personal growth, or mastering a new skill—the reality is the same: actions alone won’t get you there. The path between your efforts and your results is littered with factors that will either aid your progress or hinder it. Understanding these factors is essential if you want to maximize your chances of success. This is where the Cross-Through strategy comes into play. It highlights the need to "cross through" specific variables—drivers or barriers—that either enable or prevent success.

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Why Actions Alone Aren’t Enough

 

Many people believe success is simply the result of hard work. While effort is non-negotiable, it's only part of the equation. Success is never achieved in isolation. Every effort you make encounters a host of factors, conditions, and influences that either help or hinder your progress.

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Cross-Through recognizes this gap between action and outcome. The strategy rests on the idea that for any action to lead to a desired result, it must "cross through" certain points—either drivers that support the action or barriers that resist it.

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The Cross-Through Points: Drivers and Barriers

 

Cross-through points exist between any action and its goal. Drivers are the conditions or influences that move you toward success. Barriers, conversely, are the elements that stand in your way. The action you take is the first step, but without navigating or addressing these cross-through points, that action may be rendered ineffective. Here’s what that means:

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• Action: What you do to achieve a goal.

• Driver: A factor that aids your progress and supports your action.

• Barrier: A condition or obstacle that interferes with your success.

 

To put it simply, actions are what you initiate, but drivers and barriers are what determine whether your efforts will meet your goal or fall short.

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Recognizing and Addressing Barriers

 

A key aspect of Cross-Through is acknowledging how you can fail—by understanding the barriers that could stop you. Barriers come in many forms: external circumstances, lack of resources, misinformation, or even your own mindset. Knowing what could derail your efforts allows you to anticipate and either avoid or overcome them.

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For example, let’s say you’re aiming to learn a new language. The action is simple: you practice every day. But what about the barriers? Are you using ineffective learning methods? Do you have limited time to practice? Are you lacking opportunities to immerse yourself in the language? Identifying these barriers up front ensures that you don’t waste time or energy trying to force progress when underlying factors are in your way.

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Identifying and Leveraging Drivers

 

Just as critical as overcoming barriers is recognizing the drivers that can accelerate your progress. Drivers make the path to your goal smoother and more achievable, but they aren’t always immediately obvious. Drivers can take the form of skills, supportive networks, resources, or specific strategies that align with your goal.

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Returning to the language learning example, drivers could include access to high-quality language apps, a community of native speakers to practice with, or even just the consistency of your study routine. Each of these drivers increases the likelihood of you achieving fluency. The more drivers you identify and capitalize on, the more effectively your actions will "cross through" toward success.

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The Cross-Through Model in Action

 

To truly understand the power of Cross-Through, think of it as the difference between taking blind actions versus taking strategic actions. Cross-Through isn’t about guessing which actions might work—it’s about deliberately aligning actions with the drivers that will ensure success while neutralizing or avoiding the barriers that could cause failure.

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Let’s break it down using a non-business example: preparing for a marathon.

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• Action: You train regularly by running long distances.

• Drivers: Access to the right nutrition, a consistent training schedule, proper footwear, and a coach who can provide feedback.

• Barriers: Injury risks, lack of time for recovery, and improper training techniques.

 

In this case, the action alone—running—isn’t enough. To successfully run the marathon, you must cross through both the drivers that support your training and the barriers that could undermine it.

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Without this conscious navigation through cross-through points, your effort (action) might never lead to the intended result.

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Cross-Through: A Strategy for All Goals

 

Cross-Through applies to any area where success is sought. Whether in business, personal growth, sports, or learning, recognizing the drivers and barriers that stand between your efforts and your goals is critical.

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1. Identify Your Action: What are you actively doing to achieve your goal?

2. Recognize Barriers: What might stop or slow your progress?

3. Leverage Drivers: What can help or accelerate your success?

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This process transforms blind effort into strategic effort—effort that’s far more likely to lead to results. Understanding how to navigate the factors that influence your outcomes is what separates mere effort from true success.

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Wrap Up

 

For anyone with an important goal, understanding Cross-Through is essential. Your actions alone, no matter how determined, will always be influenced by the forces around them. By identifying the drivers that can aid your success and the barriers that could prevent it, you make your efforts more effective and your goals more attainable.

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Cross-Through is the difference between hoping your actions will lead to success and knowing they will.

 

Take the time to identify what’s standing between your efforts and your goal. Then, find the drivers that will help you cross through those barriers and achieve the success you’re working for.

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