High Performance Tool of the Week - Playlist to Help You Focus
Quote of Note - What if Success Never Comes?
Upcoming Events - including IRL Meetups around USA/CAN
11 Keys to Scaling the Smart Way
The Smart-Scaling Quiz - What’s Your Score?
High Performance Tool of the Week
Improve Focus While You Work
I’ve used this playlist for years to help me focus.
These are all ~2hr mixes of electronic music with, esentially, zero vocals.
Let’s drop in and crush some deep work 🤠🙌.
What if Success Never Comes?
To the work you are entitled,
but not the fruits thereof.
Sacrifice it All!
Early in my Entrepreneur journey, I heard a very famous author say:
“Live for five years like few are willing to,
so you can live the rest of your life like few ever will.”
Message received: if I sacrifice everything for the next 5 years, then I’ll be set for life.
Teetering on the Edge of Double-Bankruptcy
Well, 7 years into that plan, I was $250,000 in debt, lost multiple houses, and nearly went double-bankrupt.
I’d also developed a cruel, stress-related illness called Erythema Nodosum. Suddenly, I couldn’t walk anymore or take care of myself. I moved back in with my parents for full-time care.
There was no medication to take, no physical therapy to complete. The cruel part: there was no timeline until I’d walk again. I just needed to lie in bed and recover, as long as it took, be it days, weeks, or months.
Seeing Life Through a Radically Different Lens
This gave me a lot of thinking time.
In the second month, I stumbled across the quote ancient quote,
“To the work you are entitled,
but not the fruits thereof.”
Bhagavad-Gītā, Chapter 2, Text 47
How would I do business if there was no guarantee I’d ever succeed?
I’d slow down.
I’d start exercising again.
I’d sleep more.
I’d be more patient with success.
I’d be more careful with what opportunities I pursued.
I started at my legs, still unable to walk, and it hit me: this could take a while.
It became clear that I may never reach my destination. I’d better learn to love the journey.
My illness, in total, took 3 months to resolve. by March of 2011, I was back to being self-sufficient.
Believe it or not, that illness is one of the best things that ever happened to me.
What would you do differently today if your 1 year goal took 10 years? 20 years? Never arrived at all?
Email me with your answer if you like 👍.
Upcoming Events
Sun, Nov 16 - Edmonton, Canada
TF in Edmonton - Mixer. Mixer of Entrepreneurs and Investors in Edmonton. JW Marriott, downtown Edmonton.
11 Keys to Scale Your Business the Smart Way
There are 11 Keys that separate businesses worth scaling from those destined to keep you stuck. It’s nearly impossible to crush all 11 of these, but it’s sure fun to try.
Note: below these 11 Keys is a Custom GPT I created so you can evaluate your own business.
Crushing Demand – Is the market really hungry for what you do? Are people lining up for your business, ready to pay with very little convincing?
Fat Margins – It’s not what you make, it’s what you keep. After you pay yourself, your staff, and all other expenses, is there anything left for you to reinvest?
Teachable – Could a qualified staff member deliver your core service, or are you offering so many different high-level services that it’s impossible to replace you?
Moat – What protects you from competition? Unique systems? Brand? Partnerships? Relationships?
Right Side of Macros – Are you poised to ride the wave of major trends, or will they crush you? A.I. and aging populations are reshaping everything. What about tariffs? Supply chains? International wars?
Positive Cash Cycle – Do you get paid up-front, or are you chronically chasing payment 30, 60, 90 days later? Getting paid late will crucify your bank account. Gotta get paid up-front.
Community – Are you building a community of raving fans? Do they drink from your gospel regularly? Could be a newsletter, podcast, or YouTube channel. Do they, metaphorically speaking, have a “place of worship” to congregate regularly? Could be a monthly webinar meet-and-greet, or a quarterly event in your city, or an annual user Summit.
MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) – Do retainers or subscriptions stabilize your cash flow? This could be anything from subscriptions and memberships to service retainers, extended guarantees, and/or payment plans.
Selling to Organized Communities – Are you targeting prospective clients who are already organized? Who are part of associations and networks? Who attend industry events? Who listen to thought leaders via podcasts and/or Youtube channels?
Key-Person Risk – How dependent is your business on any single person or client? Often, we, as Entrepreneurs, are the biggest key-person risk. It could also be a key team member or any client who makes up more than 20% of revenue.
Do You Actually Like This Business? – This one’s a tough call because Entrepreneurs are notorious for changing directions too soon. All businesses go through hard seasons that make it tempting to quit. If you’ve had a hard year, that’s probably not a sign to quit. If you’ve had your business for 5+ years and your heart hasn’t been in it for the last 2+ years, maybe it’s time for something else. There’s a big world out there with a near-infinite number of ways to make money. And seriously growing a business is a major-league, multi-year project. Make sure the journey and the destination are worthwhile.
How Does Your Business Score?
If you like the 11 keys I just descirbed above, you’re going to love the Custom GPT I setup just for you.
This Custom GPT will analyze your business across all 11 keys. It asks strategic questions, identifies your weak spots, and shows you exactly what to strengthen.
Disclaimer: of course seek all relevant professional advice before making any consequential decisions. The GPT above is just to simulate your thinking, and isn’t meant to replace professional support from accredited professionals.
Submit Your Questions
Submit your questions and I’ll answer them somewhere, likely on Youtube. Let me know if you want to stay anonymous or get a shoutout.
Just hit “reply” here and let me know whatcha got.
Scale a Business Worth Scaling
Using the 11 keys, find out what version of your business would have the maximal odds of creating both an exciting today and an exciting tomorrow.
Scaling a business is no fun if all you’re doing is multiplying dysfunction.
Onwards and Upwards,
