Yesterday I sat in a 2 hour interview.
Former client sold his business in the training / education space and got into real estate development.
His first year was a banger, and now he’s starting to build a personal brand (good choice) and is getting the content flywheel spinning.
One of the questions he asked me was this:
“If you had to start over with no cards, no money, no connections & no experience — what’s the one thing you would do to make sure you ended back on your feet?”
It seems like a tough question but it isn’t.
Environment.
I’d hack my environment.
If you want to be skinny, you need to become friends with skinny people. If you want to be optimistic, you must ruthlessly eliminate people from your life who are not optimistic and get around the positive.
In January, I posted this to one of my socials, and it’s appropriate to repurpose here:
You should be ruthless about cutting negativity from your life.
There is no substitute for a positive approach to solving difficult problems.
The problem is people will read this and think “Well I'll put positivity in their negativity” and they carry baggage uphill their whole lives.
But when you get tired.
Or sick.
Or have a barrage of “little” issues pop up at once (aka LIFE) you become susceptible to peoples influence.
ONE compromise in your frame / lens and it's twice as hard to approach problems correctly the next time.
If you have no problems you are dead.
If you view problems as fatal setbacks you are dead.
The real killers are having just as much fun whether they're winning or ‘losing' because they extract winning lessons from the losses.
Clean your environment…
Your future depends on it.
This all makes sense, right? But there is a paradox that people miss — and it’s incredibly important.
I’m not sure why it’s on my mind right now, but it is and so I’m going to share it.
When It’s Time to Distance
Sports and business are the same.
Long distance runners run in a pack… until the very end.
Pro athletes playing worthy rivals are comfortable staying “neck and neck.” Until the 4th quarter… then it’s time to separate.
There’s a term called “Separation Season” that people generally apply to holidays or societal down times. For example — December… most people begin to slow down. The killers begin to speed up… and they “separate” themselves from the pack.
They pull ahead.
Everyone else falls behind.
And by the time society is back at it — the distance is too great.
On Twitter a few weeks ago I stated that if you need to “build in public,” you’re just chasing dopamine…
Someone commented and said, “What’s your preferred way?”
My response:
By the time they (competition) know I’m in the space, I control all their options.
Separation season is not a month out of the year.
For the pros — every single day is separation season. Off season is separation season. Playoffs is separation season. A random Monday morning when you wake up uninspired?
Separation Season.
Getting into an environment that pushes you forward will be costly and uncomfortable (especially at the beginning). And then, outgrowing an environment and getting into the next environment that pushes you — also uncomfortable.
A life optimized for comfort will make you a loser.
If that makes you mad – you are victim.
Why am I saying these things? Why am I going at it so hard?
Because I don’t think the world is necessarily getting harder — it’s getting easier. This is a dangerous trend IF you desire exceptionality. The more difficult you make your surroundings, the stronger you are going to become.
I see people saying “I want to lead” but they can’t even lead themselves.
One time I was on a stage speaking to people about online business. Someone asked me a question and it was a very simple, honest question. “What is the one or two variables that separated you from most who started at the same time and did not grow like you did?”
My response was honest, and helpful — although offensive:
“I deserved it. And they did not.”
Next.
The room did not know what to do. Half of them laughed. The other half stared in confusion. My decisions, choices, disciplines & sacrifices created a “torque” that you cannot stop or slow down.
If you want the big life, the good life, the rich life — it’s not a “direct” linear path. It is a series of little decisions that suck in the moment but make you powerful. Your mind must become a formidable fortress to withstand the heat of rapid ascension.
And once you get there, mentally — you are not surprised by success anymore. It is natural, and expected…
If you have time this weekend — watch this for more: