Waiting for motivation keeps you stuck. Momentum comes from acting first.
Motivation follows results. Results follow action. Your feelings catch up after you start, not before.
Here is how I actually operated when I did not feel like it.
Door to door taught me to work without feeling it
After college football did not work out, I sold door to door for about nine months. It was harder than building my nine figure company. Alone, getting rejected all day, working in the heat with no support.
I watched other reps sit on the sidewalk for hours instead of knocking. I kept going because I needed to learn sales and raise money for my own business. Commission was about $500 a sale.
After those nine months my sales skills were strong enough that launching my business felt easy. I made about $10,000 in my first week.
Choose the action, not the feeling
When I started the business I moved back into my parents’ house and was careful with every dollar. I reached out to at least 100 people a day. A few booked calls. A few of those closed.
I did not enjoy the outreach. I did it anyway. You can ignore your emotions or lean into them. Leaning into feelings has never produced a good result for me. Make the right decision and do it regardless of how you feel.
Characteristics, skills and beliefs
Three things drive success: characteristics, skill set and beliefs. From sports and my dad, I had the characteristics (determination, discipline, work ethic) and the beliefs (I knew I could do it). What I lacked was the business skill set.
Define the characteristics, beliefs and skills your future self has. Then let the old you die. Drop the habits, jobs and paths that conflict with who you want to become.
Use whatever energy you have
Once you commit to change, discomfort shows up. Get frustrated with your current self and use it as fuel.
- At 12 I was bullied, so I started going to the gym.
- I wanted straight A’s, so I studied extra and used practice tests.
- After two slow years in business, I watched a well known entrepreneur’s ads and thought, if he can figure it out, so can I.
There is dark energy (anger, disappointment, competition) and light energy (purpose, helping people). Early on, dark energy is often stronger. Use whatever you have.
Get clear and reverse engineer the numbers
My first two years in business made about $2,000 total. No clear plan, and I did not even know coaching existed. Adults kept telling me I was young and had time. That was no help.
In year three I hired six coaches, built a plan and set a goal of $1 million a month. I hit it in about 18 months. My first year did roughly $1 million total, around $83,000 a month.
Here is how the math worked:
- Leads cost about $20 each.
- Calls cost about $200 each.
- About 1 in 10 calls closes.
- The average sale is $10,000.
- So 10 sales needs 100 calls, which needs about 1,000 leads.
Break $1M a year into about $83K a month, roughly $20K a week, then daily targets for sales, calls and leads. When you control the numbers, you get confidence. The outcome stops feeling random.
Schedule every hour
Every part of my day is scheduled or blocked in Google Calendar. The point is to stop making decisions based on mood. The calendar already decided.
After a four day water fast I felt lethargic. I followed the schedule anyway. I train six days a week on a set routine. With 100+ employees, unscheduled time fills with low value tasks fast.
Every night I write a prioritized to do list on paper, most important at the top, and plan a week ahead when I can. I block time in the calendar with a label like “work, 3 hours” and use the paper list to pick the tasks.
Track the numbers, not your emotions
Track ad spend, leads, calls and sales. The numbers show you the bottleneck:
- High lead cost: ads, or follow up by text, email and messaging.
- Call problems: follow up, the video sales letter or the presentation.
- Closing problems: rep quality or the wrong prospects on calls.
Good numbers, leave it alone. Bad numbers point to hiring, training or lead issues. Most owners do not know what good numbers look like. Many do not track them at all.
Fix your environment
When the business took off I moved from South Carolina, where I paid about $3,000 a month in rent with no support network, to my parents’ place near Houston. I paid them $1,000 a month and put the other $2,000 into the business.
It was quiet and distraction free. I worked about 16 hours a day and made roughly $1M that year. Work life balance comes after you have money. Chasing it too early usually drags out the struggle.
I run two phones. The morning phone has Uber, Lyft and Spotify. Social media lives on the other one, used only during work time. Heavy content consumption made me compare myself to others, and that is a death spiral.
Focus costs friends, and that is fine
Success often costs friendships. You are busy and the work never ends, and some friends will not share your vision. I would rather have a few close friends and hit my goals. If you drop people, do it quietly. Confrontation creates drama.
Ultimate focus for a short period is the play. Early on I skipped parties, dating and spending. Right now I am in another focused stretch of gym, sleep and work, partly because of a serious concussion. Do not fill freed up time with junk. Every sacrifice needs a purpose.
The takeaway
Every expert was a beginner once. Most people wait until they feel ready and never start. My first software attempt failed, and I learned what not to do and how to hire better. For my first business, I hired a coach and took one step, then the next.
Imperfect action gives you clarity. Planning forever makes you a dreamer.
Want a clear plan instead of waiting to feel motivated? Take my free 90 Day Ceiling Plan. Answer 18 questions and get a written plan, built on your own numbers, that names the one thing holding you back and what to fix first.
