Getting things done, whether as a founder or taking on anything new and different, is a paradox.

On the one hand, you have to have a plan and execute on it.

On the other, you have to be willing to change if things aren’t working.

Strong Opinions, Loosely Held

I’ve seen this phrase attributed to many people. The first person I heard say it, though, was Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape and VC extraordinaire.

Both parts of the phrase are critical.

You Have to Be Committed

One of my favorite coaches, Townsend Wardlaw, sent an email this week describing what it means to be committed. And it is completely consistent with the way I experienced him when he was my coach.

To paraphrase, commitment is to act and speak in the world as if what you are committed to is already done.

Without necessarily knowing HOW it will be done.

In fact, the bigger the commitment, the more likely it will be that you don’t know how you are going to do it.

Another of my favorite coaches, John Patrick Morgan, put it another way in our work together—

“The strongest commitments are those that you have no idea how you will fulfill.”

If you set a goal that you will grow your business twenty percent this year, you can be pretty sure that’s achievable. In fact, just do twenty percent more of what you have been doing and there’s a very good chance you’ll meet your goal.

But to grow your business twenty times? You probably don’t have a clue.

When you act from commitment, when you say what you are committed to, when you act “as if,” you will find all kinds of things start showing up that you don’t expect, that you might not even understand.

And this is where the second “C” shows up.

And You Have to Remain Curious

If I ask you how to grow your business by twenty times in the coming year, there is no way you can do this by just doing more of what you have been.

You have to think differently. You have to STOP doing a lot of things and START doing some different things.

And most importantly, you have to be WILLING to do this. Which is why most people never do.

What could you do if you were willing to stop doing what has brought you to this point?

What if you stopped working on your most successful product, for example, to bring out a product that was sure to kill it?

If Apple had been concerned about iPod sales it would have never brought out the iPhone. But as Steve Jobs famously said, “If we don’t put ourselves out of business, someone else will.”

What do you see when you’re willing to stop and be curious?

What’s the Risk You Are Called to Take?

Or put another way—

What will you regret not trying?

What’s the risk of continuing to do the same thing, if it means leaving your true song unsung?

An Event That Might be for You

If you’re a founder or business owner wondering what you might see if you stop and get curious, I have an event for you.

On October 20 and 21, a small group of people just like you will gather in Denver, Colorado, to look at big questions like this.

To see what music is wanting to come forth.

To see what might be beyond your financial success.

If you feel called, reach out.

And keep watching for more details here.

When is the last time you took two full days for yourself?

No business responsibilities. No family responsibilities.

Nothing to “do.”

What does that bring up in you when I mention it?

A lot of people panic. The thought of being alone with themselves for that long terrifies them.

A lot people immediately dismiss it as a “waste of time,” saying things like, “I’m way too busy for that right now,” or “Maybe in a few months, when things slow down.

Of course things never slow down because it is YOU who are creating the busyness.

But what if you were in the room with other people just like you—business owners who have gotten to a point where they see that their financial success is not only NOT making them happy, but it might actually be getting in the WAY of their happiness.

And if you are quiet for just a minute, you know if you would benefit from this, or at least would benefit from a conversation about this.

Question One

What is it that you want?

Not what do you want others to think about you.

Not what do others expect from you.

Not what do you think you SHOULD want.

What do you ACTUALLY want? (And even more importantly, WHY do you want it? WHAT do you think having it will give you?)

Or put another way—

What do you WANT when you don’t NEED anything?

Question Two

What is it that is calling you?

When you have had a certain amount of financial success you begin to see that it is not a sustainable source of happiness or fulfillment.

Instead, you begin to live on the hedonic treadmill.

Like a drug addict, you need more and more.

But if you are able to step back, to slow down, you begin to see that all along, something bigger has been operating through you.

That it has been quietly calling you.

That the greatest moments of satisfaction and fulfillment have been the ones where you have listened to that still, small voice.

And that enduring satisfaction is not about external pressure but about internal truth.

Two Days in Denver

On October 20-21, a group of founders and business owners will gather in Denver, Colorado to talk about these two questions.

No “corporate” stuff.

No KPIs.

No strategic plans.

The agenda for these two days is YOU.

What you are afraid to face.

What is getting in your way.

What might be calling you if you are only able to hear.

This event is not for the faint of heart.

But on the other side of this is EVERYTHING YOU ACTUALLY WANT.

Interested?

We are starting the application process now.

We have a five minute video where my co-host Greg Hayne and I talk about the event and who it is right for. Drop a comment if you would like a link and I will message it to you.

And if you have a question, drop it in the comments below or reach out directly.

 

(Now you just need to do it.)

It’s February.

Remember that list of things you were going to take on this year? The new hire, the firing of that person who just wasn’t right for where the company is? The new investor, the new board member?

How’s it going?

If you’re like me (and like a lot of my clients), you resist big decisions, thinking you can figure out exactly how they are going to work out before you make them.

I have bad news for you.

There is No Fork in the Road

So many of the founders that I work with create a narrative that looks something like this—

There is a critical decision to make. There is a “right” path and a “wrong” path. If I study the data enough I can figure out which way to do.

I can figure out the result in advance.

There are two problems with this approach—

You will never think you have enough data, and—

More importantly, there is no “right” path. There is no path at all.

If you think you are following a path, chances are you’re not doing anything very original (or “ground-breaking,” another made-up concept). You’re just doing the same thing that someone else did.

The only path is to try things, see how they work, and adjust. Over and over again.

This is the “path,” and it is deceptively easy until you try it. Which is why the willingness to be a founder, to do something “ground-breaking,” is rare in our culture.

For most people, the fear and uncertainly is just too great.

How do you know what to do?

Notice the Quiet Knowing

Ever hear that voice that says “I knew I should have…”?

How would your life be different if you started following it more? Even if it’s unreasonable? Even if it’s a bit uncomfortable?

That knowing, that sense, came uniquely to you. It is your gift, and it will show up for you just a little bit different than anyone else.

I have said “Desire is a gift from God.” Whether or not those words resonate for you, the truth is that you made every major decision with your gut. I have never met a person who picked their spouse based on a spreadsheet.

You won’t make major business decisions that way, either.

Learn by Taking Action—Quickly

You won’t figure out anything without taking action, and the faster you figure this out the better you will do.

In the startup world, people urge you to “fail fast.”

If that feels too rash, take action when you are about 80 percent certain. And then see what happens and figure out what to do next.

The big secret in all of this is that you will make much faster progress failing over and over than you could ever make trying to succeed the first time.

Thoughts on this?

Drop a comment below.

I had my second saxophone performance on Sunday. My last one was in May of 2024 after about 11 months of learning the alto sax.

So much has happened since then. I switched from alto to tenor. I moved from a group that was focused on rock to one focused on jazz (and jazz improv). I have come a LONG ways—better at playing in tune, being able to actually improvise at a rudimentary level, getting comfortable with changing instruments and mouthpieces and reeds.

But my FIRST reaction when I watched my wife’s video from my performance was feeling self-conscious about how awful I sounded.

Seeing Potential Rather Than Accomplishment

In every regard, I am a dramatically better sax player than I was last May. But my focus was on what I was NOT doing well, rather than how I had gotten better. Coach Dan Sullivan calls this perspective “The Gap Versus the Gain.” The idea is that we always evaluate ourselves against our potential rather than seeing how far we’ve come.

It’s a very human thing. It also keeps us mired in dissatisfaction.

Is it helpful? Absolutely. Because there is always more to do, and to be, and let’s face it, dissatisfaction is motivating, if exhausting.

But no matter where you are, you are just getting started AND you have already come so far.

The trick is in being able to hold both. To be grateful AND inspired.

Having Help Along the Way

I have a great teacher who has been with me from the start. He has an academy for kids (six bands of kids performed Sunday after we did, and they were AWESOME). And with me and a few others, he is beginning to teach adults who are new to their instruments.

One of my favorite things about him is that he doesn’t get too worried about how much more I have to learn. (Like I do.)

He only focuses on the next step. And then the next step after that.

Sometimes I get impatient with that. I get frustrated with myself, with him, with the fact that things aren’t going faster. But every time I get ahead of myself I find it only slows me down.

Who in your life reminds you how far you’ve come? Who in your life keeps you focused on the very next step when you could easily get overwhelmed by everything there is to do?

There Are No Shortcuts

The internet is full of overnight successes who have been at it for ten years or more. (I’m in year nine of my coaching business—I know.)

It can look like someone suddenly made it big, but if you look closely, you will find that’s never the case.

I didn’t start playing saxophone at 58 because I thought I would get good fast (though I did HOPE that, I confess). I started for two other reasons—

First, I love jazz (think Miles Davis Kind of Blue era stuff) and had always been fascinated with the idea playing an instrument and being able to improvise on that instrument. I have literally had dreams of playing the sax, and when my son quit in eighth grade I suddenly had both a saxophone and a teacher readily available.

Second, I know my 78-year-old self will appreciate having twenty years of saxophone experience and I really want to give him that gift.

What’s the Gift You Want to Give Your Future Self?

What would your future self most like from you?

What could you do today to start to give that?

What regret will you have if you don’t?

They say that you shouldn’t die with your song still unsung. What does reading that bring up in you?

Drop a comment below with your thoughts.