I want to tell you about something I've never really talked about publicly. A few years ago, I was in Nice, France for a work trip. Beautiful city. Great food. And just 20 minutes away from Monaco. The Monaco Grand Prix was happening that weekend. If you know anything about Formula 1, you know Monaco is the race. The most prestigious track on the calendar. Cars screaming through narrow streets, inches from the barriers. I'd wanted to see it in person my entire life. And I was right there....
9 days ago • 1 min read
There are three things I believed early in my career that kept me stuck for years. I'm guessing you've heard them too. Maybe you still believe them. I hope not. Because they're lies. Lie #1: "You need to work harder." This one almost killed me. (Figuratively. Mostly.) I spent years grinding 14 to 16 hour days, convinced that more effort was the answer. If the business wasn't growing fast enough, I just needed to push harder. The truth? I didn't need to work harder. I needed better systems....
10 days ago • 1 min read
I need to tell you a story. It's part happy, part painful. But it's the reason I believe so deeply in building systems before you need them. When my second son was born, he had some health scares that landed us in the hospital for much longer than we'd planned. I won't get into the details. But I'll tell you this: when you're sitting in a hospital room, waiting, hoping, praying that everything's going to be okay... work is the last thing on your mind. Fortunately, everything worked out. He's...
11 days ago • 1 min read
Happy New Year. I want to tell you something a little embarrassing. As much as I live and work and operate in the digital world, there's something about pen and paper I can't seem to shake. Specifically: new notebooks. Nothing symbolizes a fresh start to me more than cracking open a brand new notebook. The blank pages. The potential. The feeling that this could be the one where everything comes together. And I'm not talking about fancy leather-bound journals. Coiled, stapled, bound... doesn't...
12 days ago • 1 min read
Quick one today. It's New Year's Eve. But I want to share something that might reframe how you think about tonight. The human brain is a funny thing. Incredibly smart in some ways. Embarrassingly easy to trick in others. And you can use this to your advantage. There are two phenomena that explain why today feels different: The End Effect: We assign disproportionate meaning to endings. The last day of the year feels heavier, more significant, more final than December 30th. Even though it's...
13 days ago • 1 min read
One of the most valuable business lessons I've learned is also one of the easiest to ignore. It's about the small stuff. The tasks so tiny you barely think about them. Here's an example: For years, I would get my bills (internet, phone, hydro, etc.) and then spend 5 to 10 minutes paying them online. Log in. Check the amount. Enter the payment. Confirm. Done. Not a big deal, right? What's 10 minutes a month? Until you multiply it by 12. That's 120 minutes a year. Two hours. Still not a big...
14 days ago • 1 min read
There's an exercise I do at least once a year. Ideally every three to six months, but I'll be honest: it's not fun. So sometimes I put it off longer than I should. It's called a Time Audit. And it's one of the most valuable things you can do for your business. Possibly the most valuable. Here's how it works: For three days (ideally midweek, like Tuesday through Thursday), you track every single thing you do in 15-minute increments. Send an email? Write it down. Work on a strategy? Write it...
15 days ago • 1 min read
I want to share an idea that changed my life. It's simple. Almost painfully obvious once you hear it. But it took me years to actually believe it. The idea comes from Seth Godin, and here's the original article if you want to read it yourself. But here's the short version: No one is going to pick you. Not the perfect client. Not the big break. Not the person who finally sees your potential and hands you the opportunity you've been waiting for. It's not coming. The gatekeepers are fading. The...
16 days ago • 1 min read
Yesterday I told you I'd share two lessons that cost me tens of thousands of dollars. Here they are. Both still make me cringe. Lesson 1: I waited too long to respond. When I first started, I had this idea that responding too quickly made me look desperate. Needy. Like I was sitting around waiting for leads to come in (which, to be fair, I was). So I'd wait. An hour. Sometimes a day. Just to seem... busy? Professional? I don't even know what I was thinking. Then I learned the data: 78% of...
17 days ago • 1 min read