GarthBox

One way you can measure success is by what it looks like to you. If it looks like having a good amount of family time, then that’s easy to measure.

Another way to measure success is assigning a dollar amount to what you bring in each month.

Yet another way could simply be how many nights you go to bed feeling fulfilled about your day.

All those measurements might be the right answer. None of them is certainly not the right answer.

The truth of it is having an answer to how you’re measuring success is the right answer.

Anything short of having an answer is simply asking for frustration, pain, and lackluster emotions.

Stay Positive & Assign A Measurement Today

In the NCAA tournament alone, there were roughly 46 true buzzer-beaters from 1944 to 2025 and there have only been a total of 820 game-winning buzzer-beaters in NBA history (that’s fewer than 1.2% of all NBA games).

Relying on a buzzer-beater isn’t a smart strategy. Nor is practicing for it if you’re practicing at the expense of time you could be practicing another more impactful strategy.

Stay Positive & Play Toward Your Chances

Oh how incredibly easy it is to overlook the strain one experiences when they are doing the work.

We look at the deck that was built but we don’t know how sore the hands and muscles are of the ones who built it.

We review the email nurture and critique it to improve it without acknowledging how exhausted the writer is from focusing for hours on the multitude of sequences and personas for each.

That said, it’s quite simple to prevent the habit of overlooking: start the conversation off with one question – “How are you feeling after that?”

Stay Positive & Start With Empathy Before Criticism

I’m working with an editor right now and he was going to be late delivering the third milestone. Some people would have just delivered it a day late. And maybe they would apologize. But artists are proactive communicators. He gave me a heads up that he would be a day late before I ever had to wonder where things were.

You’d be amazed at the amount of grace people will give when you are proactive communication.

When it comes to time, permission is a better option than asking for forgiveness.

Stay Positive & Another Reason They Call It A Deadline

Every salesperson loves to say it: “This industry is all about relationships.”

They’re not wrong. But let’s ask this:

1. How many calls have you made this week to nurture those so-called relationships?
   If it’s all about people, show me the activity. Show me the site visits. Show me the effort that proves you’re invested in something beyond the transaction. Outside of work, who have you emailed that you consider being in a relationship with? There’s a threshold of activity that represents a relationship – and a threshold that doesn’t. Which are you in?
   
2. How many customers have you asked to be a reference?
   If it’s truly a relationship, they’d vouch for you—right? So are you asking? Are you earning that kind of trust? And how many are you asking to introduce you to someone else? That’s the real power of a relationship; it’s a connection point to another one. And what I also hear salespeople say is: “They all know each other and talk to each other.” All the more reason to ask to be introduced to someone while you’re on the phone with them, right?
   
3. How often do you reach out to closed customers without asking for anything?
   Relationships aren’t built on renewal dates and upsell opportunities. They’re built on consistency, value, and genuine interest—even when there’s no deal on the table. Actually, especially when there’s no deal on the table. So, I’d love to see the numbered answer to this question for every person that says they are in a relationship industry.

Try This Instead: You’re In The Trust Business

Trust is measurable. Trust is active. Trust is earned every time you follow up without a pitch, every time you make a customer feel seen, every time you deliver value without strings attached.

So stop calling it a relationship unless you’re actually putting in the work to build one. Pick up the phone. Revisit the site. Ask for the reference. Deliver value when it’s quiet.

And if you do that consistently? You won’t just say you’re in the relationship business. You’ll prove it.

Stay Positive & That Is Why You’re Here Right? You’ve Got Something (Meaningful) To Prove

If someone is engaged in conversation with you, chances are good that the most impactful statement you can make is advising them on how they can level up.

If they’re talking with you – and this might sound bad – they want something out of it. Sure, address the concern or question or topic they’ve brought up, but bolt a leveling up suggestion on with it.

“I appreciate the recommendation, and next time it would be stronger if you shared two alternatives you vetted against it” is a load more helpful than simply, “I appreciate the recommendation.”

Great leaders and mentors treat every engagement as a chance to lead and mentor; the opportunity is always there if you lean in for it.

Stay Positive & It’s Awesome You Read This, But You’d Benefit More If You Started Your Own Blog Too

Then there’s no point in handing off a project. No point in asking them to do something.

The only reason you ought to be talking to them right now is to discover what makes them tick.

Finding out their love language is a great place to start.

Once you know that, proceed with all the asks, projects, feedback, and so on.

The results will amaze you.

Stay Positive & It Works Just The Same To Tell Others What Your Love Language Is, Too