GarthBox

If you want to make great beer, it helps to create a yeast starter. In other words, you feed and multiply yeast cells before pitching them into the wort so they can do the work of turning sugar-water into beer.

You can still make beer by just tossing some yeast in, of course. But the starter can be the difference between okay beer and great beer.

Similar can be said for any project, really.

The starter can make all the difference.

Giving sales reps a list of prospects to contact might result in some okay outreach, but giving them some email copy templates to leverage turns it from good to great results.

Pitching a conference seminar topic with only a title might get you through the review panel, but working ahead to get the description and actionable takeaways listed out is bound to speed things up down the line (both in promotion and in internal execution of it).

Leaders don’t just lead. They place starters for others to lead on their own.

Stay Positive & More Bread Crumbs

It’s paralyzing to hype ourselves up to do more than what we need.

It’s challenging to set ourselves up to do what we need.

It’s inviting to set ourselves up to start toward what we need.

2,000 words per day. 1,000 words per day. 250 words per day.

1 hour per day. 30 minutes per day. 15 minutes per day.

Turns out when we make starting the goal, we end up getting where we need to be without any of the stress or paralysis of the distance to get there.

Stay Positive & Find Your Starting Variable

The first coach you should hire is yourself.

The one that can talk you up when you won’t listen to anyone else.

The one that will motivate you when the other coaches aren’t around.

That voice inside your head that speaks up before anyone can yell from the sidelines? That’s your first line of resistance (or persistence). That voice? That coaching voice? It’s yours.

Stay Positive & Start At The Source

If they know nothing about you, they can’t connect.

If they know nothing about your mission, they can’t contribute.

If they know nothing about your story, they can’t retell it.

If you’re after progress, it’s impossible to achieve without letting anyone else know.

Stay Positive & The Microphone Is In Your Hand (Always Has Been)

There’s no shortage of writing out there about the importance of being uncomfortable. It’s a sign of progress. It stretches us. It’s the gap between where we are and where we want to be.

But most people forget how debilitating it is to be in an ongoing absolute state of discomfort.

I’ll be the first to admit that you can be comfortable and be moving toward discomfort at the same time.

Example? My company just held a Revenue Kick Off meeting. While it was work, it was inspiring, validating, informational and motivating. It was comfortable. But all the comfort had purpose; its purpose was to help everyone move faster toward discomfort and through it.

By all means, ensure there’s some comfort in your life, but when you do, it’s important that the goal of it is to move toward discomfort. Anything short of that is merely a set back, hiding, and being comfortable because, well…it’s comforting.

Stay Positive & Always Toward, Never From

Tension moves things forward. It spurs action. It breaks bad habits.

The greatest stories, if you dissect them, are a symphony of tense moments – that’s creative writing at the core.

The greatest salespeople are those who leverage tension to move a prospect along the buying journey.

The greatest coworkers are the ones who can both be pushed forward with tension as well as do the pushing on us.

They say if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

I’d add, if you can’t offer the heat, get out of the kitchen, too.

Stay Positive & Strategize The Tension

Team-based selling outsells siloed with every deal.

Incentives directed at team progress over individual progress inspires everyone more.

A single person can come up with a great idea, but it takes a group to make that idea magical.

Have you noticed that every improvisor and stand-up comedian takes on different personas and voices during their show?

The faster you lean into a team mentality, the faster you’ll get where you want to go.

It even ties to the adage, you can have everything you want if you help enough other people get what they want.

Stay Positive & Where’s Your Team?