4 Powerful Behaviours That Will Make You More Successful (Faster)

No progress, no life.

Ignore everything you know.

It’s only gotten you this far, right?

No progress, no life. Standing in one place is boring as hell. It makes you fat, addicted, and wastes your potential.

The juice of life is in what you don’t know. New knowledge can skyrocket your business and your life in days. It’s unbelievable. That’s why everyone tells you to learn.

There’s only one problem: you can’t learn without doing. New knowledge should turn into new behaviours.

“Yes, I know I should.”

“And do you?”

“Well, not yet…”

Most people won’t do any of the things they learn.

Then, out of the small percentage of people who will, most will just try. They won’t go 100% in. They won’t leave their comfortable limiting beliefs behind. They will keep hugging their fears and convictions good night. They try. What more do you want?

That was me a while back. I was progressing with the speed of an old snail. I either didn’t do the work, or I was trying. Last year, I stopped messing around and jumped in head first. Here’s what that means.

“Do or do not. There is no try.”

I almost got broke.

I bought Marie Forleo’s B-School course worth over $2000. I paid it in instalments, so it came to $2800 for me.

It doesn’t sound that much for someone who claims they’re a successful solopreneur, but what you don’t know is:

• We pay for private preschool for our two children
• My grandma is in a private dementia care facility
• My mom was diagnosed with cancer

Then, in the middle of the summer, my main source of income disappeared. Not sure what happened, Fiverr just dropped. That’s what you get for running a business entirely based on platforms.

There was a moment when buying that course seemed like a very, very bad decision. It may have been just $2.8K, but we needed it.

I never regretted it, though. In fact, my lowest moment kicked me into action. I realised I couldn’t afford to take money out of the family budget to learn if I was not going to act on it.

I finally started that e-mail list, fixed my LinkedIn account, started showing up on more platforms and became my own publicist. I attracted a bigger audience and more clients. I unlocked new revenue streams.

I even got interviewed for a big publication recently, though I can’t say more before the article comes out.

Take a risk. Then, force yourself to deliver on it.

I copy people (shamelessly).

Copying people?

I have to come up with my own amazing ideas if I want to make it online, right? Who wants to listen to the same advice again and again?

Here’s who: everyone.

People need to hear one thing a thousand times before they even consider doing it. They need to hear it in different ways, told through different stories.

People are sceptics. They don’t give a fuck about your awesome new idea. What they really want is for you to force them to do something that works. If you don’t kick them in the A, they just won’t do it.

Here I am. Convince me. That’s what’s written on their foreheads.

Here’s the catch. You can’t convince them alone, and you definitely can’t convince them with just one post, one article, or one anything.

Instead of going at it alone, why not join the conversation? See what others in your industry do and build on it.

• Show up on social media. Follow the people you like, or kind’a like. See what they talk about.
• Subscribe to newsletters. See what people talk about.
• Enter some FB groups. I’m in at least 5 groups for freelancers, writers and solopreneurs. I see the questions being asked, the problems being shared, and the answers being given.

Then, I use all of that to come up with my next article or newsletter. Let me tell you, I NEVER suffer from a lack of ideas. In fact, I have a long list to choose from — and they always resonate.

It’s helped me pump out 6–10 long-form pieces of content every week for the past 6 months.

I’m an annoying self-promoter.

Are you annoyed by self-promoters?

It’s because you don’t promote yourself enough. So you’re angry at them for stealing all the attention.

Yes, some people do become annoying pushing their offers — but few. Most solopreneurs are too self-conscious to say what they have to offer and why it’s awesome.

Aggressive marketing will beat not-stepping-on-any-toes marketing any day.

Of course, part of the issue is that most solopreneurs don’t sell anything at all. They count on platforms to do the selling for them.

I used to be like that. Fiverr sold my freelance service. Medium sold my writing. I’ve made a lot of money not selling anything — but not nearly as much as I would’ve made if I had started self-promoting and selling sooner.

At the beginning of December, I launched my paid newsletter for solopreneurs. I know for a fact that it’s the best $100 you can spend as an under-$100K solopreneur, and I started selling the heck out of it.

I designed a special offer for the last 2 weeks of 2023, and I promised myself that I’d mention my special offer at least twice a day until the end of the year.

I sold my paid subscription to 3 out of 200 people. Ridiculous conversion rates, I know, BUT this was the first thing I sold on my own. No platform did my bidding for me.

Don’t you want to be able to say the same?

You feel uncomfortable promoting yourself because you don’t feel good enough. That’s the only reason, and you know it.

Ironically, when you start putting yourself out there, that’s when you become good enough. The sheer pressure of it will make you show up in a way you’ve never shown up before.

Sure, in the beginning, it will suck. Even Tim Denning sold 2 units of his first-ever course. So what?

I’m not worried or ashamed about my results. I know I created an awesome product and sold it on my own. How cool am I?

I force myself to work less.

You don’t have a time problem.

You have a planning problem.

Most people plan as if nothing will ever go wrong. Since Mom was diagnosed with cancer, I did my work in half the time, waiting out front of doctors’ offices.

It made me resilient as fuck. I constantly challenge myself to be ultra-effective so that life circumstances don’t get in the way.

Now, I don’t get angry when my kid is sick and has to stay home. I’m able to relax completely during vacations and holidays.

Despite working less, I progress faster.

My to-do list can be done in less than four hours, and I can do most of my tasks on my phone. This means I prioritise like crazy. No time for stupid things. Only what matters + learning and iterations, so I find the ultimate way to do what matters.

Life will always get in the way. Learn to live with it.

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