The More List

Last I wrote, I was taking a beat to review the first quarter. How is 2022 going for you so far? How are you goals coming along?

I find the hardest thing about goal followthrough is keeping the desired destination locked in. It’s all too easy to fall back into old routines.

Not only that, it’s challenging to untangle your current way of doing things, even if the things you’re doing aren’t working or getting you the results you want. That’s what I’d like to discuss with you today.

Doing Versus Undoing

I’ve been reimagining the way I think about business—mine, yours, and the companies I serve in between. And, let me tell you, it hasn’t been easy. It’s taken more time and research than any book I’ve ever written. It’s been more challenging to tackle than any product I’ve ever created.

To undo the way one thinks in pursuit of a more efficient approach takes two things we rarely afford ourselves: time and space. I’ve been writing to you about this all year in various ways.

• What if you only subtracted from your schedule this year? No adding “more.”
• What does less, but better look like for you?
• How can you bring forth more from the work that already exists?
• Is your pursuit of success endangering success itself?

When I revisited my business, I had to work incredibly hard not to become a creature of habit and fall back into endless have-to’s and to-do’s that are nonessential. As I reopened up my email list, website, social accounts, etc.— I fell into a burning ring of fire.

Before I knew it, I had a knee-deep list of #allthethings I’d have to do to get it going again because doing #allthethings was the the only way I knew how to get it done.

It took months for me to think my way out of the way I’d always done things. Several months of research, several months of discussion with you, and I’m still applying a filter to my thought processes on a regular basis. I literally don’t trust myself not to fall back into habit.

Doing #allthethings is easy. Undoing that habit is hard work, but it holds all the answers.

The Habit of Doing

The downfall of my previous operation involved 2 things: the habit of nonessential doing and the undisciplined pursuit of growth. And, it’s not hard to see why.

What advice are we given in business?

• Put your head down, and get to work. Just start doing.
• Be everywhere. Be omnipresent. Be on your customer’s radar all the time.
• Achieve the win, then scale it! Do it over and over!
• Add more offers. Get more sales. Grow your list.

I don’t need to go on, we’ve all heard this advice. Heck, I’ve given this advice. And while it may get you on the map, it doesn’t guarantee you’ll be happy where you end up.

In the final edition of my book, Your Best Year, I was greatly influenced by the book, How Bad Do You Want It? by Matt Fitzgerald. (My books & those that have impacted me can be found here.) It’s written to endurance athletes, but I could’ve exchanged the word “athlete” with “entrepreneur” throughout the book—it’s that relevant to what we do.

According to Fitzgerald, in order to make it as an endurance athlete, the answer to the question: “How bad do you want it?” always had to be, “MORE.” And in translating that for entrepreneurs, I agreed! We always have to want it MORE.

However, what I failed to do was identify what exactly I was asking for more of.

The More List

I’ve come to re-evaluate what I’d be asking for more of from my business in years past. I don’t just want more money, and I certainly don’t want more responsibilities!

Along my journey and in my undisciplined pursuit of growth (no direction, no definition, just MORE!), I lost my way. I no longer felt on purpose. The work I was producing wasn’t born of true inspiration or meaningful desire, it was created because I had to produce.

One of my new favorite questions to ask is: What, specifically, do you want more of?

I want more reliable business systems. I want more meaningful connections. I want more adventure + new experiences with my family and friends.

For every new project or endeavor I consider, I filter it against my personal “more list”:

• Is it (or can it become) a reliable and/or automated business system?
• Will it provide more meaningful connections?
• Will it become a resource for adventures and new experiences?

If a product, project, or endeavor cannot pass this litmus test, I won’t pursue it. How about you – what’s your list of more?

Until next time and all the best,