Go Fast to Go Slow

That whole tortoise and the hare allegory is the worst thing we've ever heard. Why? Because it makes all children who hear it think that speed is inherently bad and "slow and steady wins the race" every time.

Who else out there knows that to be bullshit?

We're here to tell you to be both. Be the tortoise and the hare.

Leave the Fairy Tale Behind

The kind of success you're after doesn't happen overnight (if you don't believe us, go ahead and skip down to the "Shattering Illusions" part). It comes through years of attentive, intentional work and investment.

Pyramid schemes thrive because people believe in getting rich quickly. The lottery takes advantage of cash-strapped families hoping for a lucky windfall. Scams work by preying on our hopes for easy money.

Real wealth is built through consistency.

Contribute to your savings and investments with every paycheck. Train yourself to focus only on your goals, your vision for yourself, and your future.

There will be times when you need to take a risk, and when you get to that point you'll feel confident that you're making the right choices because you've built the muscle memory.

Trust Yourself

Did anyone else get that test prep book—or, this'll show our age—VHS companion tapes called "Where There's a Will, There's an A"?

One of the most interesting facts they share is that you are more likely to get an incorrect answer if you go back and change an original answer you put down. Why? Because your first response to a question is your best guess and most likely to be correct. Second guessing yourself actually puts you closer to failing that exam

Keep in mind, this is only true if you actually studied...

But the same is true in business. Learn to listen to what your instincts are telling you, and don't pull the trigger on anything that makes you feel more unease than butterflies. Speedy decisions that are good are possible with pre-work.

How to (Safely) Shatter Your Illusions

Ditching the myth of overnight success and easy money is easier said than done. Here’s how to rewire your brain:

• Recognize When You're ✨Under the Influence✨ - Media social and traditional, would have you believe that stars and successes come out of nowhere. The truth is, we don’t hear anything about their grind until after the rise to fame. Accept that you’re never getting the full picture of someone’s success story. The most satisfying videos you're watching on Instagram or TikTok? Those took hours, if not days to make. 
• Define Success For Yourself 🏆 - Part of what makes the “overnight success” so alluring is that we know it when we see it. Money and notoriety are obvious measures of success, but they are not universal. Establish your own measuring stick for success, and it'll be less tempting to take a bad shortcut. The most grounded people whose names you know felt successful before the fame.
• Connect A ➡️ B - We want easy money because we don’t know how to earn real wealth. The trial and error, the effort and expense, the risk...we’d rather avoid all of that and just have the money. That’s just not how life works. Overcome the fantasy by making a real plan. First go's nearly always fail, but you'll only continue failing if you let it define you. 

Don't Race Through Your Goals

How does any of this play out in your business life? Well, which one sounds more like you? When setting a goal, you...

A) ...set 20 little goals you want to accomplish in the next three weeks

B) ...go after three big goals that you want to realize in the next year

C) ...know where you want to be in the next 10 years, and go from there

One of the factors of an effective goal that you've set for yourself is that it's time-sensitive. In other words, your goal has a deadline. 

But let's unpack this. 

In theory, a deadline should be a tool to motivate you through the pressure of accountability. But that only works if your goal is: first, ambitious enough, and second, timely enough. 

So how do you find the balance? You answer D) All of the Above. 

You want to work in a way that will balance out the tortoise and hare sides of entrepreneurship. When setting goals for your endeavor, business, expansion, etc., balance short-term goals with long-term goals—or, as Chris talks about in his podcast, to-do lists with today lists. 

When you build cohesion between "quick turnaround" and "a bit more grueling (but a bigger payoff)," you'll keep your vision for your future in sight while feeding that entrepreneurial ego that got you here in the first place!