High Achievers vs. Everyone else

Just finished watching the podcast about High Achievers vs. Everyone Else.

Because I'm a visual & tactile learner, I decided to create a little graphic for myself. Creating something myself helps me remember.  I'm also going to hang it up on my wall to keep it present in my mind.

Powerful stuff, and it's hard not to beat myself up about some of those points.

It reminds me a lot of the Growth vs. Fixed mindset research that I've been reading about recently.

It's distressing to me to realize how much of a Fixed mindset I have sometimes.  Addressing that is one of the many mindshifts I need to make over the course of this 6 month journey.

• I do tend to be paralyzed about getting started. 
• I do tend to take success or failure personally, rather than as an opportunity for learning. 
• I tend to hurry through failure as quickly as possible, rather than reflecting on it and trying to figure out how to do better next time. This is a big one. Makes me uncomfortable just thinking about it. That probably means I need to spend a lot more time here. 
• I definitely procrastinate.
• I...eeek...this one is extra uncomfortable....do create excuses instead of results.  Whew. Yuck. (But you can't fix a problem until you admit you have it, right?)

I have to give myself some credit too.

• I love being customer focused.  I love interviewing people. I love getting deep in the minds and hearts of the people I'm trying to help.
• This time around, I am 100% committed. I am going to make this happen, so matter what!
•  I'm actually really clear on my WHY, my big purpose. 

So what does that mean I need to DO?

1. I need to GET SHIT DONE. Take massive action. Get started. Launch an MVP. Call some customers (terrified of this one).  
2. That might be #2 for me as well.
3. And #3. 
4. And then I need to accept the fact that I will be imperfect first, but I will LEARN and I will REFLECT and I will TRY AGAIN. 

Starting now.

The 4 Pillars of Wealth: Oh no, I've been making other people rich!

Dane's Four Pillars of Wealth are pretty simple, but brilliant stuff. You need to create a business that has:

1. Automated Sales: Set up an automated sales process so that customers can buy without requiring my time and effort. Love this. I can be at the beach and making a sale!
2. Consistent, recurring revenue: It's just as hard to sell a product as it is to sell a subscription.  The difference is that a subscription pays you over & over again. A product pays you only once. 
3. Sell a re-producible product, or tool, instead of providing a service: Again, this goes back to breaking that fundamental trade of time for money.  I want to stop thinking of my value in terms of dollars per hour, and instead think in terms of value for the product I provide.
4. No accounts receivable: Get paid in advance. Sounds great, but he didn't explain this one.  Hopefully we'll learn more about it later. 

 As applied to Software as a Service, he positions this as a surefire path to success.

So do I buy it? Do I think this process can work?

Hell yes.

I spent the last 6 years working for a company that has grown to nearly $200 million in annual revenue following this model.  They're currently at 600+ employees and showing no signs of stopping.  They have consistent recurring revenue, and high customer lifetime value.  I helped them build that successful business, so I saw it from the inside out.


And there's the rub.

I spent 6 years of MY life helping someone else build the software company of THEIR dreams.

It's time to do this for myself. 

Are you ready too?

Starting From Nothing, Starting Over

Today is my last day in the 6 month journey of the Foundation.

That's right.  Today is not my first day, it's my last day.

Unfortunately, this last 6 month stretch has been one of the most difficult, tumultuous times of my life.  Instead of being able to grab life by the horns and go on this amazing journey with Dane & Andy, I've been consumed by other crap. The 6 months have slipped away and I haven't taken the kind of massive action I wanted to take. 

Today also happens to be my last day at my job.

Which puts me at a crossroads.

I must choose: Do I jump back onto the professional merry-go-round, into the security of a steady paycheck and the straightjacket of corporate America?  Or do I take that leap of faith and pursue the (scary, uncertain) path to financial freedom and independence?

I know which path I want to choose: the path to Freedom.

I don't yet know where the road will eventually take me, but I do know that I am 100% committed to following the path of The Foundation.  I'm going to do this, for myself, for my family, and for all of you out there who are as excited & scared as I am to pursue this entrepreneurial path.

So I've decided: instead of treating this as the LAST day of the Foundation, I am treating it as the FIRST.

I believe that it's never too late to start over. 

Today, I am Starting with Nothing,  all over again.

I welcome you to join me on this journey.  I'm so excited to begin.

-Jacki