Breaking fruitless cycles for 2024

This time of year usually turns into a season of reflection.

And can often end with feelings of disappointment…

Like the kind you see on your child’s face when they don’t see their most wanted gift under the Christmas tree. Great going, Santa. 

As we close out another year, feeling the “gap in the gain” is common. 

Maybe you’re realizing you didn’t meet the goals you set. That can be tough to swallow.

This conversation brings back memories of the first time I missed the mark…

Ah, yes — my 4th grade mission project. You don’t forget “first times.”

At this point in my life, I hadn’t had as big of a project in my hands as this one. My assignment was to build a model of one of California’s missions (for all of the Californians out there, share what your 4th grade mission was!).

My parents had to take me all the way to San Luis Obispo to visit my mission. This was by no means a simple project. 

They did that. I just chose not to build the thing until the night before it was due.

I’ll never forget the panicked look on my mom’s face when she realized… 

For most of us, we don’t reach our goals (or meet our deadlines) for 1 of 2 reasons:

• Wasted time: We juggled too many “priorities” and were buried under urgent tasks (that feigned importance). These stole time from our real goals. 

• Procrastination: We actively defied our goals by choosing to focus on other things. Hesitation championed and we let time for impactful actions slip away (like fourth-grade me, squashed under the weight of having to recreate a historic building. Does that sound fair for a 9-year-old??)

What I learned from fourth grade and from many, many other instances is that sometimes we alone don’t have the willpower to accomplish what we desire (... or must do 😬).

Today in 3 minutes or less:

✔️ Don’t be like Forrest Gump

✔️ My anti-procrastination secret

✔️ Coaching opportunity

DON’T BE LIKE FORREST GUMP 🍫

Your New Year’s resolutions will only be as good as your end-of-year reflections.

How so?

If you don’t know what’s not working in your habits, you’ll likely stay stuck in unrewarding cycles of ineffective effort.

Or be like Forrest Gump and go wherever the wind takes you. This might make for some fond memories, but you decrease your chances of getting to where you really want. 

I get to know my “stuck” points by running through this end-of-year reflection:

• I start by asking myself: What did I hope to accomplish this year that I didn’t?

• And then I go a step further… Why?

This one hits deep.

• Was it because, in hindsight, I wasted my time on less important things? Did I mistake urgency for importance?

• Or did I simply avoid the impactful work?

Reflection is powerful. Carve some space in the next few weeks to do it because these questions will give you a chance to pause and view your efforts and missed goals in a bright light.

MY ANTI-PROCRASTINATION SECRET 🤫

Do you wanna know how my 4th grade mission project ended?

Sure you do! What happened to helpless 9-year-old Matt?

Well, I was a success — thank you very much to any doubters out there.

I got it done the night before. But it wasn’t by sheer willpower. 

It was because of my mom. 

She stood by me all night, directing my focus — essentially managing my workflow. She told me what to do and when to do it, making sure I didn’t lose time focusing too much of my energy on any one piece of the work. 

She strategically guided me through my entire project.

Effectively, this was hand-holding — and even at my age and professional position, I don’t see a problem with it. 

Everyone needs guidance. In the SaaS world, we’re not born knowing how to be digital tycoons or sales pros. And sometimes, we just need an “expert” to show us the way, to learn from people whose strengths are our weaknesses or who’ve been in the same place we are. 

Why do you think so many of us attend Masterminds?? They’re effectively group coaching, just less personalized. 

Come December 29, I’m hosting a coaching call for anyone who wants to plan for profitable success in 2024.

I’ll share the framework we use to profit more throughout the year while finding ways to work less.

If you…

• Have realized that you didn’t reach your goals this year…

• Have never been very good with productive goal-setting and reflection…

• Or want to experience the power of setting goals with a group of like-minded people with similar entrepreneurial goals…

Scroll down to this week’s Golden Nugget section. Details and your way in will be there 🎟

Sometimes, the presence of a goal isn’t enough. It takes a deeper understanding of what’s been missing and what you need to achieve this goal. 

It takes reflective 🧠, purposeful 🔨 goal-setting.

And if you find that procrastination or faulty prioritization is your guilty (not so) pleasure, guidance and coaching are what you need.

To profiting more and working less. 💸 

-Matt

News you want to read...

🐋 Researchers have successfully communicated with a humpback whale in “humpback language.” Part of this experiment was to grow knowledge in extraterrestrial intelligence 🧠👽. Read what that means here.

🌋 Iceland, home to 32 active volcanoes, is in the middle of a volcanic eruption. This one erupted closer to residents than usual.

🍔 Did you know McDonald’s is opening a spinoff restaurant? Get ready for 2024.

👑 GOLDEN NUGGET OF THE WEEK 👑

Yesterday, I announced something special in Day 19 of SaaSmas…

Inspired by a reflection ritual my wife and I do every year. I’ve spun this practice into an essential business review that we swear by at HL Pro Tools.

The goal: To build a happy, robust, profitable business that allows you to win professionally while working less.

It starts with smart profit planning. Let me guide you through it.

RSVP for my 2024 Profit Planning for FREE. The price increases tonight.

We’re almost to Christmas 😵🎅🏽.

READY TO JOIN THE HL PRO TOOLS FAM?

Ready to kick your agency into high gear? HL Pro Tools has got your back with two awesome options to join our community and start making moves:

🌟 Get branded support for your HighLevel agency @ hlprotools.com. We give you all the tools you need to kick SaaS, complete with personalized branding that will make you feel like a boss.

🌟 Join our Facebook group and connect with other CEOs who are revolutionizing the game by sharing insider tips and tricks that will make you feel like a true industry leader in no time!

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