You’ve done it — you have hit a big goal and have become a million-dollar producer! Congratulations… but now what? Did your spouse even care? Did they say? “That’s nice honey,
can you pick up some milk on the way home?” Did the town throw a parade? Fireworks? Did the mayor write you a congratulatory letter? I bet your branch manager or other overlord gave you a good “atta boy,” and with a wink and a smile said, “Keep up the good work!” I wonder.
Did the hollowness hit yet? That feeling of “I have done all of this work and this is it? This is all that there is? This is what’s on the other side of the rainbow?! I want to go back to Kansas… back to the illusion that when I make a million dollars or have a million dollars that everything will work out and all things will make sense because when you win the Super Bowl everything makes sense, and there is no more suffering or discontentedness.”
When you have first world problems like this, it’s hard to find people who relate to you because most people on the planet do not have to struggle with this concept because most people in the world think that if you make a million dollars or if you are wealthy, discontentedness disappears. And if you are north of a million dollars in production, who can you speak with to share your problems and frustrations and disappointments with your business and your life while making the amount of money that you do? You usually get the gift of guilt: “I should be happy and content, but I am not.”
It begets a deeper question that we can dive into: Why did you get into the business in the first place? If you went into financial services, the usual reason is to make a lot of money. Well, congratulations — you have made it! Now what? Instead of truly embracing the concept of “now what,” the individual distracts themselves from truly facing the man in the mirror and asking the hard questions. Standard conversation in financial services: “Well, if I made one million, why don’t I do two million? Well I just did two million, why don’t I do four million? Well, I just did four million, why don’t I…” dead at the desk in the office.
Good news and bad news: If you are doing more than a million in production, you are wired differently from most people. If you have earned over a million dollars, you are wired differently from most people. If you employ people, own a business, or you don’t receive a W-2, you are wired differently from most people. The hard truth is you are not normal. As one of my clients says, “I am Abbie Normal.” Correct. The hard part is that you think you’re normal. You associate with normal people. You love the TV shows that normal people like to watch, and hence, this is why you feel guilty and discontented. You are feeding yourself normalness every day, and it is messing with your head.
So what’s the cure?
The first step is to look in the mirror and admit you are not normal and you cannot do what normal people do and expect to be content.
The second step is to ask yourself, “Do I love what I do? And is what I do noble and right?” If your answer is no, it may be time to sell the business or begin to figure that one out. If you do not believe that what you do is noble and right, you’re fucked. You are either going to prison, getting fired, or meandering on the path of self-destruction, and it’s highly unlikely you’re making more than a million. Ouch. That was not nice but unfortunately true.
Step Three: Realize that you are wired differently. You are not normal. You are wired for opportunity and achievement. You are the rare breed I call the Motive Power. You are the driver. The engine. The maker of things. The world changer. It is your purpose to be the engine, the provider, the overachiever. You are the man in the arena. And this is all AWESOME! But the bad news is that it cannot be turned off. There is no off button, hence the discontentedness at hitting that million in production. In Zen, there is a koan that is beginning to make sense to me: Before enlightenment, chopped wood and carried water.After enlightenment, chopped wood and carried water.If you are a SuperCoach fan: The game of business can never be won, only played, but if you improve the player, the game itself improves. Come play with us and enjoy the game that much more.
