91. The Leading Indicator of Massive Success

When was the last time someone asked you why you’re doing something?

Why you’re going where you’re going, buying what you’re buying, wearing what you’re wearing, planning what you’re planning, cutting out what you’re cutting out.

Do you ever get questioned?

If you don’t, lean in, because being questioned is the leading indicator that you’re on your way to something important, something that you’re meant for.

Don’t just take it from me. Listen to the titans of industry in the podcast below.

Or, read on.

Personally, I’ve been asked some version of why I do what I do more times than I can count. It used to bother me, but lately I view it as a sign that something is going well. It makes me feel like some hard work is beginning to pay off.

It started around the time when I quit my job to become a real estate agent. “Why would you do that?” I would get asked all the time. Back then, I’d construct a thoughtful answer that said something like trying something new, following interests, flexible hours or some other bit of garbage. Looking back now, I know the reason I did it was because no one else I knew would.

Why are you doing that? Because you wouldn’t.

People question everything except average.

To go beyond average, you must go against the grain.

It’s harder this way, and it gets harder the further you go. You’ll be questioned every step of the way, and the voices will get louder as you progress, but the return on your efforts exponentially increase with the questioning you’re able to endure.

Average doesn’t understand anything but average, so don’t expect to be understood if you’re attempting to be something other than average.

Christina and I bet on ourselves and our entrepreneurial careers because we wanted more than average. Early indicators were positive. We bought a $78,000 Tesla, and everyone around us asked us why.

Time went by, and new and different opportunities presented themselves. As you know, we ended up shifting and opening a personal training gym, which took us for everything we had and more.

We sold the Tesla to cover our last bills so we could at least start operations in the new state of the art facility.

People asked us why.

Why put so much into a new business? We don’t own the building, so why spend so much on improvements? Why sell the car, which we owned outright, and put the funds directly into something we didn’t even own?

Believe me, we were asking ourselves why too. I even sat down with someone who I know to have gone through the wringer and emerged victorious, asking him if we should keep going.

He said no. He asked why?

That was my indicator we needed to continue and make this business happen. Look at everybody asking why.

Because you wouldn’t.

Proceeding beyond what’s expected of you is completely unreasonable. It’s irrational, but it’s extraordinary.

Ordinary isn’t questioned.

Like when we rented someone else’s lousy business to house our own. No one asked us why we were doing that.

Like when our fitness and health fell apart during our building years. No one asked us why.

Like when we continued to share one lousy car for multiple years. No one asked us why.

People asked us why when we bought a new truck earlier this year.

People asked us why when we levelled up our fitness and got healthier.

People asked us why when we stayed open and raked in extra cash on holidays.

People asked us why when we worked like dogs and saved enough money for a down payment on our home, which funded a huge portion of the business that will feed our family for decades to come.

To paraphrase the late, great Jim Rohn, society does not demand you make something of your life, but if you wish it, you must demand it of yourself.

Consider yourself lucky if you have people in your life that have higher expectations of you than you have for yourself. Keep those people close, as annoying as they can be. They’ll be hard to find.

The crowd is always biggest in the average category. As you progress, you’ll have more people asking you why and fewer people encouraging you.

So, if your inner circle is dwindling, and you feel that everyone is questioning you, you might be on to something.

It’s not that you should be doing the opposite of everyone around you or disagreeing with everything you see. But it kind of is.

Pay close attention to the people you spend time with and consider what a normal, decent life is to them. Is that what you want? If so, that’s awesome, because you just have to do what they do have what they have.

But if you’re looking for something different from what’s around you, you’re going to have to be different. You’re going to have to expect questions.

These days, everything is being questioned. The bar for average is getting lower and lower, making your opportunity for massive success larger than ever.

Don’t follow the majority. Chart your own course.

Your family, your career, your fitness, health, relationships, finances, values, faith, goals, dreams, impact, legacy.

Make them all extraordinary, then write a book about it, because I want to read it.

— Cody

PS: If you need some inspiration, watch “Good Will Hunting”.

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See you next Thursday.

Interested in chatting in person over a couple steaming cups? Send me a text!