week 138: do you want to win or just practice

a subtle lesson in business and life

thank you to over 11,000 of you who tune in weekly and share this with your friends and family. it means the world to me to have you along for the ride as we build a zero-to-10-million-dollar business (we recently crossed $6m in 4 years) and beyond.

i also love adding a personal note at the end of these, and i’m so grateful for the space you give me to do that without judgment.

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there are two ways to think about business:

1. play to win
2. play like it’s just practice

let’s talk about what winning actually looks like:

• when it gets hard, you don’t quit — you pivot

• when you don’t know the answer, you don’t stall — you ask better questions

• when things slow down, you don’t blame — you reframe

in building GTM Partners to $5M+ in revenue, that’s the mindset shift i’ve had to make — again and again.

here’s what winning is not:

• when it gets tough, you don’t take it out on your team or customers

• when it gets impossible, you don’t unload that pressure on your family

• when no one’s watching, you don’t lower the bar

real business happens in being intentional in little things.

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on a personal note, i heard something powerful at my son’s tennis practice.

his coach stopped everyone mid-drill and asked:

“do you want to win or just practice?”

the boys said what you'd expect: “win!”

and then the coach fired back:

“then why aren't you grinding like it's match day?”
“why aren’t you giving it everything here when the stakes are low?”
“why aren’t you raising your own standard?”

man… i love this coach.

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leader point: in business and in life — play to win. not just when it’s game time.
especially when it’s practice.