A lot of Entrepreneurs will get to a point
where they ask…
“How did I get here?”
Between 2018-2019, within 16 months I made over $10,000,000.
I remember my first million dollar month.
I’ve never told this story, before.
See, while I was building this in 2018,
there was a little voice in my head…
“Scott, this isn’t what you really want”.
I ignored it.
I continued.
It felt “good” on paper…
A big team.
A lot of impact.
A lot of cool things for my ego.
I felt “cool”.
Being a kid that wasn’t really liked
and certainly not cool.
I really, really, really liked this.
But… want to know the truth?
In the time in making over $10M.
I kept less than $900,000.
And then in April of 2019.
I had “the moment”.
Where the whisper becomes an echo chamber.
I gave up my alignment and truth to achieve growth, for the sake of
growth.
Every month that went by?
I was spending over $500,000 in just fixed expenses.
Further, I ended up here, not because I wanted to change something.
I ended up there, because I wanted to prove something.
And whenever you prove, anything, to anyone, including yourself.
You lose.
I remember the moment, I realized that I couldn’t keep going.
That it was out of integrity to keep building a business, even if it was
good on paper.
Even if, someday, I could sell it.
Even if, I had people, who wanted to invest in it.
Even if, it has impact.
It wasn’t MY calling.
It wasn’t MY vision.
It was out of ego, not from my heart or passion.
I called my CEO at the time and told him.
He tried REALLY hard to talk me out of it.
I knew my truth and I was finally ready to follow it.
See, when you follow your ego.
You generally don’t get what you really want.
In those 18 months, I kept less than a million dollars and the business
had almost zero profitability and managing a business, even
energetically, was so difficult.
Because it didn’t come from who I was…
It felt like I was working for my team…
I was making money for no other reason, but to spend it.
Energetically, it was completely off.
I felt resentment.
At the end, I sold part of the company.
I shut down the other part.
And I took another part back.
It cost me almost a million dollars to shut down that business.
If we do a little math.
I worked for 18 months, for free.
Again, another lesson.
Following your ego, doesn’t pay well.
The next 6 months of 2019, were some of the most difficult.
I built an 8-figure business.
Internally, I felt like I failed.
Or rather, my ego did.
I tell you this, because the road of Entrepreneurship is full of your
ego taking control.
You hire team, because you think you should.
You take on clients, you know you shouldn’t.
You expand your lifestyle.
You buy into the hype that others have created, for you.
You swim in the kool-aid that your ego’s created.
You become consumed by an identity.
And so, your heart and your soul?
They get drowned out, so you can’t hear them.
I’ve spent every moment since May of 2019, rebuilding this relationship
with my whole self.
Following flow and intuition.
Instead of what’s cool.
And you know what?
It’s worked really well.
I have no stress.
I have no anxiety.
I have a business that in 2020, generated more collected profit that I
was able to take out of the business than 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019
combinded.
YET… it was my lowest revenue year since 2017.
On average, I worked 25 hours a week.
I took 4 months off last year.
I STOPPED following and comparing to others.
I STOPPED buying into the kool-aid of who others think I am.
I STOPPED having a dream that wasn’t mine.
I STOPPED doing things that didn’t make sense for me.
I STOPPED having a business model from scarcity.
On this journey of Entrepreneurship.
It’s DIFFICULT not to allow Ego to control you.
Ego isn’t “bad”.
It’s needed.
While 2018 and 2019, certainly were no failure, in hindsight and I
learnt so much and helped so many people.
When you follow ego, blindly.
You can never arrive at true north.
And True North?
That’s what will always feel the best.
That’s what will always be most profitability.
That’s what will always be less stressful.
That’s what will allow you to never wake up and ask…
“How’d I get here?”
- Scott 🙂
