The Power of Acute Sales Pressure

I started my business the day I graduated college.

And unlike many of my counterparts, I had no debt to cover,
no spouse to support, no kids to feed, no employees to motivate, no coworkers
to support, no community responsibilities to fulfill and no social obligations
to juggle.

Sound liberating? It
was. And I’m eternally grateful that I was in that position for so long.
Certainly sustained my productivity.

The only drawback was, it made me less hungry. It made it
too easy not to care. If I didn’t make a sale, nobody’s life suffered except my
own. If I didn’t bring in new business, the repercussions were nominal.

Meanwhile, my older colleagues with looming mortgage
payments and recurring pediatrician bills were scrambling to close deals, lest
their families lose faith in their breadwinning abilities.

That’s why I didn’t make any money for three years – I
didn’t have to. There was never a deep-seeded motivation to develop that
muscle.

If I had to do it again, I think I would have installed more
acute sales pressure early on.