Healthy Urgency

The Lead - Healthy Urgency

Back in 2017, I had this crazy idea to sign up for a 24 hour endurance event with a bunch of other guys here in Raleigh. Basically you pay money to have a former special operations guy come and put you and your group through a series of challenges, all with a weighted rucksack for the full 24 hours (this was before weighted vests were “cool”).

I had done some events before, but none that were 24 hours. I knew this was going to be a big mental and physical test beyond anything I’d ever done. And at the time of signing up, I was in good shape. But I wasn’t in the shape I needed to be in.

What followed was 6 months of rigorous and consistent training. I knew that I needed to get stronger and increase my endurance, but I also knew that the physical prep would also help my mental prep. There was the voice in my head saying, if you show up thinking that you didn’t work hard enough to prepare, then my mental game during the event would be in doubt.

The point is, on the mornings I didn’t feel like getting up and working out, I had to remind myself that I was one day closer to waking up for the event unprepared. Delaying or putting off the work would compund physically and mentally.

It’s amazing how much this event has since impacted my mentality around work and sales. Many of you reading this are sales people or sales leaders prepaing to finish out your 2025. You’re getting ready to make a push towards a goal that was set months ago. And 75% of the time to accomplish it has passed.

I suspect that some reading this don’t like the position you’re in. You may be feeling an uncomfortable pressure to reach a goal that now feels like a stretch. Maybe you feel like you’ve done everything you can. Maybe you doubt that you really have. But there’s good news, you still have time.

It would be easy to look back on what you could’ve done differently to avoid being in this position. And of course, there are always things in hindisght we could’ve done. Easy to say that now. The question is what comes next.

The first move is to take stock of what’s gone well. Where have your wins come from? What activities or habits have produced the best outcomes? What do you need to do more of? This will help you focus on the action that needs to follow.

You also need to block out the waste. This includes the things that haven’t worked, or haven’t produced results the way you wanted. Stop doing those things, at least for now. It also includes any head trash you’re carrying around. Are there things causing unnecessary distraction that can be eliminated?

Now that you’ve identified the areas of focus and the waste, it’s time to re-evaluate the goal. This is really a matter of how far you are from the big annual goal. If you’re way off and it’s just not realistic, go ahead and set a different goal for just the quarter. For round numbers, let’s say your goal for the year was 100 doors added to your PM company and you’re at 40. Instead of frantically figuring out a way to get 60 more doors, aim to add 25 for the quarter. 25 is what the intended pace needed to be all year. If you can do that in the final quarter, you’re set up well for Q1.

Once you’ve refined the goal, you need to set some micro goals. I’d encourage you to think in terms of activity. How many meetings per week? How many calls per day? Those types of goals are completely within your control, in a way the results aren’t. It’s also easier to motivate yourself around a daily and weekly goal that’s more consumable. Needing to make 250 calls this month is more intimidating than needing to make 10 calls a day.

An important aspect of this then becomes how you mentally prepare to go forward. If you wallow in what you should’ve been doing, you’re only making the problem worse. You can’t go back in time and do it differently. You can only go forward. So eliminate the negative self talk, and anything that might distract you from moving forward.

Make sure you write down your plan, and what you’re committing to. Most importantly, do it. When you get to 1/1 are you going to feel proud of the effort you put forth? You may or may not hit your goal. But you can at least put yourself in the right position to be successful, and ultimately feel good about what you accomplished.

As the days and weeks pass by, I’d encourage you to think about what you’re going to feel at the end of the quarter and the year. When the phone feels heavy, or you don’t feel like doing the work, are those moments you’ll look back at and regret?

Your preparation today is what ultimately will put you in position to win.