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Build Momentum – How To Build Up A Head Of Steam, Then Conquer The World

How To Build Momentum

Have you ever heard this expression?  “If you want to get something done, give it to the busiest person on the team.”

This is profoundly true, and there’s a reason:

Momentum

I honestly think building and maintaining momentum is half the battle in life.  Why? Because once you have inertia working for you, things become almost effortless.  When you don’t have that same momentum, even simple tasks start to feel herculean.

So, in some ways, an entrepreneur’s chief personal focus should be on building up and maintaining momentum.

Here are some thoughts on just that.

To Create Momentum, Don’t Give Up Immediately


Remember, when you first start any project, it takes a while to build up momentum.

Sometimes at the very beginning, the task seems so daunting you think you can't do it simply because you haven't gotten in the groove.

So that’s rule number one.  When something is daunting, never quit in the first few days.  You may be confusing a lake of positive momentum with “this is impossible.”  Keep going, at least a month. Minimum.

To Build Momentum, Start Small


If you aren’t moving forward, getting started is going to suck.  I call it mental inertia.

My advice?  Just start.  But with this twist.  Start ever so slightly.  Don't try to do everything at once.  Instead, strive for frequency of action.  A little bit each day.  Every day.  Every day.  After a couple of weeks, you will have real momentum going.

Notice how I said a couple of weeks?  That's the point.  It takes time to get the momentum going.

To Maintain Momentum, Beware Of This…. 


Here’s where I do have some bad news for you.  If you dial back your efforts and take time off, you immediately start to lose momentum.  For someone in a demanding workplace, this isn’t a huge deal.  Why?  The second you get back to work the taskings coming your way are so intense that you spring back into the flow m quickly.  You have no choice.

But for the entrepreneur?  The break can be deadly.  You have lost momentum, and nothing but you can force you to build it back up.

Here are some specific tips to use after you take a break:

  • Your first day back after a vacation, just force yourself to get up early and get working just like you did before you went on vacation.  You probably won’t be as productive.  But get into work mode and work position -- and go through the motions.  After a few days, you should be right back in your prior rhythm.

  • Set concrete, ambitious deadlines during your first few days back.  If you are cranking to get something done, you will slide back into the rhythm.

  • Intentionally don’t schedule much fun the first few days back.  By signaling to yourself that the fun is over and now it’s time to work, you will switch off the “fiesta siesta” mindset that you enjoyed while taking a break.

You can never rest on your laurels as an entrepreneur.  You just have to keep on keeping on.

Building Momentum - Over To You 


One final tip.  What’s that one thing you really want to do?  You think about it, but you feel dread.  Go take a tiny stab at it.  Like 5-10 minutes worth of work.  Right now.  Fucking right now.  I never cuss online, but this matters. Go fucking push at it.  Just a bit. 

Your (figurative) boulder might not seem to move at all when you push.  But I guarantee you one thing.  Your shoulders will be stronger the next time you try.  Who knows?  This one little effort could be the start of something marvelous.

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