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.