Breakthroughs - Your Big Break

 

You work hard every day. When is your breakthrough coming? When are you going to have your big break? In this episode I break down (see what I did there) some of the insights I've learned from my own experiences about how and when breakthroughs happen, for me and for you.

 

 

Breakthroughs

 

(0:02 - 1:08)

Breakthroughs are coming, okay, and they will happen, and they do happen, and they will happen for you also, if they haven't already happened for you yet. The thing about breakthroughs is they're kind of like, it's kind of like chasing a cat, I've found, right? There's dogs and cats, obviously, but there's two types of ways, right? You call a dog, or you, you know, the dog comes to you, but a cat, you have to like, you have to like coax the cat, you know? Dogs like want to hang out with you, usually come to you and all that sort of stuff, but cats are totally different in that if you go after the cat, it'll run away. So the trick with, with breakthroughs is that you have to attract it.

(1:09 - 2:13)

You have to coax it out from under the couch or wherever it's hiding, you know, that far away land somewhere between where you are and that thing you want, that thing you want to happen and wherever it's hiding. I've had the good fortune of several breakthroughs in my life, along my journey, and if you talk to people, you know, who've done great things and have experienced great things, they will tell you that like, breakthroughs don't happen every day and the big break, the big opportunities, you know, they aren't, they aren't regular necessarily. It's not like a recurring thing.

(2:13 - 2:57)

If you have a life or a world where these breakthroughs are happening for you and like, you're just hitting the stratosphere in your journey, you know, this is kind of career related or financial related or, you know, or similar. This is usually how we refer to this kind of stuff. Could be sports, you know, could be, you know, in the business that you're running, you know, people who've experienced them will tell you, and I'm one of them who has experienced them, will say that they don't happen all the time.

(2:57 - 3:48)

And so setting up for a breakthrough, attracting the breakthrough, coaxing the cat, the breakthrough cat into your hands is a bit of an art form and then a whole lot of, you know, faith and trust in that happening. And not only have I experienced them, but I've experienced them in different areas of my life, you know, at different times. And it's just, it's become a particular thing to kind of think about, talk about, and to try and like dissect and break down.

(3:49 - 4:11)

So no matter where you're at, the key is right now for you, in my opinion, is to get the self-talk, you know, straight. Get your self-talk squared up, that your breakthrough is coming. It will happen.

(4:12 - 5:09)

Trust in the forces that you can't see, that you can't control, that are working in your favor around you without you realizing it, without you knowing about it. And then for yourself, do the work that you can control. Do the things that you know need to be done, right? To improve your circumstances, to improve the conditions, to improve the fundamentals of your activity around which you will increase your odds and your chances of that happening.

(5:11 - 5:39)

So the things that you can control. So like studying best practices of whatever it is you're doing. Following trends of things that are occurring in the space you're operating in, right? So really getting a feel for, to use a hockey analogy, where the puck is going, not where the puck is today.

(5:40 - 6:27)

Um, you know, where the energy is today is great, but there's a very good chance that there's a whole bunch of people there already. So where's it going to be next? And there's a very good chance that that energy and many people are going to follow it there next. Now you don't have to go stand out on an island and be completely, you know, isolated in this, you know, approach, but look at the clues, look at the data, look at the conversation.

(6:28 - 7:18)

Um, most platforms that you're on, tools that you use now have, you know, trend indicators of what's trending so that people can, you know, participate in that and in greater ways, almost swarm to these things. But even before that, that's the general behavior of how people respond to trends. So, you know, first it's one, then it's two, then it's four, then it's eight, then it's 16, 32, 64, right? And this, um, this community of people who are then participating in that thing, you know, multiply.

(7:18 - 8:01)

And so whatever it is you're doing, like if you're a real estate agent, uh, if you're, you know, a CEO of a company, you know, you have your startup, um, you know, you're an artist in your world. What is, what are the best practices fundamentally of your craft? Then also what are the trends of the way people are operating within, uh, your craft within, um, you know, that area. So like to be a, to be a great real estate agent, you need to know a bunch of these things.

(8:01 - 8:58)

You need to develop schools and, or skills, I should say, in a bunch of these areas, right? And then it's 2023, you know, at least as I'm saying this, unless I'm recording this. So what are the big trends, uh, and tools out there in 2023? And what are real estate agents using effectively and most effectively at present? And you know, how are they using them? And then on top of that, where, uh, are those tools going? You know, there's lots of data out there about like, how these platforms envision their future. And, you know, they like to guide people.

(8:58 - 9:31)

And it's not just about social platforms, but this is just an example, right? To, um, position yourself to be in the game really, right? Even if like, let's just keep using this example, right? Even if as a real estate agent, uh, you know, you don't have many listings at the moment. Nobody really knows who you are. You've just completed your studies.

(9:31 - 9:43)

Right. You've just got your license. Um, you don't have a very big following, you know, you probably have that echo in your own brain about like how much, you know, versus you don't.

(9:45 - 9:59)

But, you know, you need to trust that you do. I mean, if you passed, then, you know, you're in the game, right? It wouldn't give you your license if you didn't know what the heck you're doing. So trust in that.

(9:59 - 11:01)

And then you get started, right? So you can look at all these things and go, okay, like, what are the fundamentals I need to operate? And how is my positioning with respect to these fundamentals? What are the tools, um, everyone's using now to do the business, to do the work and also do it effectively, do it in a more interesting or compelling or exciting or progressive way that people maybe didn't do five, 10 years ago. You know, where's the kind of the cutting edge of that? And then within those trends, what are the things that are the kind of future direction, right? So as we're talking, I mean, here I am. I'm sharing some audio, but video is, you know, super hot right now.

(11:03 - 11:22)

AI is super hot right now. How would those apply to the things that you do? And so you want to look at that. And you also want to think like, where's that going to be? So you can invest and develop into, um, growing your skills in those areas.

(11:23 - 11:50)

And then pulling them in to compliment, uh, the work you're doing, like in your niche, no matter who you are, whether you're an artist, let's, let's use art for a bit, right? You're an artist. You don't have a very big following. You create these like, you know, art pieces that people can buy, right? And, um, they could be one offs or they could be kind of prints, but you'd like people to buy them.

(11:50 - 11:58)

Nobody knows who you are. What you've done, you know, that sort of stuff. So like you've got to get the fundamentals in place.

(11:58 - 12:13)

You've got to get those pieces in place and those fundamentals like, right. Like you're, you need your website. You need your, you know, your brand, uh, you need your messaging.

(12:13 - 12:22)

You need your photography of your art, your descriptions. You need like all this basic stuff, right. And then it's not just having it.

(12:22 - 13:32)

You need to actually look at each of those elements and go, am I doing this the best way? What is the best way that, you know, artists do this and what are the trends in this space with respect to art and advancing like an independent artist business, you know? And so you do that. And as you do that, you've got like a solid foundation, right? And then upon the solid foundation, you can do the work, which is going to increase, um, you know, your, uh, profile, which is going to increase, you know, your audience and increase, you know, leads and potential you have, um, to advance your thing, whatever it is. And that needs to be consistent work, right? Because to, to break through, to break out, there's some things you need to develop, I would suggest and establish, um, for this to occur.

(13:34 - 14:01)

And one of the big things in that is like comfort, uh, familiarity is another trust, um, uh, you know, connection. Um, I'm thinking of my, you know, artist example here. So like, you know, as an artist, no one knows who you are.

(14:01 - 14:46)

So like they want to get to know you and people want to kind of get familiar with your work and your craft and how you work and, um, you know, why this matters to you. Uh, as much as them. Um, and you know, they want to see that work kind of evolved for a bit, you know, you'll build this audience and building audience takes some time, but as you share and you continue to do the work that is best practices and, you know, consistently share your message and your brand and your story and your vision and all that, then what will happen is that, you know, your audience will grow.

(14:47 - 15:05)

Your community around your work will grow and then opportunities will emerge. Maybe, you know, first few people start buying your stuff. Uh, you know, then maybe you start getting a little bit of coverage.

(15:05 - 15:37)

So maybe like a blog rates you up or features you, maybe you get added to like a, you know, cool new artists list or something. Um, so you get a little bit of, you know, press a little bit of support PR, right. Which will bring some, some more leads and maybe start getting some reviews or testimonials from some of the first people who have, um, uh, started, you know, buying from you, working with you or similar.

(15:37 - 15:57)

Right. And so now you've got a little bit more of a foundation, right. And then this is all like in prep for the part you can't control, which is when is lightning going to strike? Like, when is the huge breakthrough going to happen? Right.

(15:59 - 16:23)

You remember the guy, uh, I can't remember the guy's name. Did you hear about this guy during the kind of NFT rush using this artist example? And this guy created this like pixel art and I'm not like the most familiar on it. So I'm going to like probably glaze over the description of it.

(16:23 - 16:46)

But like this guy worked on these like squares and these square, there was like a, uh, like a celebrity piece or something. And then he had this like master piece of like all of the squares and it was like digital art. Right.

(16:48 - 17:21)

And this guy was like one of the first kind of movers, I believe in the space before anyone was really interested in it for anybody knew really what an NFT was right before like everybody started buying. You know, investing in digital art and, uh, I own a few pieces, um, myself. Um, but then it started happening, right? People got interested in this stuff.

(17:21 - 17:40)

They started taking a serious look at it. They started thinking, oh, you know, what is this all about? I'm pretty interested in this, in this space. And they started liking the different art and these different collections started, you know, being, uh, deployed and generative art started happening.

(17:40 - 18:04)

So you'd get, you know, one of a collection of, you know, 5,000 units or whatever. But anyways, this guy had this piece and he, I think he sold several pieces, but then his like, we'll call it, you know, his masterpiece. I mean, why wouldn't we, because I believe it was auctioned on Sotheby's.

(18:04 - 18:39)

I want to say Sotheby's and it, I don't know why I want to say Sotheby's, but I think it was, and I think it's sold for like, I don't know. I want to say like 50 million or something. It was, it was massive, right? So, you know, here's a guy who's doing a bunch of work in a space that nobody's paying attention to.

(18:39 - 18:47)

Nobody knows at all, really. It has no real thing. And this isn't just like digital art only.

(18:47 - 19:08)

It's like encrypted, you know, on the blockchain, uh, minted art. So, you know, like if you own that, you own the one, right? So it's like a, you know, authenticated digital art. So it's not just being replicated.

(19:09 - 19:36)

It's all like traced and stuff. And this is a big thing, just as a side note, um, for blockchain technology that will have a lot of, um, application in future years. Still, I believe, despite whatever, you know, the Bitcoin prices today or, or similar, the underlying tech has a lot of implications, you know, in positive ways, I believe.

(19:37 - 19:42)

And, um, that's how that space came about. But here's a guy doing that. Nobody's paying attention.

(19:42 - 20:05)

Nobody's looking, whatever. And then it starts to come about. And what has he, um, managed to, uh, set up? What has he managed to, uh, to prepare is just his, his canvas, really his, his presence, his, his craft and a portfolio of it.

(20:05 - 20:27)

So when the wind changes direction, when the wind came at his back, right. And people were ready for this stuff, he's there. And then when it, when it really breaks out and lightning strikes on the space, which, you know, if you're a trader, right.

(20:27 - 20:34)

It's like when a stock goes parabolic, it's like, it's, you know, look at the stock chart. It's a great example. Right.

(20:35 - 20:53)

Of how this kind of works. Your stock's like flat, flat, nobody's really paying attention. Maybe your mom, you know, maybe like your best friend, like whatever, you know, got this stock you own or you're running as a company.

(20:54 - 21:05)

Uh, you know what I mean? Like friends and family, people that are closest to, you know, but nobody else is really paying attention. Everyone else is out doing whatever they're doing. And you just keep executing.

(21:05 - 21:18)

And, you know, as you execute things start kind of happening and, you know, things start kind of moving forward and maybe finance your company. Right. And then people are kind of taking a closer look.

(21:19 - 21:32)

And then there's the lightning strike, which is the part you can't control, which is the, which is the moment where like something macro shows up. Okay. So like, if you're a digital artist, like he was right.

(21:32 - 21:53)

NFT is minted art. Well, the space gets all this attention and all this press and everybody's suddenly looking at it and wanting to be a part of it and buy the things right. If you're in real estate, maybe like a new real estate policy, uh, you know, is enacted.

(21:54 - 22:40)

Um, maybe there's like a watershed moment in, um, a region, uh, or a type of home or, um, uh, you know, um, like a, uh, tax credit system or something. There's so many different types of examples, but there's something that like shifts the ball game. That's out of your hands or out of your control that, you know, just creates a rally where people show up and, you know, they're all looking for who's there and you want to be there.

(22:40 - 22:47)

So it doesn't matter. Right. Um, what are who you are? It's like, uh, let's use an acting example.

(22:49 - 23:23)

Um, lots of different examples, but maybe, you know, the seventies are back, right? And now all of a sudden everyone's looking for like really hippie vibing people, right? And then people look at my profile and see me with my long hair on a beach or something. And they're like, that guy's a fit, right? And then you get, you know, cast in the hippie theme show and it's a break, you know, it breaks out. All of a sudden everybody's watching that.

(23:23 - 23:58)

And this whole theme's happening, right? And you get a run until it moves on to something else and you can cut your hair if you want to keep kind of chasing that thing generally or whatever you want to do. But, um, but generally speaking, that's kind of what happens, right? So like in the stock market, you know, you're working, you're working, you're working, you're grinding, whatever. And then like a sector gets hot and it gets super hot and maybe it's gold.

(23:59 - 24:45)

Maybe it's, you know, a certain kind of tech, right? And then you have that thing. Maybe you're in tech, but what you see as an example is like AI tech is coming. So as it starts percolating, as you start getting first wind of this, where you start seeing where the trends coming, what trends are ahead of the business I'm in, then, you know, you implement some of that in your business, right? And so then when it hits and everybody's looking for AI companies, there you are, and they find you, right? And now this rush is funneled in your direction.

(24:47 - 25:47)

This is really, in my experience, the kind of like, you know, shape and behavior of, of a breakout of breaking out of like a pattern. And you just don't know exactly when it's going to happen, but what you do know, which, you know, once you've done it once, especially once it's happened twice, you know, you definitely are like, okay, I just have to like, do the thing. I just have to hang in there with this thing I'm doing, or just need to keep like, you know, just fine tuning it and, and it'll come, right? So, you know, the general moral of the story is that breakthroughs are generally out of your control, but they're coming.

(25:47 - 26:47)

And the way that you can control them, at least in part, is by auditing yourself and your fundamentals, making sure, you know, your I's are dotted and T's are crossed. Making sure that you're using best practices at present, and three, making sure that you're staying up to speed on trends, not just in your industry, but in other related areas, tools, whatever, so that you can be a first mover. And you can get ahead of the trend a bit before it, you know, it comes, right? And, and with that, you give yourself, you know, the best chance, right? You know, I suggest a couple of these things also, like, the world doesn't owe you anything.

(26:47 - 26:59)

I feel this is a good perspective to hold. But it wants to give you everything. So you got to do that work.

(27:00 - 27:20)

You got to kind of stick with it, right? Depending on whatever your goal is. And if you focus on those three areas, then it's common. And just watch for it and just trust and, and receive it as it does.

(27:21 - 28:01)

You know, there's the adage that says, you know, when the student is ready, the teacher appears, right? It's kind of similar with, with breakthroughs. There's a lot of people who want to cut corners on the work to experience the breakthrough faster. But when you're ready, it will meet you there, right? If you're fixing a company, which is something I do a fair bit, when the company is cleaned up, when it's ready, then the opportunity will meet the company there.

(28:04 - 28:28)

When you're, you know, your business is dialed in and your, your systems are dialed in and you're ready to receive that level of success. We're talking like a breakthrough is like exponential success, right? There's an exponential level of achievement where like the phone's ringing off the hook. We're like, you know, everybody wants some of your time.

(28:29 - 28:42)

People are throwing money at you. Like, you know, media, press wants to talk to you like all this kind of stuff. You have everyone's attention and you, you want to be ready for that.

(28:43 - 28:55)

You don't want to fear it. You want to be ready for that. There is a thing about it that's, I've, in my experience has been reasonably accurate, but I would suggest is, is probably generally true.

(28:55 - 29:14)

You know, there's no real book that I've seen on it. Once you're in it, once it happens, because, you know, who, how, and where it happens is a bit different. There's some books in certain areas, I guess, but there's not like a general book that says like, when this happens, here's how you should handle it.

(29:15 - 29:30)

So it's trial by fire and you learn on your feet, but that's why you prepare yourself in anticipation of a success. That's why your mindset is about, it's going to happen. I can handle it.

(29:30 - 30:31)

I'm ready and I will be ready for the unknown also, right? And so there's a very good chance that on your first pass of one of these, you know, breakout in your, in your journey, if you haven't experienced already that you might, you know, fuck it up, right? That you might drop the ball somewhere that, you know, you might make some choices that you would wish you hadn't made, but you're calling the play like a football analogy. You're calling the play from the line, right? You've got your playbook, but they also say this is the general say, right? You know, all, you know, best plans go out the window once the shirt or the first shot is fired, right? So when this type of energy comes in, like you think you have it all figured out what you're going to do, but you're in it, you're living in it. And there's going to be things that surprise you.

(30:31 - 30:51)

There's going to be things you don't anticipate happening that you don't foresee happening. And so they're going to happen and you're going to use your best instincts. If you're listening to my podcast, then you're going to trust your intuition.

(30:51 - 31:12)

You're going to stay present. You're going to take in all the information you can before you make decisions, right? You're not going to make hasty decisions from impulse, you know, excessively spontaneously without considering the pros and cons. You're going to keep your feet reasonably grounded and you're going to flow with the opportunity.

(31:12 - 31:39)

And if you can kind of stay in that zone, you're going to do the best you possibly can with respect to that wave and whatever that breakout looks like, because maybe it lasts, you know, a long time. But maybe it doesn't, you know, we can't control that part either. So we'll find out when it happens.

(31:40 - 31:56)

And generally speaking, you know, these things can happen a few times in your life. I feel they can happen more than a few times. But they don't happen all the time.

(31:57 - 33:12)

You know, it takes work to set up, work to get ready to tune yourself. And I'll say this, that as you get better at managing, navigating, anticipating the elements that lead to breakouts, I think you can increase the frequency within those realms or areas of things you can control, right? If you're a real estate agent, you'll maybe get better at seeing where the action is going to be on the next trend, right? If you're in the market, if you're working in the art business or, you know, pick a whole bunch of things, right? If you're working, just even if you're employed somewhere, like what the next hot professions are, you know, that will pay top dollar, all this kind of stuff. So as you kind of get some experience with and a feel for those things, then you'll probably sense and feel, you know, breakouts coming or where they're more likely to happen, which also doesn't guarantee that those will happen.

(33:13 - 33:39)

But we're just trying to, you know, stack and increase our odds that they can or that they could, right? So that, you know, ultimately they do. So there you go. You know, those are kind of some thoughts on the breakout.

(33:39 - 34:00)

I've had breakouts with companies. One I ran, not even just one, I guess. Well, one I ran, one I advised, others that I was around, working with, on, was a shareholder of.

(34:06 - 34:21)

In film, some. That's pretty, you know, spectacular. At least one in particular that I can really significantly point to that was like a tier one opportunity that just like came out of the blue.

(34:23 - 34:36)

That was just awesome. And there's more. You know, those are like some of the most memorable ones off the top of my head.

(34:37 - 35:04)

But you go through the phase where you're like, any day, you know, you're just like, you're doing your thing. It can be, you know, thankless work in preparation and anticipation, you know, with the faith you hold and crossing your fingers like, okay, like I'm ready, you know, but you don't know exactly when. But it happens, you know.

(35:04 - 35:22)

I remember one of my companies that I was, client companies I was advising a few years ago and like nobody was paying attention to this thing. And I just said, guys, just keep doing the work. Just do the work every day.

(35:22 - 35:45)

Keep cleaning this thing up, keep organizing what we're doing, right? And it'll have a day. You know, or a bunch of days, but it'll have its time where it won't feel so difficult for people to hear you and everybody will, you know, pay attention. And so whenever I work on those situations, it's about that.

(35:45 - 36:19)

It's about get the company where it needs to be when it's there, people will recognize it and away you go. And that's not far off from what happened. And that company, you know, went on a huge run and had a huge audience and since, you know, raised significant capital and all kinds of things, but from a place where like, you know, no one can hear you, nobody can see you.

(36:19 - 36:27)

They're all like doing other stuff, you know. So you have to trust in that no matter what it is you're doing. That's a big takeaway.

(36:27 - 37:27)

So again, the fundamentals, what are your best practices and where are the trends? What is the next big or the next big multiple, you know, opportunities within your world and space that you can kind of pull in to some degree with what you're doing already in your niche to be a first mover in what's happening next. And those will increase your odds, in my opinion, to experience breakouts and big, huge success and all the magic that comes with it. So let me know what you think and let me know your thoughts are about this and about breakout energy.

(37:28 - 37:56)

In the meantime, I'm sending you good vibes for you to have and realize big breakout exponential success in your world and what you're working on. You want to talk more about it, you can check out my links and all that good stuff. I'm happy to chat with you in any of my portals and through any of my channels.

(37:57 - 38:03)

All good. And until the next one, wishing you a great day and we'll talk to you soon.