The Top 5 Lessons I Learned In 2024

Hey. Hey. Welcome back to the Bullpen Sessions podcast. My name is Andy Neary and this is episode 318. In this episode, I am sharing the top five lessons I learned in 2024 that I'm going to take with me in 2025 so we can continue to grow complete game consulting and I can continue expand in who I am as a business owner, a fiance, a son, a brother, a friend. And I absolutely hope you tune into this episode. By the way, it is the final episode of the Bullpen sessions podcast. It has been a hell of a run. 318 episodes, but we're not going anywhere. Starting next Friday, we are launching the accelerate your insurance sales podcast. Probably call it episode 319, just to keep the momentum going. So I'm excited for you to continue and tuning in. All of our guest interviews in 2025 are going to be in person. You're going to? Absolutely. But for this episode, we're going to talk about the top five lessons I learned this year. 2024 was a banner year for complete game consulting. It had its highs, it had its lows. I had to become a better CEO, a better fiance, a better person. And so I'm excited to share these lessons with you. If you are sitting down and reflecting on the previous year, whether you had a great year or an underperforming year, this is an awesome episode that you're not going to want to miss because this is your opportunity to reflect on your 2024. Figure out what lessons you learned, but most importantly, how are you going to take those lessons and apply them in 2025 so you can have a record breaking year? All right, here we go. Episode 318, the top five lessons I learned in 2024. Hey. Hey. Welcome back to the Bullpen Sessions podcast for the final episode of the Bullpen sessions podcast. Now, in today's episode, I'm going to share the top five lessons I learned in 2024 that I'm going to take with me into the new year because I want you to do the same. Now, this is the last episode of the Bullpen sessions podcast, but we're not going anywhere. We're just going under a name change. Next week, we launch the accelerate your insurance sales podcast. I'm excited. We'll probably call it episode 319 just to keep the momentum going. All of our guest interviews next year are going to be in person. You'll love that. So, yeah, we're going under a name change just to make it more clear who we serve. So, yeah, we are excited. If you have been one of our dedicated listeners to the Bullpen Sessions podcast, I want to thank you and I hope you keep tuning in for the accelerate your insurance sales podcast. But today we are still the Bullpen Sessions podcast and I'm going to share the top five lessons I learned in 2024. 24 was a banner year for complete game consulting. We experienced a lot of highs, a lot of lows, a lot of difficulties, a lot of wins and a lot of scale. And these lessons really, I think, really put us on a really good trajectory to take off even more in 2025. So what I wanted to do is just go through the top five lessons I learned this year. So I hope you can apply them in your business in 2025 in your life. I really challenge you to sit down after this episode and make a list of all the lessons you did learn last year and how you can make sure you use them and apply them in 2025. Because it's one thing to learn a lesson, it's another to actually apply it. So let's go, let's dive right in. Number one, lesson number one, you have to grow horizontally before you can grow vertically. This was probably the biggest lesson I learned the entire year. What does that mean? Well, about this time, or actually about spring of 2024.

I had hit a point in the business where we had grown. I had a small, small team, but I was still doing a lot of the doing for the business. I was coaching, creating the content, I was the marketing director, the sales director, you name it. And I hit a point where I realized that if I'm going to scale, I can't keep going in the same trajectory. I was feeling tired, burnt out. And one of my mentors, Samson Jagor, is somebody you probably haven't heard the name of yet on this podcast. He's one of actually a silent partner here in the business. On one of our monthly check ins last spring, he gave me this advice that really changed my perspective on growing the business. He said, andy, you got two choices, man. If you're feeling burnt out right now, you can either continue to grow vertically, which means you just keep doing what you're doing, maximize your profit, but man, it is a short path to burning out. Or you can grow horizontally first, which requires you to give up some short term profit, but you need to put the people and the processes in place so you can scale more efficiently. And I took that advice to heart and that's when I really started building this team we have today. You know, Amy Essig has been with me for two and a half years now. But we went out and hired our first sales rep, Chris Floria. I went out and hired a bookkeeper over the summer, brought on two coaches to help us serve. A large client of ours hired our, really brought in our social media team who does our content, a video editor, all this, all these people who are going to make growing our business easier. Heck, just about a month and a half ago, I brought my own fiance in the business who's helping us with some operations. And so here we sit today on the first Friday of 2025 and I think we've got nine people on the team, more than double what we had this time last year. And it was that advice Samson gave me that has really helped us scale. And I don't want to overlook the processes side of this either either. The people have been extremely important. But man, the processes we have built all along the way to help this business scale more effectively has been a game changer. I want to give all the credit in the world to Amy Essig. She is the heart and soul of this business. Her work behind the scenes, dialing in these processes for all of our different products. The way we handle our clients is second to none. And so, you know, we sit here as a, as a well oiled machine beginning a new year, excited for what the new year has in store for us. And that's my advice to you. You know, I talk to a lot of independent insurance agents, agency owners who are the bottleneck right now because you're unwilling to hire the people or put the processes in place that are going to help you grow faster. You want to grow, but you are the one preventing yourself from growing because quite frankly, you're trying to maximize your profit. This is a lifestyle business. I get it. And you got bills to pay, you got cars and houses to pay for. But if you want to grow, you're going to have to give up that short term profit before you can really start to scale the business. Because the only way to grow vertically without growing horizontally is just for you to keep doing more of what you're doing. And that will ultimately lead to burnout. What's the point in that? And so that's my advice to you as we enter a new year. If you want to grow this year, even if you're a producer listening and where you don't own the business, what can you do? Who can you go look for to help you grow? Or what processes can you put in place to make growth A lot easier for you this year. Lesson number two. What if you're already living the life you want? Where did this one come about? Well, earlier this or earlier last year, I was on a coaching call with my business coach, Christina Liqueur, who's been with me now for almost five years. She's the one I made the post about a few weeks ago who absolutely kicked my ass on the golf course. But she is a former pro golfer, so I'll give it to her. But we were having a discussion on one of our Friday coaching calls, and at that point, I was feeling pretty low, burnt out, not enjoying the business. In fact, honestly, I was resenting it a little because it just felt like a lot of work. And she had me sit down on this particular coaching call and make a list of all the things that bring me joy, all the things I do outside of work or I wish I could do that bring me joy. And it's interesting she had me do this because I use this Clever Fox weekly planner, and every month, the Clever Fox has you sit down and evaluate your previous month, and it has you score yourself in many different categories of your life. So business, career, finances, relationships, romance, health and happiness and joy. And consistently, I score joy and happiness low. I love working, I love the business, but I really didn't feel like I was doing anything outside of my business that was bringing me joy and filling my cup. And so when she had me make this list, I started writing down things like, you know, man, I love the paddle board in the summers when the weather's nice here in Wisconsin. I love to golf. I love to exercise. I love to eat healthy. I love to get out on my bike. Bike. And as I'm going through this list, I could see a smile start to show on her face. And by the time I got to the end of the list, I knew exactly why she was smiling at me. Because it hit me. Everything I had put on this list, I was already doing.

Now, this coaching call was in the middle of the summer. So I was paddle boarding, I was biking. I was doing everything I already loved to do. I just wasn't seeing it from the perspective that it was filling my cup. And that was a very important lesson I learned on that coaching call. It said, hey, what if you're already living the life you want? We all get so caught up in chasing the next goal, the next thing, and we take for granted what we have today. And when I realized that I was already doing what I love to do on every. Every week, it allowed me to bring an entirely new perspective to my business, to my life, to my weekends, and brought a hell of a lot more gratitude to my life as well. And it really launched the second half of 2024 for me. And I carry, I continue to carry this with me into the new year. So I want you to sit down and think about that. If you're somebody who does struggle to find happiness and joy in your life, it might just be a perspective shift. It's. There's a very good chance you're already doing what you love to do. You're just not seeing it that way. So sit down after listening to this episode. Make a list. What do you love to do? What would you love to do if you could have the perfect week? Because you might be doing more of it than you realize. Lesson 3.

I am not my sales. I am not my revenue. I am not my client's happiness.

This was a mantra that I give Christina credit for. Again, a mantra Christina had me start saying to myself every morning because I don't know how you are, but I can be a people pleaser. And I've had self worth issues in the past. And in the past, I would allow my sales results or lack of our revenue or lack of or clients happiness or unhappiness dictate my happiness.

And Christina saw this in me over the last few years, this roller coaster ride emotionally when I had a good week sales wise, or a good month with our revenue, or every client is happy. So Andy's happy. But then she'd see the flip side. If we had a slow month from a sales perspective, a low month from a revenue perspective, or we lost a client or two, it was easy to see that on my face too because I would tie my worth to those results. And so she challenged me to start using this mantra every morning. I am not my sales. I am not my revenue. I'm not my client's happiness. And I have to be honest, I know it sounds cliche, you know the morning mantras, but I have done that every morning ever since we had that conversation. And it has changed my attitude towards the results or lack of results we create in any given month, any given week. You know, if we have a slower week in sales, revenue numbers are a little lower than I expected in a given month. I don't let that impact my own self worth anymore.

And if we happen to lose a client or find out that a client isn't a good fit and it's best that we just break ties, I don't let that impact Who I am. Just because a client chooses to no longer work with us does not mean I'm a bad person. Just because our sales numbers are a little lower than we anticipated this quarter or this month, whatever it might be, that doesn't mean I'm a bad person. And in the past, it would greatly impact me, especially early in my insurance career when I was selling insurance and consistently not hitting my sales goals. To me it meant I was a terrible person. And so this mantra, which has turned into a very important lesson in my life, I am not my sales, I am not my revenue, I am not my client's happiness has been very impactful for me. Give it a try. If you're somebody like me who finds it easy to tie your self worth to your results, if you're an athlete, former athlete especially, we get caught tying our self worth to results. Try that out because it's true. No matter what happens this year with your sales, it doesn't mean you're good or bad. With revenue for your agency, doesn't mean you're good or bad. And if you lose a big client or win a massive client, it does not mean you're a good or bad person because you are not those results. And that was very important for me to learn this year which, which really has helped me. It's definitely something I'm going to continue taking as part of my morning mantra into 2025. And again, if you're somebody who struggles with self worth, give it a try. It's been super helpful for me. Lesson number four, 10x performance requires 10x recovery. This was a big one. This ties into lessons number one and two, quite frankly, because I was working so many hours trying to grow this business, not hiring the people I needed or putting in the processes we needed to grow effectively. I was putting in a lot of time and a lot of energy and I was consistently feeling tired and burnt out. When I didn't feel like I had joy and happiness in my life, I. It was. It's a lot easier to feel burnt out when you don't feel like you have any joy or happiness in your. In your life. But. And this lesson quite frankly came to me later in the year after reading the book 10x is easier than 2x. I'm gonna give you a real short list of books I recommend going into the new year that apply to these lessons here at the end of the episode. So, so hang tight with me. But 10x performance requires 10x recovery. This is a statement that was in the book written written by Dan Sullivan and I want to say Benjamin Hardy. Yes, Ben, Dr. Benjamin Hardy talks about, hey, if you're gonna put in a world class performance, whatever your career is, whether it's a professional athlete or selling insurance, you have to put in an equal amount of recovery time to make sure you can perform at your best. And I just wasn't doing that. And since reading the book, I have become obsessed with my health, with my recovery sleep.

How am I taking care of myself outside of those work hours to make sure I can put in the best, best during those work hours. And I'll tell you, part of my routine now, which has been a, a big game changer for me as far as recovery goes, is number one. I definitely stretch a hell of a lot more than I used to. You know, I work out every single day. Some days I actually work out twice. I'll put a workout in in the morning, more cardio based and at the end of the day I'll go lift. Yep, we don't have kids so I got more time. Don't, don't hold that against me. But I have two a days sometimes. I love to work out, I love to exercise. So stretching has become a big, big factor in my life right now to help make sure I wake up every day and I can continue to put in the runs, put in the cardio, put in the lifting without feeling sore or hurting. We went out and bought a cold plunge and a sauna. You know, Amy and I used to do contrast therapy when we lived in Fort Collins, but we'd have to go rent. There was a place in Fort Collins we could go rent by the hour. And I still remember having the convers with her in Fort Collins. Wouldn't it be great if we could actually have this in our house one day? And so we made the big investment in the fourth quarter, early in the fourth quarter to go get a, a cold plunge in a sauna so that we could perform that contrast therapy every day to make sure we are showing up our best every day. And I'll tell you, since having that in the house, that has been an absolute game changer. My sleep has been a very big focus for me in the last quarter. You know, I now wear this Garmin watch. And I'm not saying it's totally accurate, but it allows you to track your sleep, it gives you a sleep score. I'm making sure I'm definitely sleeping more. I am a guy who think, who feel I need about seven hours of sleep, but man, I've had more. Eight hour nights of sleep than I've had in probably years. Because I just know if I'm going to perform in business, I have got to make the time to recover when, when I'm not working outside the lines of play. And so if you are somebody in this industry who is chasing success and if you're listening to this episode, I hope you're one of them. It's easy to burn both candles. What's the phrase they use? Burn it at both ends of the candle. Go to every conference, jump on planes here, there and everywhere. And you feel like you are a workplace warrior putting in all these hours, you're hitting your goals, but at the end of the day, you're tired, you're worn out, you're burnt out. Don't do that. It's about recovery. If you're going to be in this game for the long run, you've got to spend as much time recovering as you do performing at your best. And so this lesson, 10x performance requires 10x recovery is massively important if you're going to perform year in and year out. By the way, it also includes your diet. What are you doing? What are you putting in your body? Are you looking at food as fuel to make sure you are performing? Or are you traveling around city to city eating like, eating late, waking up, feeling groggy, feeling like your brain, you have a little brain fog. This all comes into play. You know, I used to get frustrated at these conferences I would attend. I see people that would come and use them as an excuse to go out and get hammered, eat like. And I'd watch them the next day at the conference like, you're a waste of. What are you doing? You are literally. You've eliminated a day of productivity because of the choices you made last night. Now, I'm not judging you make your life decisions, but I am going to tell you if you want to perform at your best. And by the way, the, the, the people we coach that are playing at the top of their game, some of the best in this industry, they focus on recovery. They focus on what they're putting in their body, they focus on getting the gym, they focus on their sleep. They focus view themselves like business athletes.

I recommend you do the same.

There is no badge of honor waiting for you if you blow through your sales and revenue goals. But at the end of the day, you feel like shit. There is no badge of honor sitting there for you. So 10x recovery requires 10x. Excuse me. 10x performance requires 10x recovery. Now let's get to lesson number five, and this is the one I have learned most recently. So I've just started leveraging this lesson that I am definitely going to be taking into 2025. It's going to have its ups and downs, I know it is. And that is this. Don't be so rigid with your routine.

I am a routine driven individual. As a former athlete, I live on routine. I can remember when I, you know, getting ready for a start on the mound, I would have a routine that I did at least 60 minutes in advance of a start. If I didn't do everything in the right order, man, it would mess me up mentally. And I really brought that into my life in the last 10 to 15 years with my morning routine, my evening routine. But I started realizing that I was getting a bit too rigid with my routines. Meaning, you know, in the morning there were so many things I was trying to get done as part of my morning routine that I would leave myself so little time for my workout that I would get to the workout and I rush through the workout. I wouldn't be present because I've got to get it done so I can get back and get ready for my first call with a client. And I hit a point, honestly, just about a month ago where I'm like, this is ridiculous. I'm trying to do so many things as part of my morning routine. Now that I'm giving, I'm rushing through them, I'm checking the box, I'm not present. What is the point?

And so as I go into 20, 25 here, I am going to be a little less rigid about my routines. Yes, I am still going to work out every day. Yes, I'm still going to have my morning conversation with God. Yes, I am still going to do my breath work, my cold, plunging, all that stuff. But I'm going to work it in a way where.

My success is not tied to doing those things. If I can't get to the breath work on a given day, it's not going to mean the day is going to go terribly. But what I am going to do is put a little less routine in my mornings, in my evenings, so that I can be more present, be more relaxed. And so we're going to give it a shot. I'm not going to say it's going to go well. It is going to be challenged. Challenging especially for a guy like me who is, has been absolutely driven by routine. But I'm going to stop putting so much emphasis on that routine. If I wake up in a given day and all I do is wake up, have a cup of coffee and I go to the gym. I get my run done in the morning. It does not mean my day is going to be bad because I didn't do my entire morning routine. So if you are just like me and you are just absolutely tied to that routine, I actually challenge you to let it go a little bit. Because again, I, I'll say for me, it got to a point where I was doing it to check a box. I wasn't present and I was trying to get so much done in my morning routine that I hit a point. I, I would go work out and I'd give myself so little time to work out, I had to rush through the entire thing. Now, let me quickly just list off what my morning routine was at its peak when I was trying to do everything. I'd wake up, I'd make my cup of coffee, I'd have 12 ounces of water. Good, good advice to wake up the day. I'd have 12 ounces of water, I'd make a cup of coffee, I'd go cold plunge, I'd come back in. I would turn on my iPad, watch some YouTube educational videos. Then I would read the Bible. Then I would read 10 pages from a book, whatever book I'm reading at the time. Then I would do my breath work, my conversations with God, write down the things I'm grateful for, and then finally I would go work up you trying to track with me here. I was trying to get all that done in about an hour. So I gotta let some things go, gotta relax a little more, allow myself to be a little more present. So I'm gonna be a little less rigid with my routine this year. We'll see how it goes. Give it a try. If you're somebody too who is very dedicated to your routine, but you are feeling like it's getting to be a little check the box, let some things go. I'm here to tell you, routine isn't the reason you are successful. You are a disciplined person. And just because you give up a little of your routine does not mean you're going to be less disciplined. Trust me. So the five lessons I learned in 2024 that I'm going to take with me in 2025. Number one, you have to grow horizontally before you can grow vertically. Number two, what if you're already living the life you want? I love that one. Number three, I am not my sales, I am not my revenue, I am not my client's happiness. Number four, 10x performance requires 10x recovery. And number five don't be so rigid with your routine now. Two books I highly recommend you read this year if these are lessons that really apply to you. Number one Buy back your Time by Dan Martell. This is a fantastic book about how to scale your business, how to find the people, build the process so you can buy back your time. Notice he says buy yes. You've got to invest money in doing this. Buy back your time so you can be better at running your business like the CEO you are. And the second book I recommend.

10X is easier than 2x. This book has so many good lessons in it about scaling your business and it's not tactics, it's the chatter going between your ears. So I highly recommend these two books. But if you want to make 2025 a record breaking year, I hope you apply these lessons that I learned last year. Or sit down and make a list of your own lessons you learned last year. But then figure out how you are going to apply them in 2025 so you can have the best year ever again. I want to thank you for listening. This is the final sign off of the Bullpen Sessions podcast. It has been a hell of a run, 318 episodes. I'm excited for what the future holds with the Accelerate youe Insurance Sales podcast. So we'll be back next Friday with EP 319. Until then, thank you for listening and peace out. That's all we got for today's episode of the Bullpen Sessions podcast. One thing that would really help us both and other new potential listeners is for you to rate this show and leave a comment in itunes, stitcher or wherever you tune in to listen to the show. Also, make sure to link up with us@completegameconsulting.com on social media and please share this podcast with anyone who who you think might enjoy it. Until next time. Remember, clarity creates confidence. Confidence creates consistency. Consistency makes you unstoppable.