Ep 690 | It's Separation Season for Entrepreneurs

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. Today we are going to dive into one of the most powerful ideas that I think you can implement during this, this final stretch of the year. It's a concept that I've talked about the past couple Novembers, so last year and the year before, and it's something I pulled from Ed Mylett, who's a great podcaster many of you may know. The concept is that of separation season. If you're an entrepreneur, if you're a business builder, if you're a leader, this episode is for you. Because these last, call it, 6 weeks of the year, they present an opportunity that I think most people simply never take advantage of. If you do take advantage of it, if you do buy into what I'm saying here today, you will create distance. You'll create distance not just from your competitors, but also from the, from the old version of you. So what is this separation season concept? Ed Mylett describes the, the separation season as the final window of the year, really the period from Thanksgiving running through about New Year's, where most people, most people tend to coast or slow down, maybe start to relax and mentally check out. You know how this looks. You've seen it before. People cancel gym routines, or business owners pause that project and say, I'll get to it in January. Or leaders start to kind of loosen standards. Teams begin to drift and lose some momentum. And then entrepreneurs tell themselves things like, you know what, I'm going to ramp it back up in January. Here's the truth though. If you do exactly the opposite of what everyone else is doing during this window of time, you will gain a disproportionate advantage. While they're idle, you become super active. While they drift, you begin to plan and hold firm to it. While they coast, you begin to let these actions compound. This is where that, that separation starts to happen. Not because you're doing anything superhuman, but because the competition isn't doing anything at all. What an amazing opportunity for all of us, especially, especially the entrepreneurs here. See, there's this psychological phenomenon that's at play during the holidays. People have a tendency to give themselves permission to stop being accountable, to stop performing. They give themselves permission to check out. They give themselves permission to wait until next year. In other words, the world goes into excuse mode. And I don't mean that in a negative sense. I just think it's human nature. It's something to be aware of. But as an entrepreneur, I think if you want to build something great, you can't afford to operate on that same seasonal rhythm as, as the masses. See, the, the window between Thanksgiving and New Year's is a high-leverage period precisely because competitors slow down, because customers are more reflective, because your team is easier to inspire. Because both the market and the industry tend to get quieter. It's a high leverage period because your future is being shaped while everybody else is sleepwalking. See, separation season, it's not about grinding yourself into the ground. It's about being intentional while others are, are not. And I think that's where, where the magic really, really lives. Now this separation season impacts different parts of your life. When you, when you hear separation, maybe a different way to say this, when you hear separation, don't, don't think only about business. Think about how you can create distance and elevate your standards across all of the key parts of your life that we talk about here at No Days Off. Let's walk through a few of these. Okay, then we're going to end with business. But let's talk about these other components of life and what we could be thinking around these last, call it, 45 days of the year. So in our health, most people gain weight, sleep less, drink more, and then come up with this idea that they're going to start fresh in January. You separate by doing the exact opposite. You tighten. Your diet, your nutri— nutritional discipline. You maintain your sleep routines. You train consistently. You limit all of the excess that comes with the holidays. And then you enter January a healthier version of who you even are right now. If you think health doesn't affect your entrepreneurial performance, try building a business with low energy and poor sleep and emotional volatility. Your body is, in fact, your business engine. So, separation season needs to apply to your health. It also needs to apply to your finances. People overspend in December. They lose track of their budgets. They say things like, "I'll take care of my finances next year." What do you do if you're a high performer? You separate by tightening. You review your numbers. You clean up expenses. You analyze profitability. You optimize year-end tax strategies. You look at more deals, not less. And then you make smart investments while others are, are pulling back, or, or they're just not even looking at a thing. So your financial confidence in January will be directly tied to the discipline you show during the season. Now, separation season should be applied in your relationships. See, the world goes through the motions during the holidays. They, they may show up physically, they don't always show up emotionally. You separate by showing up fully. You, you elevate your presence, you strengthen your relationships, you become even more intentional with your family, you repair those things that need repairing. And you give more of your attention than, than you, than you give gifts. Entrepreneurs that have stable and strong relationships operate from an entirely different emotional foundation. Their foundation is one that allows for clearer judgment and supports higher performance. So separate with respect to your relationships during the season. And then lastly, before we get to business, personal growth. Most people decide to stop learning in December. They read less, they think less, they plan less, and they drift into this kind of holiday fog. And it's, it's kind of BS. It's kind of immature. It's actually kind of amateur. Instead, you separate by accelerating. How do you do that? You read more, you study more, you listen to more meaningful content, you take more thinking time for yourself, you clarify your long-term vision. Use this opportunity to do that. And then you build next year's structure, structure before next year even begins. When January hits, you're already rolling while others are trying to remember what their goals even were. Now, let's close out today's conversation with business. This is where entrepreneurs can gain massive separation. Most businesses during this season slow down. Decision-making slows, projects slow or stall, sales pipelines start to get a little thin. Teams kind of treat December like a throwaway month. This is where No Days Off Nation, this is where you step in. Because while everyone else is taking their foot off the gas, you accelerate. Not, not like a frantic sort of way, but in a focused, intentional way that sets up the next year's success. I think there's kind of 3 key areas or major buckets where entrepreneurs can create separation, specifically in business during this season. Number 1, it's in clarity. We as entrepreneurs rarely slow down enough to think. So this season Let's do some more thinking. Let's clarify our top 3 focus areas. Let's simplify our business model. Let's decide what to eliminate. And let's establish the standards for the new year. I think clarity is such a competitive advantage because most of your competition is going to walk into January with confusion. I think we could also focus on, in terms of separating within the business, part of our world, we can double down on our pipeline and our relationships. This is the time to be proactive, to reach out to key clients, to rekindle the dormant relationships, to express appreciation. I mean, what better time of year than to, than to reach out to somebody? There's so many things to talk about and be thankful for. This is the opportunity to set early year meetings as you go into Q1. And move some deals forward. This is really the opportunity to plant seeds for the first quarter opportunities. The entrepreneurs who maintain momentum in December wake up in January with a full pipeline. Everyone else starts to wake up, starts to wake up regretting things, regretting what they did, did or did not do in December. And then lastly, in terms of separation within the business world, We got to think about performance. I want you to ask yourself, what are the small, consistent wins that I can stack every day between now and January 1st? Momentum is something that is created. It's not discovered. So during separation season, start projects that others postpone. Fix bottlenecks, improve systems while your competitors ignore them. Strengthen your team's alignment. Increase the communication. Make steady daily progress. You don't need to double your business in 45 days. That's not what I'm talking about. You need to build the foundation that allows for you to double your business next year. So as we wind down, let me give you your action item, okay? For today, I want you to choose one area to create separation in and commit to 45 days of intentional action. Not 5 areas, not 10 areas. Just give me one. Where do you want to create distance? Is it in health and finances and relationships, personal growth, or maybe it's in business execution? Pick one, decide on a daily habit, commit to it for the next 6 weeks. Watch what happens. Make this your greatest separation season ever. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening, and remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it.