Evan Carmichael argues that most entrepreneurs drift through their days without real commitment, leading to mediocrity. He treats every episode of his radio show like it's for a major network producer, creating artificial high stakes to force excellence. Without external accountability, you have to impose your own pressure daily and eliminate distractions that don't grow your business.
Chapters
Hey, it's Evan, and I want you to make your business more important to you. And I know what you're thinking, of course my business is important to me. Why am I, you know, busting my butt growing this thing? But for all of us, there are days where we're having a hugely productive day, we're out there killing it, and other days where we're kind of just floating by. You know what I'm talking about. You don't put everything into it every day. You're checking your Facebook on some days, you're answering some emails, you're checking out some news, but you're not really pouring yourself into it. You need to make your business more important to you. You have to imagine like today is the critical day. Today is a defining day for your company. The things you do today will help shape your entire future. You have to make it that important. Otherwise, you're going to continue to struggle along, and you'll have some great days, but then you'll fall back and continue being mediocre and struggling to get by. Here's a quick example from my life. Today, I had a radio show. So I'm doing this radio show. This is my 5th show today. And every show gets better. And I put a ton of pressure on myself for my radio shows because I want each one to be way better than the last. Because my goal is to help a billion entrepreneurs. That's what inspires me, and that's not going to happen with me having a mediocre radio show. It has to be great. And as entrepreneurs, there's nobody pushing us really, right? If you have a job, if you're not doing a good job, your manager is down your throat saying, "You need to do better. You've got to turn this thing around or you're fired." Who's going to fire you as an entrepreneur? You're your own boss. We don't put enough pressure on ourselves to be great. We work harder for somebody else than we do for ourselves. You've got to make it more critical. So for my radio show, I imagine before my show, in the week that I'm preparing for it, that I have a big producer, I have a big network, I have a big potential partner who's going to be listening to that show. And I have this one show to make an impression, this one show to close an opportunity, and it has to be great. If it's not great, I've lost it. And it's never going to happen. I put pressure on myself so that I do the best job possible. And the next time my radio show comes up, I do the same thing. I imagine that this is my one shot, and you've got to do that every day with your business. This is your one shot. Imagine today. This is your shot. Today will define if your business is going to be successful or not. What are you going to do to make that happen? The next customer you talk to, the next media person you talk to, the next supplier you're working with— this is your defining moment today. You've got to raise the stakes and make it important. It's got to be critical to you. And when you wake up tomorrow, again, this is your day. Tomorrow is your day too. I don't want you to just float by. Too many entrepreneurs float by. We make enough to survive, to get by, maybe to grow a little bit, get some employees for some people, but you're not living the life that you want to live. You're not having the impact that you want to have. And it's because you're not making that goal important enough to you. It has to be important. Do you want that life? Or are you okay with what you're doing now? You're okay with being average? Going after that life is scary. I know it's painful. You're going to have to do things that are beyond your comfort zone. You're going to have to stretch. And whenever we're confronted with that kind of potential pain, we back off. And we often need people to help us push through. And in a work situation, you have your manager to do that. In your own business, you have to be that person and do whatever it takes to help you realize the importance of today. Today is important for your company. What are you going to do to make it grow? That has to be your mindset every day coming into the office. I found for me that every day was a reset. If I had a great day, the next day I'd wake up and I'd have to motivate myself again. Everything that was great that happened yesterday was like it didn't happen, and I have to start all over. And you got to get out of bed and get motivated. What helped me in the early days was I would read stories of famous entrepreneurs, and I still love them. I look at how guys got started and how they built up massive empires and what factors led to their success and realizing that these guys aren't that different than me. I could do the same thing. They made their business critical. They made it so important that they had to go and do something today to make their business take off, and they took that approach every day, and they achieved massive success. That motivated me, that got me out of bed, that got me going to work to do something to build my company. Now today it's you guys, it's everybody watching on my YouTube channel and on Facebook and on Twitter. I wake up, I go get my breakfast, I turn on my computer, and I look at the comments that I get in on my videos. And it's great, it makes me feel so good. People are saying how I've changed their lives, how they've started their business and they're having an impact now. And they thank me for what I've done. And that makes me want to do more. I realize that if I don't go out and give it my best today, I'm not going to have an impact, and that motivates me. You've got to make today important. Why is it so important? Think about the life you want to build. Think about your ideal dream scenario life. That doesn't happen. Unless you go out there and make what you're doing in your business important. Don't float around today. Don't check Facebook. Don't check your news feed. Don't chitchat. Get to work. Do something that's going to really grow your business. Commit to it. And the next day, wake up with that same mentality. And if you need to watch this video over and over again, Do it. If you don't go to work today thinking that it's critical today, today is your defining moment, today is the day that everything is going to happen with your business, and if you don't deliver, you're going to fail. That has to be your mentality. If you don't go in with that mentality, you're always going to be an average entrepreneur. And most entrepreneurs fail. And I don't want that for you, and you shouldn't want that for you. So make today important. Make today critical. Do something that you're proud of today. Do something that's going to help somebody. I know that it's going to have a lasting impact in helping you build the business and the life that you want for yourself. Good luck. For those of you watching, you know the drill. Thumbs up below if you like it, and I want to know what you have to think. Please leave a comment below. I just told you it motivates me every day, so I love seeing those come in. Thank you guys, I'll see you soon.
