“Every week brings new conversations, new wins, and new opportunities. Stay focused, stay purposeful, and keep leading with value.”

Today's my birthday. Woohoo. Lol.

And every year, without fail, it hits different than New Year's does. I don't know what it is about the specific day you showed up on this earth, but it has a way of making you stop and actually look at your life. Not just scan it. Look at it.

So I've been looking.

And here's what I keep coming back to: most of us spend the majority of the year living in the gap. Measuring where we are against where we thought we'd be by now.

Against the ideal.

Against the version of ourselves that was supposed to have it all figured out.

Dan Sullivan writes about this in The Gap and the Gain (and if you haven't read it yet, put it on the list.) His argument is this: flip the measurement. Instead of looking forward at how far you still have to go, look backward at how far you've actually come.

That's the gain.

And here's what I've noticed; personally and in the people around me, the moments we actually live in the gain are the moments we feel the most momentum. The gap creates doubt. Doubt leads to quick fixes and stalled progress.

The gain breeds confidence.

And confidence, moves things.

Most of us get there maybe 20% of the year. (Birthdays, Anniversaries, New Years, and so on). Dan says flip it… and I think he's right.

So this week, that's the challenge. Not a big one. Just a pause. Look back at where you started, not where you thought you'd be. Count what you've built, what you've learned, what you pushed through. Let that be the measure.

I've got a birthday to remind me today.

Hope this finds you on a good day to do the same.

Happy Gain Day.

In peace,
Shonn