Quick update this week as I need to fit the gym in before it closes.

It’s about the power of detachment and momentum and why they’re so important to your business and how they’re intertwined.

Last week, I discussed how I’d spent the year grappling with a personal crisis that had led to constant, reactive decision-making.

It led to feelings of hopelessness and paralysis.

I couldn’t see any way forward until I started to map out my daily inputs again.

This year, I promised myself things would be different, and I’d be more disciplined with tracking those inputs.

My belief and experience has always shown me that if I’m diligent with this then the results will come.

But not only is this important for outcomes, it’s also essential to fight the inevitability of setbacks.

Because in business and life, they are always around the corner, and very often out of your control.

Case in point: on the 31st December, one of our biggest clients handed their 30-day notice period in with us.

We’d sensed this was coming for a while and tried everything to stop it. Increased cadence of touchpoints communicating value, A-players on the account, and long-term initiatives to improve their business.

All was met with a lack of motivation and pushback.

The writing was on the wall for a while so it wasn’t a shock that a respect parting of ways was announced (they had been in the process of moving all design in-house for a period of time).

In the past, this would have led to the unravelling of my identity as it was intertwined with the business.

My anxiety would have shot through the roof; I would have doubled down on increasing my hours at work; and I would have had sleepless nights with self-doubt and imposter syndrome.

These days, I’m able to view it with a level of detachment that is healthy and necessary to move forward.

It’s hard to say how I was able to achieve this state. I know that for many agency owners, including myself, we take churn so personally that it leads to an identity crisis and inner criticism that is suffocating and toxic.

I think time in the game, experience, and doing the right things across other areas of the business over time kills this or at least greatly reduces the stress.

For example: this week I won two new deals that offset the pain of that churn.

How did I win them?

By nurturing and staying top-of-mind for over 5 years (yes, 5 years) until timing aligned.

I can’t control a brand deciding to move things back in-house.

But I can control how frequently I follow up with a prospect, posting on here each day, and investing in advertising. These are all things I can control that lead to outcomes.

The lesson? Focusing on daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly inputs is what drive outcomes.

I have mine mapped out and am following them with militant precision this year.

If you wish to achieve goals based on hope and blind luck, you’re playing the game wrong.

It’s trite, but great things and longevity are built from consistent daily actions that compound over time.

I know what my job is each day better than ever and what drives results. Find your leverage and double down on it yourself.