What to do when you get successful

(part of the “do this” directives)

1. Change yes to “Hell yeah!” or no.

Once successful, you need to switch strategies.

To get successful, you had to say yes to everything.

Now if you continue doing that, you’ll drown in all the opportunities.

Now say no to anything that makes you say anything less than “Hell yeah!”

2. Keep momentum.

The temptation is to take it easy.

But like swinging on jungle vines, if you stop that forward motion you can never get it back.

Your thoughts?
Please leave a reply:


Comments

  1. Carey (2016-04-20)

    Hell Yeah !!! :)

  2. Alexander Sandalis (2016-04-25)

    Very interesting reading one directive that previously said say yes to everything turn into 'hell yeah or no'.

    I think there's a cadence to be found in both no matter what point of your life your in.

  3. Benjamin (2016-05-03)

    I'd like to add "forget about time".
    This really is a key privilege for me NOW.

  4. Andrea Plamondon (2016-05-23)

    I agree one can never take it easy for very long... Thanks!

  5. Eric Klee (2016-07-20)

    Derek,

    I like your writing after reading a few of your posts. This is a smart post. In my business and in my life, I've become more stubborn with age and success. I say hell no to a lot of customers, mostly behind their backs but sometimes to their faces. Being able to turn down away crummy, cheap business gives me a certain amount of satisfaction. I say Hell Yeah to this article. Right on to this post. Right on.

    Eric

  6. Greg (2016-11-30)

    I agree but I think it's important not to be too hasty when assigning the "Hell yeah!" or "No" label. Something that initially might appear to only be a "Yes" (and therefore a "No") might actually be a "Hell yeah!" but for less obvious reasons. Sometimes those reasons can only be seen with an initial pause for thought.

  7. Dominik Tujmer (2018-02-10)

    I think there is exactly one thing that people should do: just solve the damn problems.

    If you already are successful, that probably means that you have significant resources at your disposal (money, fame). There are just so many problems that are a 10 on the seriousness scale, but a 1 on the solvability scale, and it seems just crazy not solving them. There is an entire community dedicated to finding where your resources can do the *most* good: www.effectivealtruism.org/

    That's the biggest hell yeah I can imagine.

  8. Sean Crawford (2020-06-17)

    Someday I will do an essay on "momentum hacks." After I know more.

    Just as I use only a fraction of my brain, I think I have only a fraction of the momentum that I could, that it varies, and no, I don't mean motivation.

    And I don't quite mean time-efficiency either. I mean momentum.