8 Life Hacks That Will Get You So Far Ahead It Feels Illegal

I generated 8 figures in online sales. 

I also lost everything and had to start over again. 

I know what it’s like to be over 200K in debt. I also know what it’s like to own a 50 million company. 

What I give you today is not emotional fluff or cute quotes. It is what I have learned in the forge of life and business. 

Hack #1. Believe that you will succeed.

In 1997, the same year that Steve Jobs returned to the company he founded, Apple launched the “Think Different” campaign with these words:

Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. 

The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. 

But the only thing you can't do is ignore them, because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.

I have yet to find a better description of the heart of a true entrepreneur: “Because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” 

What you believe about yourself carries tremendous influence on your ability to achieve. Even the most ardent evidentialist clings to deep-rooted beliefs that cannot be proven by his evidence–often so deep that he does not even know that he clings to them. 

Entrepreneurs often say with laughter, “If I had realized how unrealistic my goals were, I would never have ventured onto such a risky journey to begin with.” And yet, because they did not realize how absurd their vision was, they believed whole-heartedly that they would succeed. And they did. 

What I find fascinating is that many of these entrepreneurs do not hold advanced degrees, were not born into wealth, and would not score higher than average on an IQ test.

But they all hold one thing in common: they believe. They are driven by an insatiable hunger to do what has not been done, to achieve what others say is unachievable, and they refuse to let doubt get the better of them. 

If you don’t believe you have what it takes, you already lost. When this lie creeps up on you, reject it. 

No one ever topped Mt. Everest who set out believing he wouldn't make it to the top. It is the belief that you can that will drive you on when your face is numb with cold. 

Don’t get discouraged if you find yourself doubting. Back when I started, I doubted myself. A lot. 

But as things only got worse in my corporate job, I had no choice but to do something about it. I had to believe. I had nowhere else to go. 

So I believed just one thing: I can double a single dime to $100,000. I had to re-believe my mission over and over again because doubt sneaks up on you like a salivating Bengal tiger, waiting for your moment of weakness. 

But without re-believing this hundreds of times, I would never have succeeded. 

And neither will you reach your goals if you yield to doubt. 

Your greatest threat will not be the economy. Politicians. Your spouse. Your parents. What your boss said about you. 

Your greatest threat is doubting yourself. 

Many will doubt you. Others will mock you. Sometimes your closest friend or intimate lover will not believe in you. But you must not adopt their doubts as your own. Because if you lose this, you lose the battle. 

I have coached more than 10,000 students. The successful ones—those who built their way into financial freedom, creating assets that pay them even when they are not working—all had one thing in common: they chose to believe that they absolutely 100% can and will reach their goals. 

This does not mean they all reached their goals as soon as they thought they would. This does not mean they did not have to battle unexpected foes along the path. This does not mean it was easy or that their family and friends always provided the support they needed. 

But it mattered not. They refused to quit. 

And they refused to quit because they believed. 

Hack #2. Embrace the challenge. 

How did Pranav reach $11,000,000 in the last 12 months? 

How did Bakalli reach $10 million in sales? 

How did Jesse become a 7 figure seller? 

How did Johnathan reach a point where he could travel with his family? 

How did Mohamad reach $530,000 in 30 days? 

How did Gal Koffer do $14 million in 12 months? 

How did my former students, Paul and Lynda, land their Love and Pebble product on Shark Tank? 

Beneath the surface of sales, business growth, freedom, family, and travel are rejections, discouragements, loneliness, fatigue, failure, and tears. 

Don’t just look at these struggles as the cost of success. Embrace them as necessary to sculpt you into the kind of person who can succeed. 

Hack # 3. Master yourself. 

“When you learn to master you, you have learned the greatest mastery.” ~ Anonymous 

When you become an entrepreneur, you become your own boss. Fun to fantasize about; hard to execute. 

You now answer to you. No one is telling you when to build your business. No one is telling you which course topic to choose. No one is telling you to get out of bed and start building your funnel. 

Before the industrial revolution a large portion of the world population grew up learning how to run the family business. But factory life brought an increase in dependency on the corporation. As long as the worker showed up on time and followed orders he’d get his paycheck at the end of the week. 

This cultural shift has birthed millions who never experienced the anxiety of wondering if you’re going to have enough cash to pay your staff next week. Or the sting of giving over half of your hard-earned funds to the government in income tax. Or the incredible burden of being ultimately responsible for new hires, people management, market research, product development, advertising, branding, operations, sales, and finance. 

The key is self mastery. When you learn to master yourself, you become the kind of person who can have problems thrown in their face every hour and turn them into opportunities as you find solutions. As Lenonardo da Vinci said, “One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself.”

But be warned. If you are addicted to sugar, pornography, alcohol, video gaming or any vice that you find yourself turning to when you feel sad, lonely, or stressed, I suggest you get help now and start taking responsibility for your life. Otherwise, these habits will become kryptonite that will eventually take you and your business out at the knees. 

If you struggle with an addiction now, imagine what will happen when your stress levels triple. 

If you think I'm trying to scare you, you’re right. Running a business is not for the feeble. Some of the most courageous people on planet earth forsook the security of a consistent paycheck and set out to start their own business. They had a dream and were willing to become the kind of person they needed to become in order to fulfill that dream. 

Solomon wrote, “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Prov 16:32, ESV). 

I will teach you how to build a highly profitable business selling your course. But it will require a deep level of delayed gratification. Are you ready for this? 

Hack #4. Become consistent.

I’ve wasted countless hours training entrepreneurs who turned out to be as consistent as a New Year’s resolution. All heart but no discipline results in absolutely nothing.

You must not only believe you have what it takes, but become a beast in consistency. And then commit. 

Not every day will be easy. Not every day will be fun.

But the one thing that will make you unstoppable is your consistency. While others are watching TV, drinking beer, or making excuses, you keep trudging. 

Consistency trumps innovation. 

Because none of the amazing innovations we enjoy today would exist if the innovators were not consistent.

It was Thomas Edison's consistency and willingness to fail and fail and fail and fail and fail and fail and fail and fail until finally he finally figured out how the light bulb works, that created results. 

Hack #5. Take ownership. 

This is your business. This means you get all the credit for every mistake you make. But you also get the credit when it succeeds. 

Welcome to the beauty of entrepreneurship where you are responsible for everything. Which means everything is your fault. 

“But the market!” Sure, but who chose that market? 

“But the economy!” Do successful entrepreneurs let this stop them? 

“But my sales suck!” Then how are other sellers succeeding? Every time you buy a product online you are living proof that the market is alive. 

Your business. Your responsibility. When things go south, your fault. When you succeed, your fault.

Learn to take ownership for everything and you’ll find yourself spending less time complaining and more time building and learning. You’ll also enjoy life a whole lot more. 

I’ve had to work with some entrepreneurs who receive feedback like a teenager in puberty. Having trained dozens of online sellers who became millionaires and some multi-millionaires, I have never seen a single entrepreneur with a “life owes me” attitude who also built a successful business. 

Hack #6. Give yourself time and grace. 

You will make mistakes. You will get frustrated. You will get knocked down. 

But if you see yourself as a little less valuable or a little less worthy every time you mess up, over time this will weave a nasty burden in your conscience that can crush your soul. That’s not sustainable and it’s only a matter of time before you give up, discouraged and despairing. 

King Solomon wrote, “for the righteous falls seven times and rises again” (Proverbs 24:16). 

What matters is not how hard or how often you fall. But if you will get back up again. 

I met a woman who was literally devastated when her product failed. She decided it was her fault. True. But she also concluded this means she’s no good. Not true. 

Guess what. You can take ownership for your mistakes and at the same time know that you can and will succeed. 

Yes, take full responsibility for your failures, but do not let this morph into the lie that failing makes you a failure. 

Imagine meeting a full grown adult who can’t walk. 

“What happened?” you ask.

“Oh, I gave up as a toddler.”

“What do you mean?” you pry. 

“The first time I tried to walk I fell. So I concluded that I’m not meant to walk.” 

I wonder how many wannapreneurs came to the same conclusion about building a business and consequently missed out on the biggest opportunity of their life. 

To move forward in the face of failure, you are going to have to show yourself some grace. Grace means unmerited favor. Unearned kindness. I find my source of grace from the Creator of the universe who loved me, died for me, and befriended me even when I was a rebellious sinner. 

And because of His endless grace, I can turn my mistakes and failures into teachers to grow me and make me stronger. 

Accept today that you will fail many times along the way. I don’t know a single successful human on planet earth who didn’t. The only question is: will you give yourself permission to learn from your mistakes, hit the reset button, dust yourself off, and hit the path again harder than you did last time? 

What was the changing point in Jean Valjean’s life from the play Les Misérables? 

Being imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread? No. 

Being branded with a yellow passport as a former convict and not to be trusted? No. 

Being caught by police after stealing valuable silverware from the Bishop of Digne who showed him nothing but kindness? Not at all. 

The change began when the bishop not only refused to accuse this man of his inexcusable crime, but gave Jean the silver Jean had stolen and added in some candlesticks for good measure. 

That changed him. That’s grace. 

Will you show yourself the same? 

Hack #7. When the path gets difficult, remember your why.

When I began my entrepreneurial journey, inspired by the words of Dave Ramsey, I grabbed a paint can and spray painted on the wall in front of my desk: "Live like no one else..."‍ 

I didn't have enough room for the second half of that quote: "...so that some day, you can live like no one else."  

Maybe it was God’s providence that I only had enough room to spray the part of the quote I was going to struggle with the most. 

Every time I sat at my desk to work on my business, this quote reminded me that if I wanted to live a different life than the average Joe, I had to start living that life today--not after I became wealthy. 

Before I could create wealth, I needed to become the kind of person who has the character and discipline necessary to create wealth. 

I asked each person in my family to give me a picture of themself that they would want me to remember them by if I died. I pieced the images into one collage, framed it, and put it on my desk. 

When I felt discouraged, afraid, or unmotivated I looked at this picture. It reminded me of why I started doing this in the first place: to build margin so I could do the things I love with the people I love. 

Hack #8. Move to action now.

"When will you start working on your business?" I asked Lance. 

“After I learn everything I can about online business.” 

"That means you will never start," I retorted. 

"What do you mean?" Lance objected. 

"There will always be more to learn and the world of online business changes constantly. A day in online business is like a month in real life." 

“Okay, I see. So once I get my finances in order I'll be ready to start," he replied. 

"Lance," I said. "The whole point of building a business is so that you can get your finances in order to offer you the freedom you want. Delaying action will not result in anything but delaying your dreams." 

“Okay, fair enough but there is one little problem.” 

"What's that?" I asked. 

"I don't have enough time.” 

"I’d wager $100,000 you have more time than you think. How do successful people get so much done in a day? They account for every second. They read on the toilet. They listen to podcasts in the car. Instead of living by impulse and responding to every social media notification they block out sacred moments to do nothing but build their business.” 

Lance raised his eyebrows. “That’s intense.” 

“Yes and a life of purpose. Successful entrepreneurs are hyper conscious of how they use this precious gift of time that once spent, you can never get back." 

I’ll never forget doing a livestream on YouTube when someone asked me, “Seth, when is the best season to start selling online?” 

I replied, “It’s one word and it has only three letters. Now.” 

Hold your breath until the perfect time to start and you’ll be dead in minutes. For everything I’ve done that I’m proud of in my 47 years on this planet, do you know how many I waited for the perfect time to start? 

None. 

And when I did, I never started. 

When I married KK, a quarter of a century ago (literally), the timing was anything but perfect. We were young, dumb, horny, and broke. 

When I started selling online, the timing could not have been worse. I was working 10-12 hour days for Apple and also carting drunk college students from bar to home for Uber and Lyft until three in the morning on weekends and some weekdays. 

There will always be a reason why later seems better than now. 

If you know this is what you want, if you don’t start now, you probably never will. 

“But Seth, I don’t have enough money to buy inventory.” Then build a course instead. No inventory required. 

“But Seth, I need to wait until my spouse is on board.” If you are the man, then be the man and start making decisions in that direction. Explain to your wife as you go, gently lead her along, and listen to her input. There is a lot you can do to prepare and move that direction even if your spouse is not on board yet. 

“But Seth, I don’t know the first thing about starting an online business.” Then keep watching these videos. 

Even if you set aside just 30 minutes a day to study online business and another 60 minutes to start searching for your ideal market, your actions will motivate you ten times more than I ever could. 

And even better, your path to growth will be like lightning compared to those who consume every video, book, and blog under the sun about online business until they are so mentally constipated they don’t know how to take action. 

Lots of knowledge with no action is like eating with no exercise. If you want results, you must do. 

I embraced this principle early on in my entrepreneurial journey. Move to action. Do not hesitate. Learn as you go. Make mistakes along the way. There is no better teacher in life than experience. 

Don't rain check your goals for the perfect timing. 

It won't come. 

Every day you get to choose between the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. 

Let’s go!