MRL #084- How To Get Sober

Today marks 4,003 days of sobriety for me.

Yes, in a row.

On November 12, 2012 I took (what I hope is) my last drink ever.

I tried to stop hundreds (if not thousands) of times before that with little to no success.

It wasn’t until I followed a few simple steps, that I was able to finally get sober.

There are actually 12 steps as you probably know…

But, for the sake of time here’s my abbreviated version.

• Step 1: Hit rock bottom

• Step 2: Find a group of drunks who got sober and follow the steps they took

• Step 3: Keep following those steps until you die or your azz falls off, whichever comes first

I’m not telling you about my sobriety to win VuLnErAbiLiTy points or vIrTuE SiGnAl my moral superiority…

And I’m definitely not telling you this to convince you to do likewise.

I’m telling you this because I think the steps to getting sober are the exact same steps to building a book-of-biz.

Let me explain…

Step 1: Hit Rock Bottom

Most people think “admitting you have a problem” is the first step…

But, that is INCORRECT.

Hell, I knew I had a drinking problem for years before I finally got sober.

The actual first step to sobriety or building a book of business, is hitting rock bottom.

It wasn’t until I hit rock bottom drinking (and as a Producer) that I was finally able to make any meaningful progress.

So, if you’re struggling…

You’ve got to hit your version of rock bottom too.

You could be a brand spanking new Producer and have no idea what you’re doing…

You could be a failed Producer at his 3rd shop in 5 years and no meaningful track record to show…

Or, you could even be a seasoned Producer who’s rested on his laurels and is now losing business faster than he can replace it…

Doesn’t really matter.

Because the good news is…

As a mentor once told me…

“You can get off at any floor you’d like. You don’t have to ride this thing down all the way to the bottom.”

Step 2: Find A Group Of People Who Have Done What You’re Trying To Do And Do What They Tell You

You can try to find your own way in the wilderness…

Or you can bypass all that trial and error and just follow the path previously taken by others who came before you.

Tony Robbins calls this “modeling” I think.

As he explains:

“If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and model what they do and you'll achieve the same results.”

In ProducerLand this could look like a mentor, or a peer group who’ve already found success.

If you don’t have a mentor or peer group in your office, don’t fret.

There’s a platform called LinkedIn with thousands of Producers willing to help on there.

Step 3: Keep Doing What They Tell You To Do Until You Die Or Your Azz Falls Off, Whichever Comes First

When I first got sober I asked a friend of mine in recovery:

“How often do you go to meetings?”

To which he replied:

“Whenever I don’t feel like it, and every day at 8pm.”

There’s something powerful about a daily practice…

Finding one big obstacle in your life and going to war with it every day.

For us in ProducerLand, that’s usually prospecting.

It seems scary, and uncomfortable at times…

So we avoid it.

Problem is…

Prospecting is the lifeblood of any successful Producer.

We’ve got to learn to develop it as a daily practice.

And keep doing it even when we don’t feel like it and every day at 8pm.

Ok, that’s enough out of me.

I just took 725+ words to try and connect the dots between getting sober and becoming a successful Producer…

So, if you’ve read this far, thanks for indulging me.

The idea seemed much easier in my mind before starting…

But, I got to tell you, after 2 and a half hours pecking away on this keyboard, it’s proven to be a tougher combo than T-Pain trying to rhyme “mansion” and “wis-can-sin”.

If you know you know…

Alright, here’s the link to what I’m selling.

See you next Sunday.

Kick ass take names,

Maximus F. Revenue IV