I used to stack shelves at a supermarket, dreaming of a life beyond the fluorescent lights and endless aisles. Fast forward to my 20s, and I’ve built a seven-figure business. The path wasn’t lined with genius or luck—it was paved with simple, intentional choices that anyone can make. Over the next seven months, I transformed my mindset and habits, and I’m sharing the five rules that got me there. These aren’t just tips; they’re the blueprint I followed to get ahead. Ready to see how you can apply them to your own life? Let’s dive in and explore how small, consistent steps can lead to big wins.
Mastering the Basics with the 95/5 Rule
Success isn’t the glamorous highlight reel you see on social media. It’s the 95% of work done in the shadows—gritty, repetitive, and often boring. I learned this from Kobe Bryant’s story. He was the best basketball player in the world, yet at 4 a.m., he was in the gym, drilling basic footwork with relentless focus. Why? Because he never got bored with the fundamentals. I took this to heart. When I started my business, I committed to the basics: writing daily, making calls, and refining my pitch. It wasn’t sexy, but it built my foundation. Whether it’s writing one page a day or making 50 sales calls, even if 49 end in rejection, those small wins add up. What’s one basic task you’ve been avoiding that could move you closer to your goals?
The 95/5 rule taught me that consistency trumps complexity. I used to create elaborate plans—color-coded spreadsheets that promised to revolutionize my life. A month later? They were forgotten. Keep it simple. Pick one or two core actions and do them daily. The results will surprise you, not because you’re a genius, but because you showed up.
Using Discomfort as Fuel
Change is hard, but staying stuck is harder. I learned this from Tony Robbins: people only shift when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of changing. After college, I landed a cushy Wall Street job—great salary, proud parents, the works. But six months in, I was pacing outside the office, dreading the moment I had to walk in. During a one-on-one, my manager mapped out my next five years, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. That discomfort was my wake-up call. I quit, despite a 30% raise offer, and started my business. Those first seven months were brutal—sleepless nights, costly mistakes—but the fear of failing was nothing compared to the regret of staying in a job that suffocated me.
What’s your discomfort telling you? Maybe it’s a job that feels like a dead end or a dream you keep postponing. Use that unease as fuel. Imagine yourself a year from now, still in the same spot, making the same excuses. If that stings, good. Let it push you to act. Time will pass either way—where do you want to be when it does?
Breaking Free from the Pig Million Effect
Your beliefs shape your reality. I call it the Pig Million Effect: you perform up to your expectations. A friend of mine, a founder from a tiny Minnesota town, spent years convinced she couldn’t succeed because she wasn’t from a big city. She’d look at successful people and think, “That’s not me.” Then, at a networking event, she met someone from an even smaller town who’d built a seven-figure software business. That flipped her mindset. She stopped looking for reasons she couldn’t succeed and started finding proof she could. In 2023, her jewelry business hit $1 million in sales.
I’ve been there, too, doubting myself because I didn’t have the “right” background. But your brain is wired to find evidence for what you believe—confirmation bias at work. If you think success is out of reach, you’ll find reasons to stay stuck. Instead, start believing the world is full of opportunity. Look for examples of people like you who’ve made it. What’s one limiting belief you can challenge today? Shift your focus, and your reality will follow.
The One-In, Two-Out Rule
Time is your most valuable asset, and I learned this the hard way. Early on, I was stubborn about doing everything myself—designing logos, building websites, even filing taxes—to save money. I’d spend weeks on tasks that looked terrible in the end. Then it hit me: I was saving pennies at the expense of my time. I started calculating my hourly rate. Say you earn $100,000 a year, working 2,000 hours—that’s $50 an hour. If I spent five hours on a PowerPoint, that’s $250. Could I hire someone or use AI for less? Absolutely. So I outsourced those tasks and focused on high-impact work, like strategy and growth.
Tools like Grammarly for editing or Claude for brainstorming became my allies. You don’t need a huge budget—many AI tools are free or cheap. What’s one task you’re spending time on that you could outsource? Free up those hours and invest them in what moves the needle, like learning a new skill or pitching a big client. Work smarter, not harder.
Moving to High Accountability
Low-accountability jobs—like the data entry gigs I saw on Wall Street—won’t get you ahead. They’re easy to replace, so they pay less and offer little growth. High-accountability roles, where you solve complex problems, are different. Employers value people who can deliver unique impact. I shifted from doing basic tasks to building a business that solved real problems for clients. That meant developing “T-shaped” skills: deep expertise in one area (the vertical bar) and broad knowledge across others (the horizontal bar). For example, I paired my sales skills with digital marketing and analytics, making me more valuable.
A study showed hybrid roles—those blending skills like marketing and SQL—grow twice as fast and pay up to 41% more. I took online courses to learn analytics, and it transformed how I pitched my services. What’s one skill you could add to your toolbox? Think of it like a video game: the broader your skillset, the more “combos” you can pull off to win. Start small—take a Tableau course or learn basic coding. You’ll stand out in ways you never imagined.
Key Takeaways
- Master the Basics: Success is 95% consistent effort in the shadows. Commit to simple, daily actions to build your foundation.
- Embrace Discomfort: Use the pain of staying stuck as motivation to change, and don’t let the fear of failure outweigh the regret of inaction.
- Shift Your Mindset: Challenge limiting beliefs with the Pig Million Effect. Look for proof you can succeed to rewire your reality.
- Value Your Time: Use the one-in, two-out rule to outsource low-value tasks and focus on high-impact work that drives growth.
- Seek High Accountability: Build T-shaped skills to move into roles where your unique impact is valued and rewarded.
Conclusion
My journey from supermarket shelves to seven figures wasn’t a straight line, and yours won’t be either. These five rules—focusing on basics, using discomfort as fuel, shifting my mindset, valuing my time, and seeking high accountability—worked for me, but you’ll adapt them to fit your life. The beauty is in their flexibility; there’s no one-size-fits-all path to success. What matters is starting where you are, with what you have, and taking one step forward. Seven months from now, you could be in a completely different place—closer to the life you’ve always imagined. So, what’s one small action you can take today? Try it, experiment, and see where it takes you. The future is waiting, and it’s brighter than you think.