My family is relentlessly competitive.

Some of my earliest memories were of my father’s victory dances when he beat his 8-year-old son (me) at whatever game we happened to be playing.

Competition was everywhere—even in my childhood neighborhood. Juggling a soccer ball was a big deal around the cul-de-sac. We juggled everything: footballs, basketballs, tennis balls.

Then came the hacky sack.

I decided one afternoon that I was going to be the Michael Jordon of hacky. After an hour of juggling the hacky, I could consistently juggle 6 times. Then the planets and the stars aligned. I went from 6 juggles to a whopping 51!

Five. One. Wow!

I was giggling at the absurdity. How was this happening? For a second, I felt like the most talented hacky sacker on Wild Oak Lane.

Until I realized, no witnesses.

I told my brother about my good fortune. And he responded with, “Shut up. Didn't happen. Show me.”

I got 13 juggles. Maybe. On 20 tries.

He laughed. I pleaded with him to believe me. To this day, he doesn’t.

That was my moment to be celebrated as the MJ of hacky and nobody knew. Michael Jordan was once asked about what makes him the GOAT.

He simply said, “I don't compete with other people. I compete with what I'm capable of.”

I wish I knew that quote when I was 12.

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I had a Zoom call with a 25 year marketer.

He's interested in finding his next gig, even though he’s tired of the grind.

I can see that he's thinking about the most tolerable situation using the skills he already has.

As we were having the conversation, I noticed his background on the Zoom call. His home is gorgeous. Light is pouring in. It's meticulously designed. It's open and inviting. I made a comment about it.

He said, “Thanks for noticing. I love to entertain, and I love to cook. And if you like the interior, you should see the exterior, because I just got my Master Gardener certification.”

If you were on the call, you could just see the difference in his energy level: a 10 when he was talking about his gardening. A 5 when he was talking about marketing.

I asked, “Why are you pursuing this in house marketing stuff?” He says, “Greg, if I won the lottery, there’s no question I would just do the gardening. I'm pursuing the in house marketing stuff right now because I want to quiet the uncertainty.”

This is a beautiful way of describing fear. Going “all in” on gardening would be scary. And then, of course, there’s the inevitable dip in income by pursuing something new. When you're in a transition, you’ll be challenged, your salary will likely go down and you will trip over yourself as you're building momentum. It’s part of the process. There will be moments when you are frustrated. There will also be moments when you are elated at your progress.

But if you don’t trust yourself, you will regret it. Honor that part of you, even in the smallest ways, which is what we do in Relaunch U. Stay true to yourself. It’s the most compelling strategy of all.

If you are ready to quiet the uncertainty, Relaunch U is full of creators and business owners (like yourself) who have come together to build business and generate income doing what they love.

Take this free 30-minute masterclass to break you out of a rut and see if you're a fit for Relaunch U.

https://www.letsgomonaco.com/masterclass-register

I met Gary Vaynerchuk in the early stages of his company, VaynerMedia. We were collaborating on a project. My impression of him: Fast talker. Opinionated. Had all the answers. Blowhard.

Fast forward to today: Gary has 4.5 million YouTube followers. He commands $200,000 per speaking gig.

What changed in Gary? As far as I can tell, nothing. He’s the same guy: Fast talker. Opinionated. Has all the answers.

When I see Gary Vee's success—his millions of followers and how much money he makes for one speaking gig—I reflect on my judging him. The time I spent critiquing, he spent getting to work: Publishing content. Writing books. Helping people. Sharing.

He did his work relentlessly and unapologetically.

Every tool that he has available to him, I have available to me. Right now. Everything is in my control.

Why am I not commanding $200k like Gary? Simple. I don’t want it like he does. But I can’t judge him for that. If you find yourself comparing or judging others. Take a minute to look at yourself. It’s never about them. It’s always about you. These are the hard conversations that we must have to create breakthrough progress.

And we have these conversations every day at Relaunch U. If you're curious, check out Relaunch U at www.joinrelaunchu.com #personalbranding #insights #solopreneur