Why Entrepreneurs Never Feel Happy

Why do ambitious entrepreneurs hit goals and still feel behind?

In this episode, Justin breaks down Dan Sullivan’s powerful framework of the gap and the gain—and why measuring yourself against an ideal can keep you stuck in frustration, even when you’re making real progress.

If you’ve ever gone from one goal to the next without feeling satisfied, this episode will help you see why. You’ll also get a simple nighttime exercise from 10X Is Easier Than 2X to help you end the day with clarity, confidence, and momentum.

Tonight’s shift:
 Write down 3 wins from today and 3 wins you want to create tomorrow.

Transcript

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Welcome back to Night Shift with Justin S. King, How to Transform Your Life One Night at a Time. Today I was listening to the book X is Easier Than 2X by Dan Sulvan and Benjamin Hardy. I actually discussed this on the book on the very first episode, and I've covered one other chapter in since then. What I was listening to today was a chapter on the gap in the gain, and Dan actually has a whole book on that, but this has a section in this book on the gap in the game. And so this is kind of the difference between how he knows if an entrepreneur is happy is going to be happy when they reach their goals. And this idea is how you can hit a goal and still be unhappy or still feel like you are behind. Let's take this goal from a financial standpoint. For example, if you are making$5,000 a month and your new goal is$50,000 a month, going 10x, that goal can help you focus and stretch and think bigger, but it can also quietly make you miserable as you evaluate your progress. So if you go from$5,000 a month to$6,000 a month, that is real gain and that is growth, but you are compelling yourself to the ideal of$50,000, you will be unhappy, and that is the trap. That difference is the gap and the gain. The gap is when you measure yourself against an ideal, and the gain is where you measure yourself against your former self. In the gap, you always feel like you are behind, and in the gain, you can actually see progress. Because Dan says you can actually reach your ideal. Mentions the two types of people that measure their progress. One is those who see how far they've come, and those who see how far they are away from the ideal. Comparing the two types of entrepreneurs, Dan does say that there's no measurable, measurable difference in the amount of output that one creates versus the other. But he does say those who live in the gap are more likely to burn out and be unhappy. So the person in the gap will say, I'm only at 6,000, I should be way further. And the person in the gain says, I used to make 5,000, now I make 6,000. What did I do right? He says during this chapter to measure all the times where you've made big leaps and bounds in progress over your life, and that will give you evidence that you can make the next big leap in your life. And Dan Sullivan has a simple exercise which he has all his entrepreneurials go through every night. And that is simple to write down three wins from the day and three wins that you want to create tomorrow. It's simple, and the key here is consistency. When you write down three wins, you recognize the gain and you start to see progress. And when you write down three wins for tomorrow, you create direction without becoming trapped by the ideal. So try that tonight. Write down three wins from today, real wins, and write down three wins for tomorrow. That's it. And if you are feeling like you are behind in life, also take a few moments to look how far you've come. Not compared to anything, not compared to where you won't wish you would have been, but just in your life. What steps have you made up until now? If you like more information on evening routines, head over to my website, JustinS King.comslash fast. My name is Justin S. King, and I help entrepreneurs find peace tonight, tomorrow, and for the rest of their lives through sleep optimization, emotion regulation, and discovering their purpose. Good night.