You started your law firm with limited resources and a running list of goals: things you wanted to achieve, numbers you wanted to hit, and impact you wanted to make. Then, one day, you find yourself there. The thing you worked so hard for came true.
It feels incredible — both like a celebration and a weight off your shoulders at once. You feel elated, proud, and deserving.
And then, a few moments later, you feel an inevitable question creep in…
“What now?”
We focus so hard on achieving our dreams that we spend nearly no time thinking about what we’ll do after we get there.
Rightfully so. In the moment, the “getting there” part seems like the most important one since we don’t even know if we will.
I had a similar experience with building Crisp. I spent so long hoping and planning to hit our first million. Once it happened (on a random Tuesday no less), I went outside to call my mom…and then went right back to work like nothing had changed.
It’s a human tendency, after a major goal is achieved, to want to dial back, to spend some time enjoying the fruits of your labor as a way of celebrating those wins.
And you should. Maybe go out to dinner, even a small trip, or throw an office party with your team. But be careful, because long-term comfort can lead to complacency, and complacency can lead to regression.
David Goggins, one of our guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, once wisely noted that it’s easy to hustle when you have nothing. But once you wake up in silk sheets of your dream home, that fire becomes hard to maintain.
The truth is, you’re progressing or regressing, but you’re never staying the same.
So while celebrating your achievements and appreciating the view from the mountain you tried so hard to climb is important, it’s just as important to keep on climbing higher.
Conor McGregor is a good example of this. He grew up a plumber, doing blue-collar work in Ireland and earning very little money. Through hard work and perseverance, he became one of the most well-known fighters in the UFC. But, as of now, he hasn’t won a fight in over five years. He has a whiskey brand and has been in a movie or two, but other than that, he’s spent most of his time relaxing on a yacht.
I’m not here to criticize Conor’s professional choices. He may very well be exactly where he wanted to be upon achieving fame and fortune. But the business equivalent of not winning a fight in five years is shutting down. There is no such thing as relaxing on a yacht while scaling. There is no comfort that also comes with a side of growth. Movement is the most basic, rudimentary sign of life. And the journey IS the destination.
The only way to prevent the complacency trap and keep your firm growing once you achieve a big goal is to set an even bigger one.
Hit the first six figures? Great, now aim for seven. Then eight, and then nine.
Because the only way to ensure you stay motivated and driven in the present is to aim for a future that is better than your past.
