Birthdays are Great for Forced Reflections
Student of the Game · Season 1 · Episode 44
Birthdays are Great for Forced Reflections
During his birthday week, Brad Noll steps in as his own guest for a solo episode on forced reflection. Borrowing his kids' favorite line, it ain't that deep, Brad explains why the past is the deep end and shares five patterns from 21 years in business: embrace the grind early, invest in relationships, embrace the plateau, leverage challenges, and define success through values.
▶ Listen to the episodeKey Takeaways
- Use milestones for forced reflection. Birthdays, anniversaries, and New Year's are natural times to sit down, study the patterns in your life, and decide where you want to go.
- Embrace the grind early. Fresh out of college, Brad asked for a list of his basketball program's donors and booked about 40 breakfasts. Doing hard things builds confidence.
- Successful people give clues. Brad went to every breakfast planning to pick up the check and never paid once. Successful people give to those they see something in.
- Relationships pay the greatest return. For his first four years, Brad spent nearly every dollar on ads, cold calls, and door knocking. His business took off when he invested in relationships.
- Most of the journey is the plateau. Brad spent 15 of his 21 years on plateaus, with big jumps after key changes. Keep going even when you can't see progress.
- Ask what you're supposed to learn. Reframing challenges and conflicts as lessons turns them into a catalyst for change and keeps you growing constantly.
Chapters
- 00:00Going rogue for birthday week
- 01:29It ain't that deep: the past is the deep end
- 03:36Put some deep work on your calendar
- 05:01Embrace the grind early
- 08:37Invest in relationships, not transactions
- 11:26Embrace the plateau: 15 of 21 years
- 16:23Leverage challenges as a catalyst for change
- 17:04Define success through values
- 17:46Are you ready to jump into the deep end?
- 19:55Five lessons in review
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Birthdays and Forced Reflection: Five Lessons From 21 Years in Business
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