THE COMPETITOR PLAYBOOK
No fluff. No rah-rah. Just tactical, real-world strategies to help you compete today - at work, at home, in life. Because life’s too short to drift through it.
Every yes is a no to something better
EVERY DAY COUNTS. Compete to win yours. I was sitting in my office, staring at my calendar, and I couldn't breathe. Every day was color-coded. Every hour accounted for. Flights booked months out. Coffee meetings stacked back-to-back. Networking events that "might lead to something." Client calls bleeding into dinner time. This was 2022: the year my speaking business took off. I'd tripled my revenue. The gigs were rolling in. This was everything I'd been grinding toward for years. And I was...
The Las Vegas table that changed everything
EVERY DAY COUNTS. Compete to win yours. I was sitting at a table in Las Vegas, at a conference I'd saved up to attend, wearing clothes I didn't normally wear, trying to look like I belonged. Everyone was talking seven figures. Intricate funnel systems. Marketing automation. Then someone asked me: "What about you, Jake? What's your funnel look like?" I felt my face get hot. "I, uh... I'm not at that level yet." The truth? I didn't have a funnel. I had an F-150 truck that I loaded up every...
Stop treating every day like sudden death.
Hey Competitor, Compete to win yours. Tomorrow is October 1st, the fourth quarter. You're either thinking "Fresh start - let's finish strong" or you're looking at the calendar thinking "I already blew the first three quarters, what's the point now?" Here's the thing: That same all-or-nothing thinking? It's probably how you're treating your days, too. I know because I lived it for years. The Donut Spiral Late twenties. Pre-Compete Every Day. I'd wake up with the best intentions. Morning...
Are you a standard-setter or standard-taker?
EVERY DAY COUNTS. Compete to win yours. Hey Reader, I took a lot of pride in wearing number "4" in high school football. When I knew I was graduating, I wanted whoever wore it after me to hold themselves to the same standard I had. I wanted #4 to mean something at our school - like other numbers meant for players who had moved on. As I grew older, I reflected on the same concept in various roles in life. From my fraternity's social chair position (which was a poor run, honestly) to being a...
Your best people aren't quitting for money (here's the real reason)
EVERY DAY COUNTS. Compete to win yours. You hired them because they were the best. Six months later, they're gone. Sound familiar? I was talking to a construction company owner last month who lost three team members in four months - all solid performers who got recruited by competitors offering "better opportunities." His first instinct was to blame the money, figure they got outbid by someone with deeper pockets. It's always about the money, right? But is it really? Here's the reality:...
The embarrassing thought I had at 42
EVERY DAY COUNTS. Compete to win yours. I'm standing in the middle of a packed group workout class, sweat dripping, legs shaking like a newborn calf. The workout today is brutal. Around me, athletes half my age are grinding through the same reps. My lungs are screaming. My form is starting to break down. And then it happens. That voice - quiet at first, then louder - starts whispering: "Skip a few reps. Nobody's counting. You'll finish first." At 42 years old. After decades of talking about...
The system I use when I feel distracted
EVERY DAY COUNTS. Compete to win yours. Last month at our annual professional speakers’ association conference, I was catching up with an old friend over coffee when she asked if we could talk privately. “I have ADHD, you have ADHD - but you get so much done,” she said. “I’m drowning.” She went on: “If my team needs something or my family needs something, I nail it every time. No problem. But the stuff I should be doing for MY business? The things that would actually move me forward? I punt...
The success that would destroy me
EVERY DAY COUNTS. Compete to win yours. I was 35,000 feet above Denver when I realized I was being an idiot. I'd just spent the last 20 minutes scrolling through another speaker's Instagram, watching him post about "crushing" some arena event. Thirty-plus comments. Over 100 likes. The whole nine yards. My brain immediately went where yours probably would: Why don't I have arena events? What am I doing wrong? I'm falling behind. For the next hour, I sat there beating myself up over not having...
Making 2,000 birthday calls
EVERY DAY COUNTS. Compete to win yours. The Moment 🏪 Ron Blumkin had a problem most CEOs would love to have. As CEO of Nebraska Furniture Mart, he had over 2,000 employees. Managing that many people meant endless meetings, countless decisions, and a calendar that never had enough hours. But Blumkin did something that sounds impossible in today's "too busy" culture. He called every single employee on their birthday. Not an assistant. Not an automated message. Him. Personally. Over two thousand...
[LEAD BETTER] Why Many Teams Stay Average
LEAD BETTER TODAY I thought I was an 8 out of 10 speaker. For years, I'd step off stage feeling good about my keynotes. Audiences engaged. Energy high. Applause at the right moments. I was booking events, getting decent feedback, and honestly? I was comfortable with my performance. But comfort is the enemy of excellence. In 2022, I made a decision that changed everything. Instead of continuing to wing it on my own, I hired a speaking coach. Not because I was failing - but because I suspected...
No fluff. No rah-rah. Just tactical, real-world strategies to help you compete today - at work, at home, in life. Because life’s too short to drift through it.