If You Are Coasting, You Are Going Downhill

I recently attended a two- day mastermind meeting with a bunch of highly successful entrepreneurs. There was one theme that came up over and over during the meeting.

“There is only one way to coast, and that is Downhill. So if you aren’t peddling, you are losing ground.”

This is a very simple concept, but it is incredible how many people don’t grasp it. Whether you are a business owner, an employee, or a person looking to live a good life, this is an essential concept.

The message behind it is that it is imperative to continually strive to improve your situation for personal and financial growth and satisfaction. In business, this concept is critical regarding sales and profits. No matter how good you are at your business, all companies see natural attrition in their customer base. Attrition happens for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with your product or service. People move, die, stop using what you sell for personal or business reasons, run out of money, technology replaces your products or services, or a myriad of other reasons.

In our business, we typically see about 15% of our sales go away each year for all of the above reasons. If we would just coast, thinking we were happy with our business level, it would only take a few short years to see the company be dramatically smaller. Because we understand this, we have a robust sales and marketing system that replaces lost sales each year and provides gains over prior years.

But this is not only a business concept. It is true in personal development, health, and fitness as well. Our minds and bodies are built to be stressed and challenged. Failure to challenge your mind and body will result in them slowly degrading. One reason is natural aging. As we get older, things degrade. You can’t stop natural aging, but you can make incredible gains and better yourself despite growing older.

One of the things I hear all the time is that “you need to slow down and relax.” I am a type-A personality, and as a result, I am always striving to do better in everything I do – be it business or personal. I don’t watch much TV, and I go non-stop from the moment I wake up until I go to bed. On vacation, my idea of relaxation is a full day of activities. Sitting around a pool for more than an hour or sleeping the day away does nothing for me. To me, doing nothing is equivalent to coasting, and it bores me.

What most people who tell me to slow down do not understand is that for me, fulfillment in life is constantly trying to achieve or learn new things.

I will challenge you to look at your life and see where you are coasting. Then, find ways to start peddling and move ahead in those areas - be it exercising, reading, working a little harder at your job, learning a new skill, or whatever feels like a challenge. Do this for a few months and evaluate your progress. I bet you will find yourself in a much happier and more satisfying position. Don’t coast, but keep peddling.