I'm going to tell you something controversial: the most successful consultants I work with aren't the smartest ones. They're not the most credentialed, most experienced, or most technically brilliant. Yet they're the ones building thriving seven-figure practices while their more qualified peers struggle to hit six figures. The difference? They have an extreme bias toward action while everyone else is trapped in analysis paralysis, waiting for perfect conditions that never arrive. Every day you delay publishing that post, making that call, or testing that offer is another day your less-qualified competitor is building the business you want. In this episode, I reveal the exact traits that separate action-takers from over-thinkers, why your intelligence might actually be sabotaging your success, and the specific practices you can implement today to break free from the planning trap and start building real momentum.
Show Notes:
- Why the most successful consultants aren't the smartest (and the dangerous trap that intelligence creates for business builders)
- The "protection mechanism" that's keeping you stuck: how one failed LinkedIn post or uncomfortable sales call can freeze your entire business
- Poker lessons for consultants: why folding every hand guarantees you'll waste your time at the table (and what to do instead)
- The two types of messy growth and why one scales 3x faster than the other (even though both feel uncomfortable)
- My qualification question that predicts success: "When I say jump, do you say how high?" and why your answer determines everything
- The micro-decision practice that rewires your brain for decisiveness (start with lunch, scale to your business)
- Why failed action beats perfect planning 100% of the time: the data advantage nobody talks about
- The 20% rule that separates consultants who grow from those who stay stuck in delivery mode
- How to build tolerance for disappointment (the skill that matters more than your expertise)