he didn't get the story he wanted

He didn't get the story he wanted.

He was driven and full of ambition.

The young man messaged his business partner in those early days, late at night, with a steady stream of dreams.

"Can you imagine if we hit $20,000 a month?!"

What an expectation! At least, at the time, that would have been huge.

Within a few short months, not only did they hit that $20,000 a month, they far exceeded that expectation.

The dream to escape internal bankruptcy via money, fame and acclaim was as real as your heartbeat.

Like a SpaceX rocket ship, the business launched into the stratosphere.

The expectations kept increasing.

Within a handful of years, I had...

Multiple thriving companies.
Over a hundred employees.
20,000 sq. feet of office space.
Tons of revenue.
Luxurious life.

Exceeding expectations one after another.

But that's not how my story would end.

My expectations became insatiable.

Multiple eight-figure businesses? Not enough (expectation).
Mansion, multiple houses, and private jets? Not good enough.

I was unaware of most of those expectations I had.

Waking up on June 17th, 2022, was a stark picture of not getting what I expected.

Once a never-can-fail-do-it-all guy, I was now burnt out to an extreme level and handing over the reins of my business to somebody else.

That’s not the story I expected. That’s not the story I got.

I didn’t expect that I would walk away from the business.
I didn’t expect I would end up closing all that down.
I didn’t expect that the FTC would sue me.

None of THAT was on my vision board!

What about you?

What are your expectations for your business?

Do you live in a state of unmet expectations? That's one of the easiest ways to live a joyless life.

I find many people are unaware of their expectations of themselves (and others). The result isn’t good.

So here is a quick pattern to consider and a couple of thoughts to help you live in a better state. If you feel negative emotions about where you are currently, this might help.

Expectation
Circumstance
Expectations: met/unmet
Emotion
Action

This is usually unintentional. When I’m feeling bummed, behind, sad, etc, it can often be traced back to an expectation I had that wasn’t met.

Let me illustrate...

• Little Petey wants a 50 cc dirt bike for Christmas (expectation).

• His parents don't have enough money, so they buy him something else (circumstance).

• He gets a baseball glove and ball (unmet expectation).

• He's disappointed, angry and sad (emotion).

• He shuts down emotionally (action).

Okay, let's do another one that might hit closer to home...

• Chuck wants to generate $100,000 for his business next month (expectation).

• The team drops the ball on the new product launch and the offer isn't well received (circumstance).

• The business only makes $30,000 in revenue (unmet expectation).

• He's mad, depressed and feels angry (emotion).

• He fires his team and starts a different business (action).

Here’s how I’m working to be better about this.

Asking myself this:

• What are my expectations?

• What will happen if that expectation is unmet?

From there, I might adjust the expectations. I might not. But at least I have a better awareness of it.

Here's the practice: get awareness of our expectations and counterbalance those against our bias.

Then, allow ourselves the time, energy and work to accomplish anything.

Sometimes, our expectations exceed the limits of the current season we're in.

Notice: usually, the higher the expectation, the bigger jerk the internal judgey critic is.

"Haha, you idiot, I knew you couldn't hit that goal." or "How could you think that was going to work out?"

Our views aren't reality. Our perspectives of reality are shaped by our beliefs and how we see the world.

When you're of sound mind, get awareness of your expectations, reason with those expectations, and balance them out.

I do want to be clear: expectations aren’t wrong. They’re good. Just be aware of the ones you have and how they affect your state.

You might find yourself happier and more joyous.

How does this resonate? Hit that poll and leave me a comment. I read all of them! ;)

Much love,

C