Book a Consult

88. How Many Times Are You Willing to Try?

Episode Summary

This week I'm digging into what I believe the most fundamental skill of growing a business is. We talk about the distinction between passive action and massive action, the busywork that feels productive because it keeps us safe versus the action that puts us in front of the market and hands us information we can use. We explore why so many of us retreat into safety, and it usually comes down to the emotional cost of the other kind, the rejection and the silence that come with putting yourself out there.

Key Takeaways

  • Big results usually rest on a much higher volume of attempts than people expect. The entrepreneurs who break through tend to try far more times, and tolerate far more misses, than everyone around them is willing to
  • There is a difference between passive action and massive action. Passive action like reading another book or polishing the website one more time feels like progress because it feels safe, while massive action puts you in front of the market and produces information you can use
  • The bigger risk in taking action is usually emotional rather than strategic. Founders avoid the highest-leverage moves less because they are confused about what to do and more because of the rejection and exposure those moves require
  • There is no perfect formula waiting to be handed to you. Nobody knows in advance exactly how to grow your specific business, the plan only looks like a formula in hindsight, and in the middle it always feels like experimentation
  • Emotional capacity is itself a growth skill. When you can move through shame and disappointment without letting it stop you, you keep taking the actions that eventually work, the way professionals keep creating and testing whether or not the conditions feel right

Memorable Quotes 

  • "Massive action is not one dramatic leap. It is thousands of small, unglamorous attempts in the direction of a result."
  • "The formula is created in hindsight. In the middle, it feels like experimentation."
  • "Most of the actions that grow a business are not complicated. They are emotionally expensive."

Resources Mentioned

  • Amy Porterfield, online marketing entrepreneur whose business was built on years of consistent webinars
  • James Dyson, who built 5,127 prototypes before landing on his bagless vacuum design
  • Melanie Perkins, co-founder of Canva, turned down by more than 100 investors before the company took off
  • Tony Robbins and the idea of "massive determined action"
  • Brooke Castillo and The Life Coach School, for the distinction between massive action and passive action
  • Steven Pressfield's "The War of Art," on the difference between amateurs and professionals
  • Billie Eilish, on continuing to create through discomfort even at the top

Connect with Carolina

  • Website: carozuleta.com
  • Book a consultation: carozuleta.com/consult
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/carolinazuletacoaching

Subscribe & Review

If this episode resonated, please leave a rating and follow the show. It helps other founders find the podcast and allows us to keep creating this content for free.