From Burned out Job to Breakthrough Career (and more)
Hunting Discomfort to create results might be backed up with brain science, philosophy and countless case studies, but it doesn’t live in theory. It lives in real lives, real experiences and real breakthroughs from people putting in the work. Here are just a few stories from the #NoMatterWhat Community of people grabbing onto the 5 practices in Hunting Discomfort and putting them into action.
Sarah L., Senior Partner edX
From burned out job to breakthrough career
Sarah was burned out with about a decade of the same things: the same job, the same money, the same interactions with people and the same uninspiring results. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, except that she wanted more from her life and her career. And after 10 years and counting of no change in sight, enough was enough. She was ready to step up and make the impact of her potential known and so she became newly committed to making that happen, #NoMatterWhat.
Sarah didn’t just dip her toe in the waters of change. She was courageous enough to jump in head first and signed up to join me on a #NoMatterWhat Adventure to cycle over 100 miles through the Rocky Mountains. She didn’t even have a road bike! When you hunt the discomfort of doing something really, really hard, you actually break the view you have of yourself. It fundamentally disrupts who you know yourself to be and all of a sudden you have new opportunities and openings for action that were literally invisible prior (because unconsciously you didn’t believe you were the kind of person who could do them). Sarah was a literal rockstar pushing through all the training and finishing that race. But the big changes came as soon as she was done…
On the other side “I can honestly say my life changed significantly. I left my job of 10 years, changed industries to what I really wanted to do with my life and moved to a new state (from the only place I had even known my entire life). None of it would have happened if it not for Sterling encouraging me to think bigger, pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and doing things I never thought possible.”
Emanuel M., Founder, Leftspire
From unemployed to entrepreneurial success
The pandemic wasn’t kind to many of us, Emanuel included. In the early months of 2020 he parted ways from his corporate job and was left unsure of where to turn. He had an expensive apartment in NY he had to pay for, a family to take care of and no personal revenue on the horizon.
Enter #NoMatterWhat. Walking alone in a local neighborhood one day he passed by a tattoo parlor. Without a second thought, he stepped in and had the name of the business he wanted to create tattooed on his left bicep (don’t ask how he explained that to his wife). He hunted the discomfort of commitment. Commitment is key in the #NoMatterWhat system, when we commit in a way where there’s no going back (the step is actually called Get a Tattoo), by design we close the door on the past and move ourselves to new results. In the coming weeks, Emanuel moved his family to Texas, started his company, and with a lot of hard work, has quickly become successful.
He texted me recently, “Dude, the metrics from this new product we created show that we have an 8-figure company on our hands. We’ll see what happens when everything plays out because it won’t be easy to take this next step… but by committing and believing #NoMatterWhat I will figure it out […] shit is changing fast for me. Thank you brother ❤️. Oh and you can’t forget to get that tattoo to tell the universe that you will make it a reality 🔥. I’m a testimonial for life for you.”
Haviland, head of marketing and operations, Sterling Hawkins Group (more importantly, Sterling’s sister)
From body breakdown to professional fitness model
It’s really my sister, Haviland’s, fault the whole #NoMatterWhat Community started. She was the first to take hold of the system and use it herself after watching what I was doing. Haviland was struggling with her health and weight at the time. She was diagnosed with several food allergies and combined with the stress in her life, she hit rockbottom in her health.
Enough was enough – though telling people she wanted to compete and being on stage in a bikini absolutely terrified her - she hunted the discomfort of exposure and built what we call a Street Gang, surrounding herself with people committed to her potential (not her identity, her feelings or her problems… her potential). A fitness coach to hold her accountable. A pro bodybuilder to provide mentorship and inspiration. She found love and support from her family and friends to keep going, even when it got really (really) tough.
She says now “I wanted to be a professional bodybuilder, but I just didn’t know if I could. It was the people I surrounded myself with that really mattered. Without #NoMatterWhat, I’m not sure I’d be where I am today. I’m a WBFF Pro Fitness Model! I have people coming up to me constantly in the gym and on Instagram and everywhere asking how they can have a body like mine. It’s unbelievable.”
Mindy
From hopeless to faith in the future
On April 2, 2022 Mindy got a phone call from her older brother Sean. He had some sobering news, he had just left the hospital with a pancreatic cancer diagnosis requiring immediate surgery (he’s only 47). When the surgery came, Sean had complications and had to be rushed back into surgery at midnight and Mindy and her family weren't sure he would make it. He did. But he would require months of heavy chemo and radiation.
Mindy didn’t want this for her brother or herself. Obviously. But she knew she needed to hunt the discomfort of the unknown. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed to any of us at any level, and when we surrender control to something greater is frees us to continue to move forward, no matter how hard the situation may be.
This story isn’t over. Mindy and her brother are in the midst of his treatment and they’re fighting on. She says “Just seeing the posts, podcasts, and others sharing what they’re dealing with, makes me realize it will be ok. I just need that and I feel a level of support even though I don't know many of you in the #NoMatterWhat Community”. Join me in sending her love and support. She and her brother could use it.
Inspiring, right? If you’re not already part of the #NoMatterWhat Community, join us by email or on Facebook. You’ll be glad you did. It’s full of incredible people committed to breakthrough results and hunting the discomfort necessary to achieve them. I’ll see you there!