The Flywheel Effect

If you’ve been doing “all the right things” but nothing seems to move, you might not be stuck you might be in the heavy part of the wheel. We talk through Jim Collins’ flywheel effect and translate it into real-world momentum you can use at the kitchen table, in the truck, on the job site, and at home. The big takeaway is simple and hard: momentum is built before it’s felt, and the flywheel only rewards repeated pushes in the same direction.

We get practical with a service business flywheel for contractors and trade business owners: clarity in who you serve and what you say leads to better customers, cleaner estimates, better jobs, stronger delivery, happier clients, more reviews and referrals, and a reputation that keeps feeding the front of the loop. We also call out the trap of scattered busyness, where you change marketing, pricing, and priorities so fast that nothing has time to compound.

Then we zoom out to personal flywheels like health, relationships, and leadership. Sleep and small routines can create energy and better choices. Listening without interrupting can rebuild trust faster than grand gestures. Clear expectations can prevent the micromanaging bottleneck that burns out leaders and teams. We also dig into “drag” the habits, people, and commitments that slow the wheel and how subtraction can be the most powerful push.

If you want better results, start by asking: which direction is my flywheel turning, and what’s my next right push? Subscribe, share this with someone who’s in the heavy season, and leave a review so more builders and leaders can find the show.

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Transcript

Welcome And The Core Idea

Ty Cobb Backer 0:00

Episode 336. Turning the flywheel in business and in life. We have a kind of a belief system that either we're gonna push you up, we're gonna push you out. I don't want to be around five other people that aren't pushing themselves to succeed. Success isn't about taking, but giving value first. Compensation follows contribution always. This is true authenticity. It's the truth. Every week, this is our story. We share with you our journey, we share with you our scars. Please welcome your host, Tycombacker. Hey, hey, welcome back, everybody, to Behind the Tool Belt. This is episode 336, and I am glad that you are all here. So today, I want to talk about a concept that uh has been used in business circles for for years, but I think it deserves a seat at the kitchen table, in the truck, in the shop, on the job site at the gym. You know, in those quiet moments when we're trying to become better people, we're gonna talk about the flywheel. More specifically, we're gonna talk about Jim Collins' idea of the flywheel from his work around, and many of you might have read this book, but it's called Good to Great and Turning the Flywheel.

Why The Flywheel Matters Now

Ty Cobb Backer 1:38

And and and why this topic is coming up today is is because we started we started the challenge again. And you know, I was like, I just, you know, physically I exercise, you know, which I I feel like for me it starts there because if I'm slacking there, I'm slacking on my diet, I'm slacking on my rest, and then everything else kind of kind of falls apart from there. But it seems like every that that everything else is is kind of falling apart. My you know, my calendar, people coming into my space during, you know, unexpected times and and just just a whole lot of other things. So and I think last week or the week before, and or whatever, every other week we probably talk about you know sticking to the basics. So I I want to talk about, you know, you know, the flywheel. And and at first the flywheel sounds like you know, only like like a business concept. And it and it's not, it's about momentum. And I think we've had topics before on on momentum and discipline, and you know, both of which are are about repeated action. And it's about how, at least my interpretation, it's about great companies, you know, about how how great companies do not usually become great because of like one big dramatic move. They they become great because they they find a few things that work. They they keep doing them, they they stack them, they stack those actions in the right order. And over time, the whole thing starts to move faster. But but today I want to put a spin on it. I I want to put a spin on it because I I don't think the flywheel is only for companies. I think I think you and I have a flywheel. Whether we know it or not, it's it's by default. So, you know, whether you know it or not, your your marriage has a flywheel, your health has a flywheel, your finances have a flywheel, your mindset has a flywheel, shit leadership has a flywheel, our our personal reputation has a flywheel. And whether whether we know it or not, every day we are we're either pushing that flywheel forward, letting it slow down, or even sometimes pushing it in the wrong direction. So today's episode I'm gonna call turning the flywheel in life and and in business.

The Heavy Wheel And Quitting Point

Ty Cobb Backer 4:44

So start start with start with this picture. Okay, imagine a giant heavy wheel. Okay, and what I have in my mind right now is like this big concrete wheel. I've seen it someplace. I think it was for a what is those uh the the for electricity. It was a wheel for water goes through, like a water chute. I think there's one right down there by Grand View, back behind that barn. They generated electricity through the water came through. I'm sure somebody in the comments will know what the hell I'm talking about, but but I'm not picturing a like a bicycle wheel. It's it's it's it's and it's not like a little gear that you can just spin with your finger. I'm talking about like a freaking massive, heavy iron wheel, something that weighs thousands of pounds, something that that that doesn't move very easily. And imagine you walk up to it, you put your shoulder against it, and and you push. And at first nothing happens, and then you push again, and and still nothing happens, and you push it again, and it barely moves. And and this is where, quite frankly, most people quit. They say, This isn't working, they say, I've tried, they say, I gave it a shot, but the flywheel, from at least my experience, doesn't reward from just like one push. The flywheel rewards repeated pushes in the same direction. So you push it again, and then again, and then again, and eventually it moves a fricking inch, then it moves a few inches, and and then one full turn, and then another, and then another, and then at some point something interesting happens. The wheel starts helping you. The momentum you created begins to multiply your effort. You're still pushing, but now the wheel is moving with you, right? What once took everything you had now starts to feel natural, not effortless, not easy, but but smoother, more productive, more powerful. That is the flywheel. And and and I want to pause right there because that for me is is a very powerful pitcher. Okay, and and most of us, most of us are not, I don't know, suffering from a lack of desire. You know, I think most of us have goals. We we want we want the business to grow, we want the team to be better, we want our families to be stronger, we want to get healthier. Okay, we want to save more money, we want to be more present, we want to lead better, we want to stop reacting to life and start building something, you know, with with intention. The problem isn't always desire. The problem is is that we underestimate how many pushes it takes before we feel momentum. We we want the result of the flywheel before we have done the work of the flywheel, right? And

Business Mistakes That Kill Momentum

Ty Cobb Backer 8:36

in business, this shows up all the time, right? Like we want more leads, so we try a little advertising, okay? No big results. Then we want to to change our website, no big results. Then then we want to post, you know, a few social media, you know, ads or campaigns for two weeks, no big results. Then then we change our pricing, then we change our offerings, and then we complain nothing's working. But when you take a minute to to like zoom out, the issue may not be that none of those things are working. The issue may be that we we never stayed the course. We we didn't stay with one system long enough for the flywheel to build momentum. The same thing happens in our personal life. Someone wants to get healthier, okay? So we go to the gym three times, we eat well for four days, we get on the scales. The scales are not celebrating, so we quit. Sometimes we want to improve our marriages, right? We plan a date night, we have one conversation, we apologize one time, but the relationship does not instantly transform. So we think, well, I tried. And someone wants to get, like, let's just say someone wants to, I don't know, get out of debt. So we we skip one unnecessary purchase. We make an extra payment, but the balance still looks huge. It's still over freaking welming, right? So we get discouraged. And this is where I think the the flywheel concept becomes more than more than just like a business idea. It becomes like a life idea because the flywheel teaches us, it teaches us this, that that momentum is built before I think it's felt. Okay, and let me say that again. Momentum is built before it's felt. Okay, like I never feel ready. You may be, you know, we may be making progress long before we can even see the progress, you know, and this is it, it is true in in business, leadership, fitness. It is true in in parenting. You know, this is true in our faith, our habits, our finances, our personal growth. The first but the where it matters is it it's it's where you know the first push matters. Even when even when they feel like they do not matter, you know, but it's that first push, and and that may be the message somebody needs today. So the work the work that we're doing right now may not look impressive yet. The conversations we are having may not have changed anything yet. The systems that we're building may not be producing big results yet. The morning routine may not have changed my whole life yet. The team meeting may still feel awkward, the marketing may still feel slow, the savings account may still look small, the workouts may still feel hard, but but the flywheel does not ask whether the first push looks impressive. It asks whether you will push it again. Okay,

The Sequence That Creates Results

Ty Cobb Backer 12:39

so Jim Collins talks about the flywheel in the context of organizations. Okay, so the basic idea is that great results often come from understanding the sequence, okay, the sequence of actions that reinforce one another. Okay, so in plain language, okay, it it isn't, it's not just doing a bunch of random good things. Okay, been there, done that, still do that, still get caught up in that shit. It's it's actually figuring out what causes what. Okay. So for an example, in business, the flywheel might look something like this. Do excellent work. Okay. So then excellent work creates happy customers. Happy customers create referrals. Referrals bring in better, better fitted customers. Better fitted customers allow you to do more excellent work. More excellent work strengthens the relationship. A stronger reputation brings in more opportunity, and then the wheel turns again. That is the flywheel. So hopefully that made sense. So I want you to notice something important. It's not magic, it's not hype, it's not one viral post, it's not one sales trick, it's not one motivational speech or or one lucky break. It is a series of connected actions that feed, that feed each other. And once you see that, you can begin asking better questions. Okay. Instead of asking, how do I get more business overnight? Maybe you ask, what are what what are the core actions that create momentum in my business? Instead of asking, how do I change my whole life by Monday? You ask, what are the core actions that create momentum in my life? Those questions change everything because most people most people are lacking activity. I'm I'm lacking alignment. They're busy, but the busyness is scattered. My business, my busyness gets scattered, kind of like half the reason why I wanted to start the challenge over again. You know, we're pushing, but like we're pushing in like 10 different directions, okay? You know, pushing marketing on Monday, pushing operations on Tuesday, pushing culture on Wednesday, pushing pricing on Thursday, pushing the new idea on Friday, and then next week we start over with a completely set of priorities. And and in life, we do the same thing. I do the same thing. You know, try a new dot, try a different budget app, a new product productivity method, right? A new, a different morning routine. Vic and I talk about that shit all the time. And then I'll jump from book to book to book. I'll go from podcast to podcast to podcast. I'll get a new planner, I'll set new goals, and then, you know, you know, listen, learning, learning is good. Growth is amazing. And and trying new tools and and finding different resources is is not bad. It's good. It's good. But if we if we keep changing directions, okay, and we we somewhat talked about this yesterday in a marketing meeting yesterday. It's like, like, let's stay the course, let's stay the course, let's not muddy the waters, let's not, let's not get the messaging confusing, you know, but but we don't we don't want to change directions too quickly, right? Because that will never build momentum. We didn't give the first campaign enough time. And and the flywheel needs consistency. It doesn't need flashy ads and confusing campaigns. Consistently rarely gets an applause. It it it it takes discipline at the end of the day. It's realistically is what it takes. It takes it takes discipline. And and and listen, nobody throws a freaking parade because you know, you got up on time three days in a row. Nobody sends a trophy because you followed up with a customer when you said you would. And then nobody's clapping because you packed your freaking lunch instead of buying something, buying lunch every every single day. You you know what I mean? Nobody's cheering because you listen to your spouse instead of defending yourself. But those are pushes, and and pushes compound that word, that word compound. Okay, compounding is is what happens when small things build on each other. And in business, trust compounds, quality compounds, reputation compounds, training compounds, systems, compound in life. Same thing, health compounds, your character, discipline, peace, peace compounds, relationships, compound. But but here's the catch. Okay, negativity, negative, negativity and negative things also compound avoidance compounds, debt compounds, bitterness, disorganization, poor communication, and bad habits compound. So the question the question is not, do I have a flywheel? Because like I had mentioned earlier, everybody does. You just didn't know it, it's by default. So you do. Everybody. Everybody. So the question is, is which direction is it turning? Okay, because your life is not, your life's not standing still, your business is not standing still, your team is not standing still, your health, time is not standing still. Every repeated behavior is creating momentum somewhere, whether it's positive or it's negative. So let's make this practical. Okay.

A Service Business Flywheel Example

Ty Cobb Backer 19:57

Think about a business flywheel for a service business. Okay. Maybe you're in the trades, like we are. Maybe you're a remodeler, contractor, small business center, doesn't matter. Your flywheel may start with clarity. I know it does for me. We know who we serve because we know we know we know who we serve. So we we need to make sure that our message is clear. Okay, because if our message gets clear, better customers contact us. Because better customers contact you, our estimates are more productive. Because our estimates are more productive, we close more jobs, okay? And because those jobs fit our company, our team can deliver better work. Okay, because your team delivers better work, our customers are happier. And I talk about this kind of stuff all the time. Because our customers are happier, they leave reviews and then they refer us. Because reviews and referrals increase, our reputation, our reputation grows. Because your re reputation grows, more of the right customers find us. And now the flywheel turns. That is the difference from simply saying we need more leads. More leads are not always the answer. Sometimes more leads just create more ca more chaos. And listen, we've done it. We break shit all the time. Something, anytime we change something somewhere else, something breaks. So we got to find, okay, process is broken. More leads means more missed calls. More bad estimates creates more frustrated customers and more freaking stress. A healthy fly will ask what comes first. Sometimes the first push is not advertising. Sometimes the first push is just simply answering the phone. Sometimes it's cleaning up the estimate process. Sometimes it could be just better training for your crews and admin and your sales reps. Sometimes it's defining the ideal customer. Sometimes it's just documenting the job handoff. And these are all things that we've worked on forever. And unfortunately, we'll continue to have to work on these things. And and and the last one, okay, might sound basic, but that's the whole point of this. But basic things turn the flywheel. Okay. And in fact, the more that I I study business and and life, the more I believe greatness is usually built on a small number of basics that are repeated with discipline. Okay. Not compliment, not complicated. It's not easy. There is a difference. You know, simple does not mean easy. All right. A push-up is easy. Okay. Saving money is easy. Returning calls, going to bed, going to bed on time is simple. Telling the truth. Being patient. You know, following up. Apologizing. Right? It's simple, but it's not easy. You know, and simple things become hard when they have to be repeated, right? And that is why the flywheel matters. The flywheel reminds us that the power is not just in the action, the power is in the repeated action. So

Health Flywheels Built On Basics

Ty Cobb Backer 24:21

let's shift from business to personal life, you know, and talk about like what a personal flywheel would look like. So let's take health. Okay. A health flywheel might look like you go to bed a little earlier. Okay. Because you go to bed earlier, you wake up with more energy. Because you wake up with more energy, you make a better breakfast. Because you make a better breakfast, your blood sugar and mood are stable. Because your mood is steadier, you handle stress better. Because you handle stress better, you are less likely to eat junk at night. Okay? I'm a grazer. Because you avoid that late night grazing, you sleep better. Because you sleep better, the wheel turns again. Notice the flywheel, I did not start with a six-week extreme challenge. It started with bedtime, even though I am doing a six-week challenge, but it didn't have to start there. It just started with me getting a better night's rest, waking up with more energy, making a better breakfast, which I'm in turn, I'm making better decisions, I'm less stressed, and the clarity comes. Okay. That may sound exciting, but or it may not sound exciting, but it's it's that it's that first push for me. Okay, it's just starting with getting a good night's rest. Okay. For someone else, I don't know, the the health flywheel might start with walking. Okay. Start out by walking 10 minutes. That that gives you a little more energy. That energy makes you want to stretch. Stretching makes your back feel better. And I and again, I'm speaking from experience. And when your back feels better, you feel more capable. And when you feel more capable, you choose to have a better meal. When you choose to have a better meal, you feel proud of yourself. Okay. And then when you feel proud of yourself, you walk again tomorrow. That's the flywheel. Small, repeatable, connected. Okay. So

Relationship Flywheels Good And Bad

Ty Cobb Backer 26:46

let's talk about relationships. A relationship flywheel might look like this. You listen without interrupting. Because you listen, the other person feels respected. They feel heard. Okay. Because they feel respected, they open up a little more. Because they open up, you understand them better. Because you understand them better, you respond with more care and more understanding. Because you respond with care, trust gets increased. Because trust increases, hard conversations become easier. And because hard conversations become easier, resentment has less room to grow. And because resentment has less room to grow, connection gets stronger. Then the flywheel turns again. Now compare that to the opposite flywheel. Okay. And again, I'm speaking from experience. I come home distracted. Because I'm distracted. I miss what Jana is really saying or rocket. Because because I missed it, they feel ignored. Okay. Because they feel ignored, they feel frustrated. Because they feel frustrated, I get defensive. Because I get defensive, the conversation gets sharper. All right. And because the conversation gets worse, both of us withdraw. And because both of us withdraw, the next conversation starts with less trust. And again, that's the flywheel, right? Just just spinning in the wrong direction, I guess. Okay. And that is why awareness matters so much. We we have to look at our patterns and ask, okay, what is this creating? And this is what I was doing pretty much since Monday. Okay. What patterns have I created? Okay. Was was it was it was I right? Did I mean to do that? You know, can I justify it? But what negative outcomes have been happening because I've been pushing the flywheel in the wrong direction? You know, and that's that's an honest question that that I that I've had to ask myself. You know, and and what this is creating, if I repeat it, it's taking away the momentum. But what I'm trying to repeat is is a behavior of a positive momentum. So let me let me bring this into leadership here.

Leadership Momentum And Delegation

Ty Cobb Backer 29:58

So if you lead a team, whether it's two people or 200 freaking people, you are turning the leadership flywheel every single day. And here's a healthy relation or leadership flywheel. Okay, and this is definitely something that I've been worked on, I've worked on and will continue to keep working on, but it's communication. Okay, so communicating clearly, all right, because if and when, when I communicate clearly, people know what matters, they have good direction, okay. Because people know what matters, they make better decisions. Because they make better decisions, fewer fires land on my desk, okay? And because fewer fires land on my desk, I it gives me more time to work on the business instead of working in the business. It actually gives me more time to coach my team. And because I can coach more, our team gets stronger. Because the team is getting stronger, we the I can trust them with more responsibility because I trust them, I can give them more responsibility and and then the confidence grows, not in just them, but myself. And because the confidence grows, the organization moves faster. And I guess that's my point. That's something I've I've struggled with for a long time, is being clear, but also being clear so I can delegate effectively, okay, and not be frustrated or upset because my direction was unclear. All right. That is leadership momentum. Now, I'm gonna give you one of my unhealthy versions of not communicating clearly because expectations are are and you know, when I guess expectations are unclear, you know, people are guessing. Okay. People, and when they're guessing, they're they're making, you know, the more mistakes. And mistakes increase, they're getting frustrated, I'm getting frustrated, and and when they're getting frustrated and I'm getting frustrated, then I, you know, some of my character defects start to come out, and I might start micromanaging. Okay. And when I start to micromanage, my team loses confidence in themselves and they start losing confidence in me. And when they lose confidence, they they bring that to, they bring, they end up bringing like every decision back to me. Okay. And then what it what has happened is then when every decision has to come back to me, then I become the bottleneck. And when I become the bottleneck, I I become overwhelmed. Okay. And then I say, why can't anybody take ownership around here? I've said that. That that shit has come out of my mouth. Okay. But the flywheel that I built, that I'm teaching them, I I have to, I have to realize that every time I'm pointing one finger, I have I have three fingers pointing back. And and when I look at it that way, I'll be honest with you, that shit stings. Like I I have to understand that I've created that negative flywheel. Right. And it stings when I think about it in my own life, you know, not just my personal life, but my but my professional life, because the flywheel concept moves, moves some, moves either direction, whether it's positive or it's negative. Okay. It forces us to to look at, at least for me, what this has done for me. It it looked, it has me look at the the cause and effect. You know, what what patterns am I participating in? Does does you know, does it, you know, and and listen, listen, it doesn't always mean that it that it's my fault. Okay. It doesn't always mean that, you know, I have control over every single freaking outcome. Okay. I've I've put all that weight on myself, and and I don't have to do that, right? Because life and and businesses uh have surprises, right? Life has pain, markets shift, people leave, customers change, plans fail, health issues come up, relationships are complicated, man. And but but while we do not control everything, we do control, you know, many of the pushes. You know, which way are we pushing it? We we control our actions, we we control, I don't know, the next conversation, the next decision, the next promise we keep. Okay. And and that that truly is where momentum begins. One one

The Next Right Push

Ty Cobb Backer 35:33

of the most encouraging parts of the flywheel idea, I think, is that you know, you do not have to fix everything at once, right? In fact, trying to fix everything at once is often why I fail. You know, we get inspired. You know, I'll get inspired, I'll listen to a podcast or I'll read a book or something, and I'll make a giant list. And I'll say, starting Monday, everything changes. I'm gonna wake up at 3:30 in the morning, I'm gonna work out, I'm gonna freaking read. I'm gonna, I'm gonna journal, I'm gonna eat clean. I'm gonna call every freaking customer, I'm gonna update the freaking system, I'm gonna have a date night, I'm gonna save money, I'm gonna train the team, I'm gonna rebuild the website, organize the garage, okay, and become a totally different person by Friday and today's Wednesday. Unfortunately, that is not the flywheel, that is a freaking fantasy with a calendar attached to it, and real momentum usually starts smaller, okay? Just one little push, then another, then another. So the question becomes what what is the next right push? What is it? You know, not necessarily like the perfect push, not the dramatic push, not the push that impresses everybody, right? But the next right push. In business, maybe the next right push is calling back every open estimate. Maybe it's writing down your sales process. Maybe, maybe it's asking your best customers why they chose us. And maybe it's just cleaning up our schedule so our team is not constantly feeling rushed. Maybe, maybe it is finally having the hard conversation that I've been avoiding. You know, and in my personal life, and maybe it's the next right push is just going to bed 30 minutes earlier. Maybe it's drinking water before I have coffee. And maybe it's going for a walk after dinner. Okay. Shit, may, maybe apologizing first, being the first one to apologize. Maybe, maybe it's praying more, right? Or maybe it's forgiving somebody. Shit, maybe it's forgiving myself. Okay. The next right push is usually something very small. But small does not mean insignificant. It shit, a a door hinge is small, okay, but it swings the big door, right? A rudder, a rudder, okay, is small, but it it turns a freaking huge ship, a habit is small, but it can redirect your entire life. And you know, and let's talk about uh another important piece of of and I touched on it a little bit earlier, uh, of the flatwheel. It's it's sequence, it's a loop. It it the the uh the that leads to that, that leads to the next thing. The the thing that leads, you know, I guess what I'm trying to say, the the thing that leads to the next thing, and eventually the last thing that feeds the first thing again. I know it's kind of confusing, but it it it essentially it's a loop, right? That means the that means order matters, right? And in business, if if we want referrals, we probably need customer satisfaction first. If if we want customer satisfaction, you need to have clear expectations first. Okay, if if you want x clear expectations, you probably need a strong sales and onboarding process. If we want strong sales and onboarding process, we probably need to know who the right customer is first. Okay, so we may say, I need more referrals, but the flywheel says back up. What what creates referrals? You know, and that's the better question. And in life, we may say, I need more peace. Okay, what creates peace? Maybe peace comes from order. What creates order? Maybe order comes from planning. What creates planning? Maybe planning comes from slowing down long enough to just catch your breath and and think. And what creates the ability to slow down? Maybe putting boundaries around our time, maybe protecting our time. What creates better boundaries? Maybe deciding what matters most. Just as simple as that. So the personal flywheel might start with peace, right? Because I know for me, at times I want more peace in my life. So it might start with clarity. Clarity creates boundaries, boundaries create space, space creates better choices, better choices create order, order creates peace. Peace gives you strength to protect clarity. Makes sense. Makes sense to me. And now the wheel turns. Okay. And this is why we have to stop chasing outcomes without studying cause. And somebody wants the outcome, right? Everybody, everybody wants the outcome. More revenue, more freedom, more joy, more energy, more trust, more confidence, more peace, more growth. But the outcome is usually at the end of the chain. The fly will ask us to identify the chain. What creates what? What feeds what? What what repeats? What strengthens itself over time? That is a great, you know, that in itself is like a great exercise for any owner, any leader, right? Get a blank, get a blank freaking piece of paper. Okay, and this is kind of what I started out doing with my daily aids. I'm sorry, my fulfillment 50. Write down the outcome you want. Okay, then ask, what creates that? Then ask what creates that, and then ask what creates that. Okay, if I do this, what creates that? If I want this, what creates that? And keep going until you find something simple enough to do this week. Okay, that is probably our first push. Okay. I'll give you an example. Let's say I want a stronger team. What what so what's gonna create what's gonna create a stronger team? Better training, clear standards. What what what creates clear standards? Documented processes. What creates documented processes? Taking the time to write these things down. It took forever for us to sit down and write down and document everything. And we're still we're still documenting, we're still finding gaps, we're still finding things that you know haven't been documented yet, right? Block an hour, start writing shit down. You know, the first the first push might be one hour a week, not a company freaking retreat, not not I don't know, a ten thousand dollar incentive, but just one hour a week to document what Good looks like. Okay. And then and then one push can start turning the wheel. And now let's say we want a better relationship with our teenager. Right? What what creates trust? Consistent presence. Right? Listening when they're talking. Put the frickin phone down. Right? Asking them questions. Right? The first push may be one good question with the phone put away. And again, small doesn't mean insignificant, right? Shit. Let's talk about patience because you know we can't we can't talk about the flywheel without talking about patience,

Patience In A Shortcut World

Ty Cobb Backer 44:48

right? We live in a world that sells shortcuts. We got the lose weight fast. We got the scale your business fast ideas. That's we got the the get rich quick schemes. We got uh fix our life fast, build your brand. That's a that's a you know, the the morning hacks. Shit, the the list goes on, you you know, but but some things cannot be hacked, right? Some things, all things have to be built, right? Trust has to be built, character has to be built, reputation, a strong marriage, a strong company, uh you know, you know, and and and building building these things takes re repeatable and I mean repeated effort over time. And and that's not bad news. That's that's actually good news. Because if everything depended on one big moment, most of us would be in trouble. I mean, I know for me, but if greatness comes through repeated pushes, then then all of us can start, right? We can all just we can start today. You don't need the perfect conditions to just make that first push. We don't need the perfect past. We don't need everyone's approval to push. We don't need all the answers to push. We can start with what is in front of us right now. Make the call, keep the promise, write the checklist, take a walk, tell the truth, say thank you, ask the question, do the next right thing, then do it again. That is how the wheel begins to move. You know, and sometimes the flywheel is not moving because we we keep adding drag. And this

Remove Drag Before You Push Harder

Ty Cobb Backer 46:47

is probably my favorite thing, and where I probably have gotten stuck here most recently is drag is anything that slows the momentum down in business. Drag might be poor communication, unclear pricing, toxic people in my life, right? Taking on the wrong jobs, bringing on the wrong people, saying yes to work that just doesn't fit, you know, failing to show up, disorganized schedule, tolerating problems because we we don't want conflict. And and the list goes on and on and on. I mean, and that leads to all kinds of other, you know, avoiding the the hard conversations, carrying guilt, right? And sometimes the answer is just is not to push harder. Sometimes the answer is it's it's to remove drag, remove all this stuff. If my truck is stuck in the mud, pressing the gas harder isn't always the solution. I just had a conversation with with Matt the Barber yesterday about getting stuck in the sand. What we need is more traction. What we need is to clear the tires. We need to stop digging the hole deeper. Same in life. Some of us are just so exhausted because we are trying to build momentum while keeping habits that fight against the very thing we say we want. We say we want peace, but we keep overcommitting. We say we want health, but we keep ignoring sleep. We say we want a better team, but we keep tolerating confusion. We say we want financial freedom, but we keep spending emotionally. Okay. We say we want a deeper relationship, but we just we keep we keep giving people that are closest to us the leftover fumes, right, of our attention. You know, that is drag. And the question is, is what is slowing, you know, what is slowing the wheel? Not just what do I need to add, but what do I need to remove? And sometimes the most powerful push is is subtraction. We haven't talked about that for a while, but like stop taking the wrong job, stop checking the emails at midnight. I was doing that last night. Stop starting your day in reaction mode. Stop avoiding the hard conversation, stop saying yes out of guilt. Stop pretending the problem is not a problem. When you remove drag, your your existing pushes become more powerful. All right. Life is the same way, business is the same way. It's not just about working harder, right? It's about building systems where effort turns into momentum, you know, and that's the fly. Well, effort that turns into momentum. Okay. So

Motivation Vs Momentum And Identity

Ty Cobb Backer 49:48

I guess if I had to ask myself a couple questions here, what do I want the result to be? And I and I had to be honest when I asked myself not what sounds great, not what I think I should say, but what do I actually want the outcome to be? What repeated action could create a better result? Not what, not what dramatic action, not what one-time action, but but a repeatable action. You know, and that's what I've been trying to write down. I'm like, if I do this, what's gonna happen then? Is it gonna be, is it, is it moving me in the right direction, or is it pulling me away from the goal? And there's a lot of things I've had to question here a lot lately, you know, because let's be honest, a a podcast episode can can make us feel motivated. A book can make us feel motivated, a conference can make us feel motivated, but motivation, okay, is not momentum. Momentum, motivation is a spark. Momentum is is a system, okay. You know, because maybe maybe I've been looking for a a breakthrough, you know. And sometimes big things do happen, and sometimes doors do open, and sometimes a decision, one decision can change everything. And sometimes a moment matters, but but more often than not, the breakthrough comes after many ordinary pushes that nobody saw, that nobody, nobody witnessed, right? The that overnight success was not overnight. The strong marriage was not built in one weekend, the healthy body was not built in one workout. The the trusted leader was not formed in in one meeting, and so on and so forth. So, and and that means, you know, today matters. This ordinary day matters, the way that you answer the phone, the way that you speak to the crew, the way that you greet your family, the way that I handled stress today, the way that I'm spending money, the way I respond when nobody is watching matters. Not because one action changes everything immediately, but because repeated actions become direction. Direction becomes momentum, momentum becomes identity, and identity becomes legacy. And at some point, people stop saying, he did a good thing. They start saying that's who he is. She is dependable, he is honest, she follows through, he does excellent work, she listens, he leads well, she's disciplined. They're the kind of company we can trust. Okay. And honestly, that's that's how the freaking flywheel works. Repeated actions become reputation, repeated actions become character, repeated actions become culture. Now, here's something, something else I want to say. Do not despise, because I got caught up in this, the slow beginnings. The beginnings of the the flywheel are heavy, and that's normal. If you're trying to change your business culture, the beginning feels slow, right? If we're trying to build trust, the beginning feels slow. If I'm if I'm working on my health, if I'm trying to work on my eating habits, all of these things are slow. Slow does not mean broken. Slow may simply mean, you know, you're at the beginning. You know, and and the beginning requires faithfulness. It's not glamorous, just faith. Okay. There, there is the kind of quiet strength in the beginning, the person who keeps pushing when when there's no applause. Okay. There is where a lot of people separate themselves. You know, that that is where a lot of people separate themselves. You know, I'm not looking for a pat on the back. It's the work I'm putting in when no one's watching. You know, just got to keep pushing, keep showing up, keep improving, keep learning, keep making the right move. You

Define Align Repeat The Framework

Ty Cobb Backer 54:51

know, and that's available for all of us. So, anyhow, before I wrap up, I want to give, I guess, a little simple framework here. So three three words: define, align, and repeat. First, define, define the wheel. Okay. What are the few actions that that create momentum? I wrote them down. Sorry, my phone keeps blowing up over here. I'm getting a little distracted. I thought I had all my phone calls out of the way here. And don't keep them vague when you write them down. You know, and and for business, it might be, I don't know, attract the right customer, set clear expectations, deliver excellent work. Okay. And for my personal life, I want to sleep better. I want to move my body and exercise. I want to think more clearly so I can make better decisions. And if I make better decisions, I can feel and build confidence. Okay. Second thing, align. Align your time, your people, your habits, and your environment around the flywheel. A defined flywheel does not help if your calendar fights it. And that's the biggest thing I'm fighting with right now. Okay. Third thing would be repeat. This is where I think for myself, the magic happens. Repeat the right actions long enough for momentum to actually show up, not to change directions every time you get bored. Because that's what happens to me. I'll get bored a lot, you know, and I can't abandon, abandon, you know, the flywheel because a few pushes are super duper heavy and run from it. You know, you know, and that's simple. You know, just and keep it simple. You know, I think that's where I tend to get things, you know, I complicated. I am my own worst freaking critic, you know. And it doesn't matter in business or in life, the wheel is always turning, whether in the right direction or the bad direction, a positive direction or a negative direction. The only question is whether it's turning by accident or if it's or if it's turning by design. So, anyhow, because the first push, right, may not look like much, but the second one may not either, you know. But somewhere down the road, if we keep pushing in the right direction, once you figure out what that right direction is, that heavy wheel, it does start to move. And when it moves, it carries momentum. That one push could never, would, would never be created by itself. Like you have to put in the work. And I guess if anything, that's the deal. You got to put in the work. And it just starts with a simple push. So, anyhow,

Closing Questions And Where To Follow

Ty Cobb Backer 57:51

thank you for joining us on this episode, Behind Tool Belt, episode 336. Hopefully, you got something out of this episode. Take a few minutes and ask yourself Am I pushing the flywheel in the right direction? If not, you can switch it out today, right? Switch it out today. Just remember this: keep building, keep learning, and keep leading. And thank you for joining us. We'll see you next week. Thanks to our sponsors, TC Backer Construction, Hook Roofing Marketing, Roofal, and Project Map It. And thank you for watching. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Facebook. We are streaming on all major platforms. See you next week for another episode of Behind the Tool Belt.