Are You Chasing the Sunset?

Are You Chasing the Sunset?

On our Top 10 list of books for entrepreneurs is The Gap and The Gain by Dan Sullivan.  In this podcast and this blog, Daoud Kakish shares how this book was transformative for him and really helped change his thinking.  If you have experienced a deep sense of frustration as a business owner, this podcast, and this book are for you. 

Below are the book highlights that we talk about in this podcast.  But we encourage you to add this book to your must-read list so it can help transform your thinking too.

Daoud Kakish’s Story: A frustrated entrepreneur when everything was going great

Daoud was frustrated even though everything in his life was going really well.  Business was great, family was great, but he didn’t understand why deep down inside he was frustrated.  It didn’t make sense. It was not logical.  Then, he realized he was doing something in both his personal and professional life. He was chasing the sunset. 

Daoud had ideals, goals, and dreams but there were 2 fundamental problems. 

1.      Ideals are ideals.  They're not something you can touch or ever achieve.  

2.      Goals and ambitions are always growing.  You’ll reach a goal but then you’re always onto the next one.

Daoud was living in The Gap. 

The Gap and Point A, B and C. 

Did you know that high achievers are particularly prone to being in The Gap.  Research reveals some interesting things about CEOs.  They are twice as likely to have depression and are prone to substance abuse, depression, and suicide.

For entrepreneurs, even if they achieve something great or have a huge victory, they quickly turn to their next ideal or goal to achieve.  This might help them achieve great things externally, but there is a constant unresolved problem internally.  Many high achievers remain unhappy because they’re constantly chasing the sunset – chasing their next great achievement.  Like Daoud, they live in The Gap.

In his book, Sullivan explains The Gap using points A, B, and C. Point A is where you were in the past, B is where you are today, and C is where you’ll be in the future.  Think of point C as a goal, ideal, ambition.  Like many entrepreneurs, Daoud was always looking towards point C and seeing The Gap between B and C. When you’re always looking at The Gap, you always see the void and think there is so much more to be done.  Without realizing it, you’re always coming up short. Plus, once you get to point C, then you look to point D, and then point E and so on. 

The Gain

By contrast to The Gap, The Gain is the space between B and A.  When you look back at everything you’ve accomplished – that's The Gain.  By looking back and appreciating the past, you aren’t diminishing your goals, you’re just a more fulfilled and content entrepreneur and person. It’s better to measure yourself against The Gain then against The Gap.

Tools to help you stay in The Gain

 

1.      Look backwards.  Stop today and look backwards to reflect on all the steps (big or small) it took to go from A to B. 

2.      Appreciate the past.  If things worked out, appreciate it.  If they didn’t work out, what can you learn from it.  You can even do this on a daily basis.  For example, at the end of each day you can take a few minutes to reflect on what you accomplished that day.  It's rewarding to be able to see how much you crossed off your to-do list each day. 

3.      Measure against specifics. Point C is the ideal, but ideals aren’t specific, and they aren’t measurable.  So, don’t measure yourself against the ideal.  Remember that the ideal is like the sunset which is elusive, and you’ll never catch it so you shouldn’t measure yourself against it.

4.      You’ll still fall into The Gap.  There will be times in your life where you’ll find yourself in The Gap, frustrated by what you have yet to achieve.  That’s ok.  It happens to everyone.  It probably won’t ever go away.  But if you’re self-aware and can recognize that you’re in The Gap, you can stop and reflect on point A to put yourself back in The Gain.  Being self-aware is half the battle.

 

The Gap and The Gain is the kind of book that can really transform your perspective both in your business and your personal life.  The highlights above are just the tip of the iceberg.  We encourage you to get a copy of the book and then reach out to us on Twitter to tell us what you think.  To conclude, we want to share one of our favorite quotes from the book. 

“Your future growth and progress are now based in your understanding about the difference between the two ways in which you can measure yourself: against an ideal, which puts you in what I call ‘the GAP,’ and against your starting point, which puts you in ‘the GAIN,’ appreciating all that you’ve accomplished.”