Seven years ago, I was scanning groceries and stocking shelves at a local supermarket. Today, I’ve built a seven-figure business before turning 30. The secret to how I managed to get ahead wasn’t some stroke of genius or lucky break—it was implementing five specific rules that completely transformed my trajectory in just over half a year.
I’m sharing these insights not because I’m special, but because I’m painfully ordinary. If I could get ahead using these principles, trust me, so can you.
The Shadow Work Principle (The 95-5 Rule)
Ever notice how we’re bombarded with images of success? Luxury cars gleaming in the sunlight, champagne toasts on private jets, and designer outfits at exclusive events. What these carefully curated snapshots hide is what I call the “Shadow Work Principle.”
Real success operates on a 95-5 ratio: 95% happens behind closed doors, in quiet moments of discipline that nobody witnesses. Only 5% manifests as the visible rewards that everyone envies.
During my early entrepreneurial days, I worked from 5 AM to midnight while friends assumed I was “living the dream.” They didn’t see me hunched over spreadsheets, making cold calls until my voice gave out, or redoing client work for the fifth time to get it perfect.
To truly get ahead, you must embrace the unglamorous fundamentals:
- If you’re building a YouTube channel, it’s not about viral hits but consistent weekly uploads
- If you’re writing a novel, it’s not about inspiration but daily word count goals
- If you’re launching a product, it’s not about the perfect launch but countless iterations
I learned this lesson from my mentor, who built a $40 million business from her basement. When I asked how she did it, she laughed and said, “By doing boring things consistently while everyone else chased excitement.“
Remember: Getting ahead happens in those dark, quiet moments when no one’s looking.
The Discomfort Compass
Two years into my first “real” job after college, I had everything society told me I should want. Great salary, impressive business card, condo in the nice part of town. I also had a growing sense of dread every Sunday night that felt like a boulder pressing against my chest.
I’d wake up at 3 AM in cold sweats, not because I was working too hard, but because deep down I knew I was on the wrong path. My breaking point came during a performance review when my boss enthusiastically mapped out my career trajectory for the next decade. As he spoke, I felt physically ill—not because the plan was bad, but because it wasn’t mine.
This brings us to what I call the “Discomfort Compass”—the principle that the things making you most uncomfortable often point directly to where you need to go to get ahead.
In “Courage Is Calling” by Ryan Holiday, there’s a chapter on “The Moment of Crisis” that transformed my understanding of discomfort. Holiday argues that our moments of greatest fear often precede our greatest growth—if we’re brave enough to move toward them rather than retreat.
When I finally quit my job to start my business, the first three months were brutal. I ate ramen noodles, slept on a futon, and worked from a coffee shop because I couldn’t afford office space. But even on my worst days—even when I lost a major client or made an expensive mistake—I never once felt that suffocating dread from my corporate days.
If you want to get ahead, ask yourself: “What uncomfortable action am I avoiding that could change everything?” Then use that discomfort as your compass, not your stop sign.
The Expectation Mirror
Have you ever noticed how some people seem predestined for success while others appear doomed to struggle? I used to believe this came down to luck, talent, or connections. Now I understand it often comes down to something psychologists call the Pygmalion Effect—we rise or fall to meet our own expectations.
My childhood friend always dreamed of opening a bakery but repeatedly told herself “small-town girls don’t build successful businesses.” For fifteen years, she remained a bakery employee, watching others fulfill her dream.
The shift happened when she attended a food entrepreneur workshop and met a woman from an even smaller town who owned a thriving national baking company. That single encounter shattered her limiting belief. Two years later, her bakery not only opened but expanded to three locations with a booming online presence.
Our expectations create self-fulfilling prophecies through subtle behaviors:
- If you believe you’ll fail at public speaking, you’ll practice less, increasing your chances of failure
- If you believe networking is impossible for introverts, you’ll avoid events where connections happen
- If you believe wealthy people are just lucky, you’ll miss opportunities requiring effort
To get ahead, you must become aware of your self-imposed limitations. Write down beliefs you hold about success, wealth, and your capabilities. Then actively search for evidence contradicting these limitations.
I keep what I call an “Evidence Journal” where I document every achievement that proves my negative beliefs wrong. When imposter syndrome strikes as I’m trying to get ahead, it’s my most powerful weapon.
The Value Exchange Formula
One of my costliest mistakes was misunderstanding the economics of my own time. In my first year of business, I insisted on doing everything myself—from building my website to managing my bookkeeping—despite having no expertise in either area.
My wake-up call came when I calculated how long it took me to design marketing materials versus what it would cost to hire a professional. I spent 22 hours creating materials a designer could produce in 3 hours for $150. At my hourly consulting rate of $85, I effectively “spent” $1,870 to save $150.
This led me to develop what I call the “Value Exchange Formula”:
- Calculate your true hourly value (annual income ÷ working hours)
- Assign every task a “cost” based on time required × your hourly value
- If someone else can do it better for less, outsource it
- Reinvest your freed time into high-value activities
When I started applying this formula, my productivity quadrupled. I now use tools like:
- Otter.ai for automated meeting notes instead of manual transcription
- Canva for quick design work instead of struggling with advanced software
- Virtual assistants for scheduling and email management
A successful entrepreneur doesn’t do the most work—they do the right work. To get ahead, stop being a jack of all trades and become a master of outsourcing.
The T-Shaped Value Proposition
During a networking event last year, I met two professionals with identical job titles and years of experience. One earned triple the salary of the other. The difference? The higher-earning professional had developed what I call a “T-Shaped Value Proposition.”
Imagine your skills as forming the letter T:
- The vertical bar represents your core expertise—the primary skill that defines your professional identity
- The horizontal bar represents complementary skills that make your core expertise more valuable and versatile
For example, a copywriter who also understands data analytics can prove ROI on their writing—making them far more valuable than someone who “just writes well.”
I’ve witnessed this repeatedly across industries:
- UX designers who code earn 37% more than those who don’t
- Financial analysts who master communication skills advance to management 2.5× faster
- Marketers who understand basic machine learning commands double their consultancy rates
To get ahead, identify your vertical bar and intentionally develop 2-3 complementary skills that few others in your field possess. This combination creates a unique value proposition that’s difficult to replace or replicate.
When I added basic video production to my marketing services, I immediately increased my rates by 40% because I could now offer end-to-end solutions rather than just strategy.
The Implementation Roadmap
Understanding these principles intellectually won’t help you get ahead—implementing them will. Here’s my suggested approach:
Week 1-2: Audit Your Current Position
- Track how you spend your working hours for two weeks
- Identify your “Shadow Work” fundamentals and current consistency level
- Document uncomfortable growth opportunities you’ve been avoiding
- List limiting beliefs that might be holding you back
- Calculate your hourly value using the Value Exchange Formula
- Map your current T-shaped skill profile
Week 3-4: Create Your Action Plan
- Select one fundamental to master through daily practice
- Choose one uncomfortable action to tackle weekly
- Gather evidence contradicting your top 3 limiting beliefs
- Identify 3-5 tasks to outsource using your Value Exchange Formula
- Select one complementary skill to develop over 90 days
Week 5-12: Execute With Accountability
- Practice your fundamental for 30 minutes daily
- Complete your uncomfortable action early each week
- Review your Evidence Journal nightly
- Implement your outsourcing plan
- Spend 5 hours weekly developing your complementary skill
Week 13: Evaluate and Adjust
- Measure progress on your fundamental mastery
- Note changes in your comfort with previously feared actions
- Update your Evidence Journal with new proof of capability
- Calculate time/value saved through outsourcing
- Assess development of your complementary skill
Maintaining Perspective on Your Journey
As you implement these principles to get ahead, remember that progress isn’t always linear. You’ll have breakthrough weeks followed by apparent plateaus. This is normal. Success compounds like interest—barely noticeable at first, then suddenly substantial.
Avoid comparing your beginning to someone else’s middle. Many “overnight successes” I’ve met were actually ten years in the making. While social media highlights others’ peaks, you’re witnessing their highlight reel, not their daily practice.
The most reliable path to getting ahead isn’t finding shortcuts—it’s becoming the kind of person who no longer needs them.
Pros & Cons of This Approach
Pros:
- Works regardless of industry, background, or starting point
- Creates sustainable progress rather than temporary motivation
- Builds transferable skills that remain valuable across career changes
- Develops internal resilience against external challenges
- Compounds over time, with accelerating returns
Cons:
- Requires honest self-assessment, which can be uncomfortable
- Progress may feel slow during the initial 2-3 months
- Demands consistent effort rather than sporadic inspiration
- May require financial investment in outsourcing or skill development
- Can create tension with people comfortable with your current status quo
Your Getting Ahead Checklist
- [ ] Identify and schedule daily practice of your fundamental skill
- [ ] Schedule weekly uncomfortable actions in your calendar
- [ ] Create your Evidence Journal and record 3 initial entries
- [ ] Calculate your hourly value and identify first outsourcing opportunity
- [ ] Select your complementary skill and acquire necessary learning resources
- [ ] Find an accountability partner also working to get ahead
- [ ] Schedule monthly review dates to assess progress
FAQ About Getting Ahead
How do I know which fundamental to focus on first?
Look at successful people in your desired field and identify what they mastered early on. For writers, it might be consistent daily output. For entrepreneurs, it might be sales conversations. Choose the fundamental that feels most directly connected to your desired outcome, not the one that feels most comfortable or interesting.
What if I don’t have money to outsource tasks yet?
Start with time exchanges instead of paid outsourcing. Find someone who needs your expertise while offering skills you lack. For example, I initially exchanged marketing advice for website development help. You can also use free tiers of automation tools or batch similar tasks together to improve efficiency until you can outsource them.
I’ve tried setting goals before and failed. How is this different?
Most goal-setting approaches focus exclusively on outcomes rather than identity and systems. Getting ahead isn’t just about achieving specific targets—it’s about becoming the kind of person who naturally achieves those targets through consistent habits and mindset shifts. This approach addresses the root causes of previous failures rather than just treating symptoms.
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