<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[The Goal Doctors]]></title><description><![CDATA[If there's a goal you wanna reach, we're here to help you reach it]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pmp2!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6c03d093-9ec2-4deb-8fba-fb65d87b9c05_500x500.png</url><title>The Goal Doctors</title><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 21:24:08 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.goaldoctors.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Nickmiiiitch]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[goaldoctors@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[goaldoctors@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[goaldoctors@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[goaldoctors@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Spanish Made Simple: Hacks from Madrigal’s Magic Key]]></title><description><![CDATA[Why Learning Spanish Feels Hard (And Doesn&#8217;t Have to Be)]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/spanish-made-simple-hacks-from-madrigals</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/spanish-made-simple-hacks-from-madrigals</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 15:45:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CJtV!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd8b4e0dd-bd05-4b5a-a02a-11b76b5ff804_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Most people think learning Spanish means memorizing endless verb charts and vocabulary lists. So that&#8217;s what they run to when they feel motivated to learn a new language, and then they give up. I&#8217;ve done this a lot. But there&#8217;s good news: Spanish is full of patterns and shortcuts that make it easier than you think.</p><p>By the end of this post, you&#8217;ll have a set of powerful hacks from a book I recently read called <em>Madrigal&#8217;s Magic Key to Spanish.</em> In my opinion, it&#8217;s better than Duolingo and will help you <strong>save time, skip the overwhelm, and actually start speaking Spanish fast</strong>.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CJtV!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd8b4e0dd-bd05-4b5a-a02a-11b76b5ff804_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CJtV!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd8b4e0dd-bd05-4b5a-a02a-11b76b5ff804_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CJtV!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd8b4e0dd-bd05-4b5a-a02a-11b76b5ff804_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CJtV!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd8b4e0dd-bd05-4b5a-a02a-11b76b5ff804_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CJtV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd8b4e0dd-bd05-4b5a-a02a-11b76b5ff804_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CJtV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd8b4e0dd-bd05-4b5a-a02a-11b76b5ff804_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CJtV!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd8b4e0dd-bd05-4b5a-a02a-11b76b5ff804_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CJtV!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd8b4e0dd-bd05-4b5a-a02a-11b76b5ff804_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CJtV!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd8b4e0dd-bd05-4b5a-a02a-11b76b5ff804_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CJtV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd8b4e0dd-bd05-4b5a-a02a-11b76b5ff804_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h2><strong>Hack 1: Spanish Shortcuts For Work</strong></h2><p>If you've ever worked in a space that requires you to answer incoming or inbound calls, you know the pain of getting a call from someone who only speaks Spanish and you can't help them because you don't speak their language. It sucks.  </p><p>So to get around this issue at my job, I put together a cheat sheet of words and phrases I can use to at least help me transfer the call to a teammate who speaks fluent Spanish. Here it is:</p><ul><li><p>One second, please = Uno segundo, por favor</p></li><li><p>I need one moment = Necesito un momento</p></li><li><p>I need a colleague to help = Necesito un colega ayudar</p></li><li><p>I don't have a Spanish-speaking colleague right now = No tengo un colega d'espanol ahora mismo</p></li><li><p>I have a colleague ready for you. Ready? = Tengo un colega para ti. &#191;Listos?</p></li><li><p>Can I call you later, please? = &#191;Puedo llamarte luego, por favor?</p></li><li><p>Can we call you in 1 or 2 hours, please? = &#191;Podemos llamarte en uno o dos horas, por favor?</p></li><li><p>Sorry for the inconvenience = Lo siento por la inconveniencia. </p></li></ul><h2><strong>Hack 2: Turn English Words into Spanish Instantly</strong></h2><p>Here&#8217;s a big secret&#8230; many Spanish words are almost identical to English. All you need to do is see some of these patterns:</p><ul><li><p>For words ending in <strong>CT</strong>, add &#8220;<strong>O</strong>&#8221;.</p><ul><li><p><em>exact = exacto</em></p></li><li><p><em>abstract = abstracto</em></p></li></ul></li><li><p>For words ending in <strong>TY</strong>, replace <strong>TY</strong> with <strong>DAD</strong>.</p><ul><li><p><em>activity = actividad</em></p></li><li><p><em>identity = identidad</em></p></li></ul></li><li><p>For words ending in <strong>RY</strong>, replace <strong>RY</strong> with <strong>RIO.</strong></p><ul><li><p><em>necessary = necesario</em></p></li><li><p><em>itinerary = itinerario</em></p></li></ul></li><li><p>For words ending in <strong>CY</strong>, replace <strong>CY</strong> with <strong>CIA</strong>.</p><ul><li><p><em>agency = agencia</em></p></li><li><p><em>urgency = urgencia</em></p></li></ul></li><li><p>For words ending in <strong>OUS</strong>, replace <strong>OUS</strong> with <strong>OSO</strong>.</p><ul><li><p><em>famous = famoso</em></p></li><li><p><em>delicious = delicioso</em></p></li></ul></li></ul><p>With these hacks, you already know hundreds of Spanish words without even trying.</p><h2><strong>Hack 3: Fast-Track Verbs with Simple Endings</strong></h2><p>When you want to say what you&#8217;re currently do<em><strong>ing</strong></em>, use these 2 shortcuts for making a verb end in &#8220;-<em><strong>ing</strong></em>&#8221;:</p><ul><li><p>Add <strong>ANDO</strong> for &#8220;-ing&#8221; with AR verbs.</p><p>So <em>hablar(to speak) = hablando(speaking)</em></p></li><li><p>Add <strong>IENDO</strong> for &#8220;-ing&#8221; with ER/IR verbs.</p><p>So <em>escribir(to write) = escribiendo(writing)</em></p></li></ul><p>You can do a lot with those two rules. But you&#8217;ll need some verbs to add &#8220;-ing&#8221; to. Here are some of the verbs I find myself using most commonly: ser/estar(to be), tener(to have), hacer(to do/make), ir(to go), poder(can/be able), and querer(to want).</p><ul><li><p>For the verb &#8220;estar&#8221;, you&#8217;ll most commonly say &#8220;estoy&#8221;, which means &#8220;I am&#8221;.</p></li><li><p>For the verb &#8220;tener&#8221;, you&#8217;ll most commonly say &#8220;tengo&#8221;, which means &#8220;I have&#8221;.</p><p>Or you will say &#8220;tienes&#8221;, which means &#8220;you have&#8221;.</p></li><li><p>For the verb &#8220;poder&#8221;, you&#8217;ll most commonly say &#8220;puedo&#8221;, which means &#8220;I can&#8221;.</p><p>Or you will say &#8220;puedes&#8221;, which means &#8220;can you&#8230;&#8221;</p></li><li><p>For the verb &#8220;querer&#8221;, you&#8217;ll most commonly say &#8220;quiero&#8221;, which means &#8220;I want&#8221;.</p><p>Or you will say &#8220;quieres&#8221;, which means &#8220;you want&#8221;.</p></li><li><p>Finally, for the verb &#8220;ir&#8221;, you&#8217;ll most commonly say &#8220;voy&#8221;, which means &#8220;I go&#8221;.</p></li></ul><h2><strong>Hack 4: Use &#8220;Voy a&#8221; for Future Plans</strong></h2><p>Want to talk about the future without memorizing new verb endings? Just use <strong>&#8220;voy a&#8221;</strong> (I&#8217;m going to) + verb.</p><ul><li><p><em>Voy a estudiar</em> = I&#8217;m going to study</p></li><li><p><em>Voy a comprar una casa</em> = I&#8217;m going to buy a house</p></li><li><p><em>Van a jugar baloncesto</em> = They&#8217;re going to play basketball</p></li></ul><p>You can sound fluent today by mastering this one phrase.</p><h2><strong>Hack 5: Spot Gender and Plural Rules Fast</strong></h2><p>Words ending in <strong>dad, -sion, -cion, -cia, -tad, -ina</strong> are feminine, so use <strong>la/una</strong> instead of <strong>el</strong>/<strong>un</strong>.</p><ul><li><p><em><strong>la</strong> universidad</em></p></li><li><p><em><strong>la</strong> conversacion</em></p></li><li><p><em><strong>la</strong> independencia</em></p></li></ul><p>To make nouns plural:</p><ul><li><p>If it ends in a vowel(a,e,i,o,u), then add &#8220;<strong>s&#8221;</strong>. So <em>casa = casas.</em></p></li><li><p>If it ends in a consonant(NOT a,e,i,o,u), then add &#8220;<strong>es</strong>&#8221;. So <em>doctor = doctores.</em></p></li></ul><p>These shortcuts will save you from guessing every time in whether a word is feminine or masculine and how to make a word plural. Those sometimes make me stumble when I&#8217;m forming a sentence.</p><h2><strong>Hack 6: Everyday Phrases You&#8217;ll Actually Use</strong></h2><p>Here are some practical, high-frequency phrases that I&#8217;ve used regularly in conversations:</p><ul><li><p><strong>&#191;D&#243;nde est&#225;&#8230;?</strong> = Where is&#8230;?</p></li><li><p><strong>&#191;C&#243;mo est&#225;&#8230;?</strong> = How is/How are&#8230;?</p></li><li><p><strong>&#191;C&#243;mo se dice&#8230;?</strong> = How is/How are&#8230;?</p></li><li><p><strong>No lo s&#233;</strong> = I don&#8217;t know it</p></li><li><p><strong>Lo tengo</strong> or <strong>No lo tengo</strong> = I have it or I don&#8217;t have it.</p></li><li><p><strong>Ten buenos dias</strong> = Have a good day</p></li><li><p><strong>&#191;Puede hablar mas despacio, por favor?</strong> = Can you speak more slowly please?</p></li><li><p><strong>Estoy</strong> = I am&#8230;</p></li><li><p><strong>Su</strong> = His/her</p></li></ul><p>Key things you&#8217;ll also want to learn are:</p><ul><li><p>Days of the week</p></li><li><p>Numbers 1 through 1000</p></li><li><p>Who, what, when, where, which, and how</p></li><li><p>Night, day, midnight, noon, morning.</p></li><li><p>Day, week, month, year</p></li><li><p>Here and there(&#8221;aqui&#8221; and &#8220;ahi&#8221;)</p></li><li><p>Right and left(&#8221;derecha&#8221; and &#8220;izquierda&#8221;)</p></li></ul><p>These are good building blocks for the Spanish conversations you&#8217;ll start having soon.</p><h2><strong>How to Actually Practice These Hacks (Without Feeling Awkward)</strong></h2><p>Here&#8217;s a tough truth: knowing hacks is cool, but you HAVE TO actually <strong>use them</strong> if you want them to stick. The best ways I&#8217;ve found to practice are:</p><ol><li><p><strong>TalkPal App</strong> &#8211; This app is great. It lets you practice speaking Spanish out loud, kind of like a digital conversation partner that never gets tired. Perfect for building confidence.</p></li><li><p><strong>Taking Ubers</strong> &#8211; Sounds random, but it works. I&#8217;ll somewhat regularly get an Uber driver who only speaks Spanish. And if I need to give them directions, I <em>have</em> to use Spanish. It&#8217;s like the reverse of the normal problem. You&#8217;re not trying to understand them, you&#8217;re trying to be understood. And here&#8217;s the cool part: even when my Spanish isn&#8217;t perfect (sometimes straight up wrong), Uber drivers usually love helping me say it the right way. They genuinely appreciate the effort of you trying Spanish instead of forcing them to figure out your English.</p></li><li><p><strong>Spanish Media</strong> &#8211; I love basketball and I wanted a way to hear people speak Spanish, so I started to exclusively listen to Spanish basketball media. The channels I listen to the most are &#8220;ESPN Deportes&#8221; and &#8220;PlanetaNBA&#8221;. I&#8217;ve also started watching soccer because of ESPN. My favorite player right now is Lamine Yamal. If sports isn&#8217;t your thing, I also found this cool channel that talks about random interesting things called &#8220;Luisito Comunica&#8221;. I love sports, so I listen to these shows at least once a day for news.</p></li></ol><p>Between these three, you&#8217;ll actually get real-world practice, which is what takes you from &#8220;knowing hacks&#8221; to &#8220;actually speaking Spanish.&#8221; Then, there&#8217;s a fourth way to practice Spanish that I&#8217;ve found super helpful the more I hear and speak it:</p><ol start="4"><li><p><strong>Use Quizlet</strong> &#8211; Yup, the same website you used to cram for your tests in high school and college can help you learn Spanish fast. Whenever I&#8217;d hear a new word or an Uber driver would tell me to start using a certain phrase instead of what I was saying before, I&#8217;d write it down in a Quizlet set that I call &#8220;Nick&#8217;s common Spanish words&#8221;. Then, once a day I&#8217;ll try to study the set and build up a streak on the app. They even give you fun memorizing games to keep the learning interesting. I&#8217;d recommend doing this for anyone.</p></li></ol><h2><strong>Conclusion: Your Shortcut to Spanish Fluency</strong></h2><p>Learning Spanish doesn&#8217;t have to be painful. With these hacks, you&#8217;re skipping the grind and getting straight to fluency.</p><ul><li><p>Use the hacks from this article.</p></li><li><p>Most importantly, <strong>practice with apps like TalkPal or real people (like your Uber driver)</strong>.</p></li></ul><p>If you do that daily, Spanish will click faster than you expect and you&#8217;ll finally escape the frustration most learners get stuck in. It&#8217;s working for me and I think it&#8217;ll work for you too.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The #1 Secret for Unlimited Opportunities in the Stock Market]]></title><description><![CDATA[How Emotions Lead to Huge Gains in Stocks]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/the-1-secret-for-unlimited-opportunities</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/the-1-secret-for-unlimited-opportunities</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2026 16:59:22 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jOzR!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F426c4561-de80-4f16-bf5d-7ce8f9b8294d_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Life is like a vending machine, and opportunities in life are like being handed a dollar.</p><p>Inside that machine are your desires, your goals, and everything else you want in life. The catch? Just like a real vending machine, you HAVE to feed the dollar in the right way for it to be accepted.</p><p>Every situation you come across in life is like that dollar. One side of it represents problems, and the other side represents an opportunity. If you put it in the wrong way(only seeing problems) then the machine spits it back out no matter how many times you try. But if you line it up correctly(choosing to see the opportunity), the machine accepts it and you get what you want.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif" width="480" height="366" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:366,&quot;width&quot;:480,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>And just like with real money, if you wait around for someone else to hand you a dollar every time you want something, you&#8217;ll be broke pretty fast. Eventually you have to learn how to create and attract more for yourself.</p><p>The good news is that life will keep giving you &#8220;dollars&#8221; through different situations. But it&#8217;s always up to YOU to put them in the machine the right way.</p><h2>Fear and Greed as Open Doors</h2><p>Up until now, we&#8217;ve talked about pain and desire as the two big signs of opportunity. But there are two more emotions that work as &#8220;dollars&#8220; for the vending machine we call life: <strong>fear</strong> and <strong>greed</strong>.</p><p>When you learn to spot these two emotions, it&#8217;s like getting a $5 instead of a $1. The rest of this post will explain why.</p><h2>Step 1: Learn The Emotions Behind Every Technology</h2><p>Throughout history, every new technology or industry goes through the same emotional cycle: Ignorance &#8594; Fear &#8594; Greed &#8594; Hope &#8594; and then back to Fear and Greed. Here&#8217;s how the cycle works:</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hHx6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F756c1356-b62c-4713-9f0e-0d4445abd6bf_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hHx6!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F756c1356-b62c-4713-9f0e-0d4445abd6bf_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hHx6!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F756c1356-b62c-4713-9f0e-0d4445abd6bf_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hHx6!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F756c1356-b62c-4713-9f0e-0d4445abd6bf_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hHx6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F756c1356-b62c-4713-9f0e-0d4445abd6bf_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hHx6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F756c1356-b62c-4713-9f0e-0d4445abd6bf_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/756c1356-b62c-4713-9f0e-0d4445abd6bf_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1179160,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/i/182786920?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F756c1356-b62c-4713-9f0e-0d4445abd6bf_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hHx6!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F756c1356-b62c-4713-9f0e-0d4445abd6bf_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hHx6!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F756c1356-b62c-4713-9f0e-0d4445abd6bf_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hHx6!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F756c1356-b62c-4713-9f0e-0d4445abd6bf_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hHx6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F756c1356-b62c-4713-9f0e-0d4445abd6bf_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><strong>The Ignorance Stage &#8212; &#8220;What Even Is This?&#8221;</strong> At first, people might have heard of the thing but don&#8217;t really understand it. It sounds too weird or too far from reality to matter. This is when people who are ahead of the curve are learning and investing early while everybody else is looking it over or just haven&#8217;t even heard of it.</p><p><strong>The Fear Stage &#8212; &#8220;This Will Ruin Everything.&#8221;</strong> Eventually, people will start paying attention. But when the attention grows, so does panic. The technology/industry is still new at this point, and people tend to fear what they don&#8217;t understand. So the headlines you will see here are things like &#8220;It&#8217;s a scam,&#8221; &#8220;It&#8217;ll take jobs,&#8221; &#8220;It&#8217;s unsafe.&#8221; But for the people who were doing their homework, fear from the crowd means discounted prices, less competition, and a rare opportunities while everyone else is freezing.</p><p><strong>The Greed Stage &#8212; &#8220;Everybody&#8217;s Getting Rich!&#8221;</strong> Next, someone will figure out how to make money from the thing(usually through a stock or something similar). At this point, people forget their fears because all they can see are dollar signs&#128178;&#128178;. So seemingly EVERYONE starts to jump in and chase the hype because they don&#8217;t want to miss out(not because they understand the value). All this greed creates companies that are overvalued because they attached their names to a trending technology or industry, not because they were good at actually creating any value. The opportunity at this stage is short-term, risky, and overpriced.</p><p><strong>The Hope Stage &#8212; &#8220;It&#8217;ll Come Back.&#8221;</strong> Eventually, reality sets in. Many companies that were just good at marketing their connection to the trend start failing, while the truly valuable ones survive low key and in the background. Prices drop, the hype fades, and people who got in late start clinging to hope that &#8220;it&#8217;ll rebound soon&#8221; or &#8220;it&#8217;ll reach 5x the all time high&#8221;. That&#8217;s the setup for the final emotional turn, going back to fear.</p><p><strong>Back to Fear &#8212; &#8220;It&#8217;s Dead.&#8221;</strong> Once everyone&#8217;s hope is ruined&#128542;, fear takes over again. To make things worse, the fear gets amplified by big headlines about people losing fortunes, and the same public that once bragged about being early now avoids the entire space. But this moment of collective fear is also when the cycle restarts &#8212; it sparks curiosity in people who were previously ignorant, starting the loop all over again.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MpTF!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea063eba-811b-405f-a02b-ca8accfc1b0a_960x540.gif" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MpTF!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea063eba-811b-405f-a02b-ca8accfc1b0a_960x540.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MpTF!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea063eba-811b-405f-a02b-ca8accfc1b0a_960x540.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MpTF!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea063eba-811b-405f-a02b-ca8accfc1b0a_960x540.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MpTF!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea063eba-811b-405f-a02b-ca8accfc1b0a_960x540.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MpTF!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea063eba-811b-405f-a02b-ca8accfc1b0a_960x540.gif" width="960" height="540" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ea063eba-811b-405f-a02b-ca8accfc1b0a_960x540.gif&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:540,&quot;width&quot;:960,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:3724425,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/gif&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/i/182786920?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea063eba-811b-405f-a02b-ca8accfc1b0a_960x540.gif&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MpTF!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea063eba-811b-405f-a02b-ca8accfc1b0a_960x540.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MpTF!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea063eba-811b-405f-a02b-ca8accfc1b0a_960x540.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MpTF!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea063eba-811b-405f-a02b-ca8accfc1b0a_960x540.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MpTF!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea063eba-811b-405f-a02b-ca8accfc1b0a_960x540.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>I was born in the late 1990s and I was very young when some of the industries over the last 30 years were going through this cycle. So I used ai to give a description of how industries have gone through the cycle:</p><p><strong>The Internet (1990s&#8211;2000s)</strong></p><ul><li><p>Ignorance: Early 90s, most people said the internet was a &#8220;nerdy fad.&#8221; Companies didn&#8217;t see the point of having websites.</p></li><li><p>Fear: Late 90s, skeptics warned about &#8220;dot-com scams,&#8221; and many big investors stayed out.</p></li><li><p>Greed: 1998&#8211;2000, dot-com bubble, everyone wanted a website stock. <a href="http://Pets.com">Pets.com</a>, etc.</p></li><li><p>Hope: 2000&#8211;2002, after the crash, people held onto dead dot coms, hoping they would bounce back.</p></li><li><p>Back to Fear: Early 2000s, investors swore off internet stocks. But under the surface, Amazon, Google, and eBay were building real businesses.</p></li></ul><p><strong>Housing Market (2000s)</strong></p><ul><li><p>Ignorance: 2000&#8211;2003, most people didn&#8217;t understand subprime mortgages.</p></li><li><p>Fear: Early warnings (2004&#8211;2006) about risky lending were ignored, but some insiders saw the dangers on the way.</p></li><li><p>Greed: 2006&#8211;2007, everyone wanted a house, and everyone thought &#8220;housing never goes down.&#8221; Flipping homes was the hot thing.</p></li><li><p>Hope: 2008 crash, homeowners and banks held onto dying assets, hoping they&#8217;d come back.</p></li><li><p>Back to Fear: 2009&#8211;2012, mass fear around housing led to people avoiding real estate.</p></li></ul><p><strong>Bitcoin &amp; Crypto (2009&#8211;2025)</strong></p><ul><li><p>Ignorance: 2009&#8211;2012, almost nobody understood Bitcoin. Dismissed as &#8220;internet money for nerds.&#8221;</p></li><li><p>Fear: 2013&#8211;2015, labeled &#8220;drug money&#8221; or &#8220;Ponzi scheme.&#8221; Governments cracked down, big hacks scared investors.</p></li><li><p>Greed: 2017 &amp; 2021 price runs. Bitcoin became mainstream, everyone is buying coins and NFTs.</p></li><li><p>Hope: 2018, 2022 crashes, people held onto dying tokens and NFTs saying &#8220;the next bull run will save us.&#8221;</p></li><li><p>Back to Fear: After each crash, people swore off crypto, saying &#8220;never again.&#8221; But people who researched solid projects (BTC, ETH) and bought during fear rode the next wave up.</p></li></ul><p><strong>Artificial Intelligence (2015-2024)</strong></p><ul><li><p>Ignorance: Pre-2015, AI was &#8220;sci-fi&#8221; for most people, not something they thought would touch daily life.</p></li><li><p>Fear: 2015&#8211;2023, headlines saying &#8220;AI will take your job,&#8221; &#8220;AI is dangerous,&#8221; or &#8220;AI will replace humans.&#8221;</p></li><li><p>Greed: 2023&#8211;2024, sudden AI gold rush. Startups raising billions, investors piling in, businesses slapping &#8220;AI&#8221; on everything.</p></li><li><p>Hope: Some overhyped projects (AI coins, &#8220;AI everything&#8221; companies) are already crashing, but people are still holding, hoping they&#8217;ll turn around.</p></li></ul><p><strong>NFTs (2020&#8211;2022)</strong></p><ul><li><p>Ignorance: 2020, most people didn&#8217;t even know what NFTs were.</p></li><li><p>Fear: Early skepticism &#8212; &#8220;worthless jpegs.&#8221;</p></li><li><p>Greed: 2021 boom &#8212; Beeple sells for $69M, bored apes at $400k. Everyone piles in.</p></li><li><p>Hope: 2022 crash &#8212; holders said &#8220;they&#8217;ll come back&#8221; as floor prices collapsed.</p></li><li><p>Back to Fear: 2023&#8211;2024, most people swore off NFTs.</p></li></ul><h2>Step 2: So What&#8217;s The Opportunity?</h2><p>Now that you know how technologies and industries go through a predictable and emotional cycle, how do you use this to find opportunities? Easy:</p><ul><li><p>When you hear other people speaking about a technology or industry and the discussion is based in ignorance or <strong>fear</strong>, it might be a great opportunity to <strong>buy</strong>.</p></li><li><p>But when you hear other people speaking about a technology or industry and the discussion is based is <strong>greed</strong> or financial hope, it&#8217;s probably a good time to either <strong>sell or hold off</strong> on buying.</p></li></ul><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJDN!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F521f31a5-5afc-4917-9369-6e88c6bf6fe1_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJDN!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F521f31a5-5afc-4917-9369-6e88c6bf6fe1_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJDN!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F521f31a5-5afc-4917-9369-6e88c6bf6fe1_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJDN!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F521f31a5-5afc-4917-9369-6e88c6bf6fe1_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJDN!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F521f31a5-5afc-4917-9369-6e88c6bf6fe1_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJDN!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F521f31a5-5afc-4917-9369-6e88c6bf6fe1_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/521f31a5-5afc-4917-9369-6e88c6bf6fe1_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1174810,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/i/182786920?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F521f31a5-5afc-4917-9369-6e88c6bf6fe1_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJDN!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F521f31a5-5afc-4917-9369-6e88c6bf6fe1_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJDN!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F521f31a5-5afc-4917-9369-6e88c6bf6fe1_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJDN!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F521f31a5-5afc-4917-9369-6e88c6bf6fe1_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eJDN!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F521f31a5-5afc-4917-9369-6e88c6bf6fe1_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>And &#8220;buying&#8221; doesn&#8217;t just mean putting your money into a stock. If you want to profit from an industry or technology that&#8217;s being undervalued, you can also do it by:</p><ul><li><p>working at a company in the growing industry</p></li><li><p>starting a business of your own in the growing industry.</p></li></ul><p>None of the 3 options are necessarily easy, but they&#8217;re at least options that are available.</p><h2>Step 3: Pay Attention To Speed</h2><p>Earlier I gave examples of different technologies that have gone through the emotional cycle starting with the internet in the early 1990s. Notice the timelines of how long it took each technology to go through the cycle:</p><ul><li><p>The Internet (1990s&#8211;2000s)</p></li><li><p>Bitcoin &amp; Crypto (2009&#8211;2025)</p></li><li><p>Artificial Intelligence (2015-2024)</p></li><li><p>NFTs (2020&#8211;2022)</p></li></ul><p>What&#8217;s the theme? Each newer technology goes through the cycle in a shorter timeline than the older one. It took the internet around 10 years to go through the cycle, but only 2 or 3 years for NFTs.</p><p>HOWEVER, while these industries don&#8217;t go through the initial cycle of ignorance to fear to greed and then hope at the same speed, they do oddly go from</p><ul><li><p>the 2nd fear stage - where there&#8217;s huge discounts after everyone has lost hope</p></li></ul><p>to</p><ul><li><p>the 2nd greed stage - where companies like Amazon and eBay after the dot com bubble went from all time lows to their actual values</p></li></ul><p>in the same time frame. Here&#8217;s ai again to explain:</p><p><strong>Internet / Dot-Com</strong></p><ul><li><p>2nd Fear Stage: 2001&#8211;2003. Internet stocks dead, dot-com bust.</p></li><li><p>Return of Greed: ~2006&#8211;2007 (Google IPO in 2004, Facebook scaling mid-2000s, YouTube boom). By the late 2000s, social media + streaming drove a new hype cycle.</p></li><li><p>Window Length: ~3&#8211;5 years of &#8220;cheap&#8221; fear before hype fully came back.</p></li></ul><p><strong>Housing Market</strong></p><ul><li><p>2nd Fear: 2008&#8211;2012. Foreclosures, people swore off housing.</p></li><li><p>Return of Greed: 2013&#8211;2016, investors and regular buyers piled back in, home prices rising fast. By 2016, FOMO was back in hot markets.</p></li><li><p>Window Length:  ~4&#8211;5 years of fear before greed returned.</p></li></ul><p><strong>Crypto / Bitcoin</strong></p><ul><li><p>2nd Fear Stage: 2018&#8211;2019 (after the 2017 run crashed). Again in 2022&#8211;2023 after NFTs + meme coins blew up.</p></li><li><p>Return of Greed: 2020&#8211;2021 spike in price, and another bull run is happening in 2025.</p></li><li><p>Window Length: ~2&#8211;3 years. Crypto cycles are faster than traditional industries.</p></li></ul><p>Artificial intelligence and NFTs are too new as mainstream technologies for me to say when they went from the 2nd fear stage(high discounts) to the 2nd greed stage(high payoffs). But observing the internet, housing, bitcoin, and other industries that I didn&#8217;t include in this blog post for the sake of length, <strong>it seems pretty consistent that it takes 2-5 years for a technology to go from being highly discounted(2nd fear stage) to being hyped and overpriced again(2nd greed stage)</strong>.</p><p>With all of this said, I am not a financial advisor, nor am I an investing coach. I just like learning about emotions and human nature, and I found something cool that&#8217;s worth sharing. So if you decide to take the opportunity of investing in a technology or industry that may emerge in the next 2-5 years, I highly suggest speaking to a financial advisor or investing coach to pick the best strategy for yourself.</p><p>Here are the technologies or industries that I observe to be in the <strong>2nd fear stage(big discounts)</strong> in Q4 of 2025.</p><ul><li><p>NFTs - Greed (2021) &#8594; Hope (2022) &#8594; Fear (2023&#8211;now)</p></li><li><p>Metaverse / VR - Greed (2021&#8211;2022) &#8594; Hope (2022&#8211;2023) &#8594; Fear (2023&#8211;now)</p></li><li><p>Green Energy / Solar - Greed (2020&#8211;2021) &#8594; Hope (2022) &#8594; Fear (2023&#8211;now)</p></li><li><p>Biotech - Greed (2020&#8211;2021) &#8594; Hope (2022) &#8594; Fear (2023&#8211;now)</p></li></ul><p>Here are the technologies or industries that I observe to be in the <strong>greed stage(maybe overpriced/overhyped)</strong> in Q4 of 2025.</p><ul><li><p>Gold - Fear (2008&#8211;2011) &#8594; Greed (2011 peak) &#8594; Greed (2020&#8211;now1)</p></li><li><p>AI - Ignorance (pre-2015) &#8594; Fear (2015&#8211;2022) &#8594; Greed (2023&#8211;now)</p></li></ul>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The #1 Secret to Always Having Opportunities at Work]]></title><description><![CDATA[How to See Opportunities Everywhere... Even in Pain, Fear, and Desire]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/the-1-secret-to-always-having-opportunities</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/the-1-secret-to-always-having-opportunities</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2025 15:23:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!45E6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06ebf1a6-a60d-4a79-bb77-1f0d27e8f112_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Most people see pain and desire as things to avoid. Pain feels like a problem, and the things we desire feel too unrealistic to have. But what if these two emotions are actually signs that you&#8217;re at an opportunity, and you&#8217;ve been letting all your great opportunities pass you by?</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!45E6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06ebf1a6-a60d-4a79-bb77-1f0d27e8f112_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!45E6!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06ebf1a6-a60d-4a79-bb77-1f0d27e8f112_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!45E6!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06ebf1a6-a60d-4a79-bb77-1f0d27e8f112_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!45E6!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06ebf1a6-a60d-4a79-bb77-1f0d27e8f112_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!45E6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06ebf1a6-a60d-4a79-bb77-1f0d27e8f112_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!45E6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06ebf1a6-a60d-4a79-bb77-1f0d27e8f112_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/06ebf1a6-a60d-4a79-bb77-1f0d27e8f112_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:361899,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/i/176082741?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06ebf1a6-a60d-4a79-bb77-1f0d27e8f112_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!45E6!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06ebf1a6-a60d-4a79-bb77-1f0d27e8f112_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!45E6!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06ebf1a6-a60d-4a79-bb77-1f0d27e8f112_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!45E6!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06ebf1a6-a60d-4a79-bb77-1f0d27e8f112_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!45E6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06ebf1a6-a60d-4a79-bb77-1f0d27e8f112_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h2>The Solution</h2><p>By learning to see pain and desire in yourself and in other people, you can start to see opportunities to add, subtract, multiply, or divide in ways that make your life better. So by the end of this post, you&#8217;ll know how to identify opportunities in everyday life and act on them too!</p><h2>Step 1: Put Your Dollar in the Right Way</h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_YgJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F26233612-115b-4e9c-a980-77564efa0acc_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_YgJ!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F26233612-115b-4e9c-a980-77564efa0acc_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_YgJ!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F26233612-115b-4e9c-a980-77564efa0acc_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_YgJ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F26233612-115b-4e9c-a980-77564efa0acc_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_YgJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F26233612-115b-4e9c-a980-77564efa0acc_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_YgJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F26233612-115b-4e9c-a980-77564efa0acc_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/26233612-115b-4e9c-a980-77564efa0acc_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1004248,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/i/176082741?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F26233612-115b-4e9c-a980-77564efa0acc_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_YgJ!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F26233612-115b-4e9c-a980-77564efa0acc_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_YgJ!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F26233612-115b-4e9c-a980-77564efa0acc_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_YgJ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F26233612-115b-4e9c-a980-77564efa0acc_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_YgJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F26233612-115b-4e9c-a980-77564efa0acc_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Life is like a vending machine, and opportunities in life are like being handed a dollar.</p><p>Inside that machine are your desires, your goals, and everything else you want in life. The catch? Just like a real vending machine, you HAVE to feed the dollar in the right way for it to be accepted.</p><p>Every situation you come across in life is like that dollar. One side of it represents problems, and the other side represents an opportunity. If you put it in the wrong way(only seeing problems) then the machine spits it back out no matter how many times you try. But if you line it up correctly(choosing to see the opportunity), the machine accepts it and you get what you want.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif" width="480" height="366" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:366,&quot;width&quot;:480,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1713602,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/gif&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/i/176082741?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QJJ6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F523390c3-24db-4f28-a2e2-10895d6deff6_480x366.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>So if you&#8217;re ever not getting the results you want, it usually comes down to one of three things:</p><ol><li><p>You haven&#8217;t gotten a dollar yet, meaning that you aren&#8217;t noticing the situations in your life that can be turned into opportunities.</p></li><li><p>You haven&#8217;t chosen what you want from the machine. So you haven&#8217;t decided on your desired result.</p></li><li><p>You haven&#8217;t put the dollar in the right way. This means you either haven&#8217;t taken action on the opportunity you found, or you&#8217;re still choosing to view it as a negative problem.</p></li></ol><p>And just like with real money, if you wait around for someone else to hand you a dollar every time you want something, you&#8217;ll be broke pretty fast. Eventually you have to learn how to create and attract more for yourself.</p><p>The good news is that life will keep giving you &#8220;dollars&#8221; through different situations. But it&#8217;s always up to YOU to put them in the machine the right way.</p><p><strong>Instruction</strong>: Ask yourself, am I putting this dollar in the right way, or am I treating it like a problem the machine won&#8217;t accept?</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><h2><strong>Step 2: Look for Pain and Desire</strong></h2><p>So how do you spot these potential opportunities, or &#8220;dollars&#8221; anyway? The answer starts with understanding the emotions of <strong>pain</strong> and <strong>desire</strong>.</p><p>Pain is always a sign of a problem or something negative like frustration, stress, or setbacks. While these things usually feel like the end of the world, they&#8217;re not. Really, they&#8217;re just signals that you&#8217;re close to an opportunity. In other words, the feeling of pain is a dollar.</p><p>And desire works almost the same way. You get this feeling when you want something because you think it will give you a positive feeling in the short term. Instead of feeling like the end of the world, desire makes your world feel lit up and brighter than before. So people tend to chase their desires(the bright lights in their lives), and this gives the ones who notice the desire an opportunity to provide whatever people are chasing. So desire is also a &#8220;dollar&#8221;.</p><p><strong>Instruction:</strong> Ask yourself, <em>when did I last notice myself or someone else feeling pain or desire?</em></p><h2><strong>Step 3: Understand the Four Types of Opportunities</strong></h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gfPu!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3ddc5f7c-8c54-46ac-935e-050dc6c6c084_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gfPu!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3ddc5f7c-8c54-46ac-935e-050dc6c6c084_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gfPu!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3ddc5f7c-8c54-46ac-935e-050dc6c6c084_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gfPu!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3ddc5f7c-8c54-46ac-935e-050dc6c6c084_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gfPu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3ddc5f7c-8c54-46ac-935e-050dc6c6c084_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gfPu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3ddc5f7c-8c54-46ac-935e-050dc6c6c084_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3ddc5f7c-8c54-46ac-935e-050dc6c6c084_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:792528,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/i/176082741?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3ddc5f7c-8c54-46ac-935e-050dc6c6c084_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gfPu!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3ddc5f7c-8c54-46ac-935e-050dc6c6c084_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gfPu!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3ddc5f7c-8c54-46ac-935e-050dc6c6c084_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gfPu!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3ddc5f7c-8c54-46ac-935e-050dc6c6c084_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gfPu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3ddc5f7c-8c54-46ac-935e-050dc6c6c084_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>So you&#8217;ve spotted yourself or someone else feeling pain or desire&#8230; now what? The next step is to flip your &#8220;dollar&#8221; over to the positive side by clearly seeing the opportunity this situation gets you.</p><p>Wherever there&#8217;s pain or desire, there will always be an opportunity to ADD, SUBTRACT, MULTIPLY, or DIVIDE. Here&#8217;s what I mean:</p><ul><li><p><strong>Add</strong> &#8211; Chances to add or acquire something in life that you find desirable or positive</p></li><li><p><strong>Subtract</strong> &#8211; Chances to cut friction or something negative out of your life <em><strong>or</strong></em> someone else&#8217;s life</p></li><li><p><strong>Multiply</strong> &#8211; Use your resources to put something into the world that will bring a return(skills, solutions, content, gifts, products and services).</p></li><li><p><strong>Divide</strong> &#8211; Delegate, automate, or split the work so the pie grows overall.</p></li></ul><p><strong>Instruction:</strong> Ask yourself, <em>is this an opportunity to add, subtract, multiply, or divide?</em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><h2><strong>Step 4: Be Prepared</strong></h2><p>So now you&#8217;ve spotted your opportunity or &#8220;dollar&#8221;. But unfortunately, opportunities don&#8217;t matter if you&#8217;re not ready to take advantage of them or &#8220;put your dollar in the vending machine&#8221;. You have to be ready for them. That means:</p><ul><li><p>Having some cash on hand</p></li><li><p>Knowing your skills and what you have to offer people</p></li><li><p>Being able to put together a script or gameplan</p></li><li><p>Practicing how to spot and step into opportunities with mental reps</p></li></ul><p><strong>Instruction:</strong> Ask yourself, what type of resource does this situation require? And <em>am I prepared?</em></p><h2><strong>Step 5: Get Practice</strong></h2><p>It&#8217;s not enough to just see the opportunities. So the last step is that you have to <em><strong>practice</strong></em> walking through them. The more you practice, the more natural it becomes. So the next time you notice yourself either talking about something you want or a bad experience you had, ask yourself&#8230;</p><ul><li><p>&#8220;Is this pain, or desire?&#8221;</p></li><li><p>&#8220;Is this an opportunity to add, subtract, multiply, or divide?&#8221;</p></li><li><p>&#8220;How do I take advantage of this opportunity?&#8221;</p></li></ul><p>With enough reps, pain and desire stop being things to avoid and start being signals of opportunity.</p><p><strong>Instruction:</strong> Ask yourself, <em>am I practicing walking through open doors regularly?</em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[What’s The Easiest Way To Free Up Money In My Business?]]></title><description><![CDATA[How To Use Your Emotions As Your Financial Friends]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/whats-the-easiest-way-to-free-up</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/whats-the-easiest-way-to-free-up</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2025 18:00:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s7XP!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1328cc-6862-4227-a431-0d5457eaa26e_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s7XP!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1328cc-6862-4227-a431-0d5457eaa26e_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s7XP!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1328cc-6862-4227-a431-0d5457eaa26e_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s7XP!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1328cc-6862-4227-a431-0d5457eaa26e_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s7XP!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1328cc-6862-4227-a431-0d5457eaa26e_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s7XP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1328cc-6862-4227-a431-0d5457eaa26e_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s7XP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1328cc-6862-4227-a431-0d5457eaa26e_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/8c1328cc-6862-4227-a431-0d5457eaa26e_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:180032,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/i/172529791?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1328cc-6862-4227-a431-0d5457eaa26e_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s7XP!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1328cc-6862-4227-a431-0d5457eaa26e_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s7XP!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1328cc-6862-4227-a431-0d5457eaa26e_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s7XP!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1328cc-6862-4227-a431-0d5457eaa26e_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s7XP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1328cc-6862-4227-a431-0d5457eaa26e_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><strong>What&#8217;s the problem we&#8217;re addressing?</strong></p><p>Running a business is already tough enough without your emotions dragging your wallet into things. When unchecked, emotions can push you into reckless moves, lost deals, wasted time, and overspending that ruins your profits.</p><p><strong>So what&#8217;s the solution?</strong></p><p>Recognize this chain of how emotions can lead to bad and expensive decisions: <strong>Emotion &#8594; Sinful Action &#8594; Consequence.</strong> </p><p>In short, situations make you feel emotions. Those emotions lead you to actions. And if your actions are dominated by one of the 7 deadly sins, it will eventually lead to negative results. </p><p><strong>NOTE</strong> - this article is NOT speaking on religion at all. The 7 deadly sins outline just works very well for explaining how emotions can lead to unwanted consequences. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ok4!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcee7e85b-e39f-4ac1-a480-17119d6e37c8_1080x1311.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ok4!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcee7e85b-e39f-4ac1-a480-17119d6e37c8_1080x1311.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ok4!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcee7e85b-e39f-4ac1-a480-17119d6e37c8_1080x1311.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ok4!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcee7e85b-e39f-4ac1-a480-17119d6e37c8_1080x1311.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ok4!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcee7e85b-e39f-4ac1-a480-17119d6e37c8_1080x1311.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ok4!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcee7e85b-e39f-4ac1-a480-17119d6e37c8_1080x1311.jpeg" width="1080" height="1311" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/cee7e85b-e39f-4ac1-a480-17119d6e37c8_1080x1311.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1311,&quot;width&quot;:1080,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:175400,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/i/172529791?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcee7e85b-e39f-4ac1-a480-17119d6e37c8_1080x1311.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ok4!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcee7e85b-e39f-4ac1-a480-17119d6e37c8_1080x1311.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ok4!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcee7e85b-e39f-4ac1-a480-17119d6e37c8_1080x1311.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ok4!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcee7e85b-e39f-4ac1-a480-17119d6e37c8_1080x1311.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ok4!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcee7e85b-e39f-4ac1-a480-17119d6e37c8_1080x1311.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>So if your business is seeing negative results, you need to spot the emotion behind your decisions. Then, you can stop yourself from reacting in ways that cost your business money.</p><p>By the end of this post, you&#8217;ll see how emotions sneak into your finances and leadership, and how to stop them before they drain your bank account or destroy your reputation.</p><h3><strong>Lesson 1: Your Business Fails from Reactions, Not Numbers</strong></h3><p>The hidden danger isn&#8217;t always competition, the stock market, social media, or the economy. It&#8217;s how you react when emotions flare up. Desire, fear, anger, insecurity, boredom, curiosity, and worry are all normal. But if you let them drive your decisions without thinking, new bills will start to show up fast.</p><h3><strong>Lesson 2: Every Emotion Ties to a Sinful Action (and a Bill You&#8217;ll Have to Pay)</strong></h3><ol><li><p><strong>Desire </strong>leads to<strong> Greed / Impulse Spending</strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>Example:</strong> You impulse spend on small &#8220;convenience&#8221; purchases like fast food or unnecessary upgrades, and later realize you&#8217;ve eaten into cash flow that could&#8217;ve gone to scaling your business.</p></li><li><p><strong>Money Saving Takeaway:</strong> Before spending, ask &#8220;Does this actually create revenue?&#8221; If not, wait 24 hours before buying.</p></li></ul></li><li><p><strong>Fear </strong>leads to<strong> Avoidance / Cowardice</strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>Example:</strong> You hear rumors of risk, back out of a promising deal too early, and watch competitors scoop up the profits you left on the table.</p></li><li><p><strong>Money Saving Takeaway:</strong> Replace &#8220;What if I lose?&#8221; with &#8220;What will I lose if I don&#8217;t try?&#8221; Fear often costs more than failure.</p></li></ul></li><li><p><strong>Anger </strong>leads to<strong> Wrath </strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>Example 1:</strong> You lash out at a customer over a dispute and lose their business.</p></li><li><p><strong>Example 2:</strong> In negotiations, your reputation for outbursts makes corporate partners label you as &#8220;difficult,&#8221; cutting you out of future opportunities.</p></li><li><p><strong>Money Saving Takeaway:</strong> Step away before responding. A single angry email or rant can cost tens of thousands in lost business.</p></li></ul></li><li><p><strong>Insecurity </strong>leads to<strong> Envy </strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>Example:</strong> You see a competitor make a big move, so you buy things you can&#8217;t afford just to keep up, draining money you actually needed.</p></li><li><p><strong>Money Saving Takeaway:</strong> Instead of focusing on the competition, focus on doing what keeps your customers happy and loyal.</p></li></ul></li><li><p><strong>Boredom </strong>leads to<strong> Sloth </strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>Example:</strong> You plan to make sales calls but end up scrolling on your phone for hours and pushing off work that actually gets you paid.</p></li><li><p><strong>Money Saving Takeaway:</strong> Build a &#8220;money task list&#8221; and write three revenue-related actions you HAVE TO finish before checking off anything else.</p></li></ul></li><li><p><strong>Curiosity </strong>leads to<strong> Gluttony (for info) </strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>Example:</strong> You spend hours researching minor topics or chasing endless new &#8220;workflows&#8221; instead of focusing on the tasks that actually grow your business.</p></li><li><p><strong>Money Saving Takeaway:</strong> Limit research time to one hour per week. The rest of the week, stick to executing your &#8220;money task list&#8221;.</p></li></ul></li><li><p><strong>Worry </strong>leads to<strong> Envy / Pride </strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>Example:</strong> You vent in the wrong place, take advice from the wrong people, and end up sabotaging your own business plan.</p></li><li><p><strong>Money Saving Takeaway:</strong> Only seek advice from people who&#8217;ve achieved what you want, then filter out everyone else.</p></li></ul></li></ol><h3><strong>Lesson 3: Don&#8217;t Let Emotions Run Your Business Decisions</strong></h3><p>Danger doesn't always come from things outside of your business. More than that,  it comes from the times your emotions make decisions for you. That&#8217;s when reckless spending, bad exits, or ego driven moves can cost you more than competitors ever could.</p><p>So how do you get around this issue? By treating your emotions like friends trying to wave you down from across the street. If you ignore them or misread what they&#8217;re saying, you&#8217;ll end up in a bad situation. But if you actually listen, they can help you make the right move in the moment.</p><h3><strong>Lesson 4: Treat Your Emotions Like Friends With Warnings</strong></h3><p>Every emotion you feel is a signal telling you how you&#8217;re spending your attention right now. If you train yourself to pause and &#8220;hear them out,&#8221; you can use that signal to respond in a way that protects your money, time, and focus.</p><p>That&#8217;s where the &#8220;<strong>Heat Check</strong>&#8221; comes in. It's a game plan that flips an emotion from a trap to an advantage. You hear what your &#8220;friend&#8221;(the emotion) is saying, respond with the action that matches it, and then move ahead without feeding the sin it could lead to.</p><h3><strong>Lesson 5: The Heat Check &#8211; How to Use Each Emotion</strong></h3><ol><li><p><strong>Boredom &#8594;</strong> <em>&#8220;It&#8217;s telling me I&#8217;m currently living in a zone of comfort.&#8221;</em></p><p><strong>Quick Response:</strong> Ask, &#8220;If it didn&#8217;t have a negative short-term outcome, what would I be doing right now?&#8221; List the true long-term benefits until your focus is only on those. If you can&#8217;t find enough to justify it, don&#8217;t do it. If you can, be like Nike and just do it.</p></li><li><p><strong>Desire &#8594;</strong> <em>&#8220;It&#8217;s telling me that my attention is on something that's pleasurable in the short-term&#8221;</em></p><p><strong>Quick Response:</strong> Ask, &#8220;What&#8217;s the long-term consequence of doing this?&#8221; If the long term outcome is good, do it if you still want to. But if not, take a few deep breaths and let the thought go.</p></li><li><p><strong>Tired &#8594;</strong> <em>&#8220;It&#8217;s telling me I need to spend more attention on my mental or physical health.&#8221;</em></p><p><strong>Quick Response:</strong> Take a nap, then go to bed early tonight.</p></li><li><p><strong>Worry &#8594;</strong> <em>&#8220;It&#8217;s telling me that my attention is on something that isn&#8217;t in my control.&#8221;</em></p><p><strong>Quick Response:</strong> Ask, &#8220;What&#8217;s in my control in this situation?&#8221; Focus only on that. If you can do something now, do it. If not, take a few deep breaths and let the thought go.</p></li><li><p><strong>Insecurity &#8594;</strong> <em>&#8220;It&#8217;s telling me that I&#8217;m looking to something outside of myself &amp; the truth for security.&#8221;</em></p><p><strong>Quick Response:</strong> Apologize (in your mind) for trying to control others for your own sense of security socially, emotionally, physically, or financially. Then identify what you feel insecure about, and respond using the &#8220;worry&#8221; process above, swapping the word &#8220;worry&#8221; for &#8220;insecurity.&#8221;</p></li><li><p><strong>Fear &#8594;</strong> <em>&#8220;I&#8217;m moving towards something that might be rewarding if I overcome the fear.&#8221;</em></p><p><strong>Quick Response:</strong> Take a few deep breaths and say, &#8220;That&#8217;s not fear, that&#8217;s just high energy. I&#8217;m excited.&#8221; Then ask, &#8220;What&#8217;s the opportunity in this situation to be grateful for?&#8221; Focus on that.</p></li><li><p><strong>Stress &#8594;</strong> <em>&#8220;It&#8217;s telling me that my attention is on worry about the past or what hasn&#8217;t happened yet, not the present.&#8221;</em></p><p><strong>Quick Response:</strong> Say, &#8220;Thank you for the moment I&#8217;m in right now,&#8221; and list or say out loud reasons you&#8217;re grateful for it.</p></li><li><p><strong>Anger / Frustration / Pain &#8594;</strong> <em>&#8220;It&#8217;s telling me I&#8217;m at an opportunity for progress.&#8221;</em></p><p><strong>Quick Response:</strong> Ask, &#8220;What&#8217;s the opportunity in this situation to be grateful for?&#8221; Focus on that, even if you need to think about the long-term(how things will be months or years from now) to find it.</p></li></ol><h3><strong>Lesson 6: Turning Emotion Into Leverage</strong></h3><p>The difference between losing money to sin and using emotion as a weapon is just one pause and one smart response. Your emotions aren&#8217;t enemies. They&#8217;re the early warning system for your attention, your wallet, and your reputation. If you start treating them like friends with good intel, you stop being the person who gets baited&#8230;and start being the person who can&#8217;t be played.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Subscribe for more business cures like this from The Goal Doctors </p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[No More Awkward Silence! Fun Icebreakers for Your Boring Team Meetings]]></title><description><![CDATA[Fun Icebreakers to Energize Your Morning Meetings]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/no-more-awkward-silence-fun-icebreakers</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/no-more-awkward-silence-fun-icebreakers</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 10 Sep 2025 19:11:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!b4EZ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc07b580d-6895-4436-8c58-33e66dccc21d_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s no secret... Most people hate work meetings. They show up tired, distracted, and ready to do anything other than pay attention or participate. And to be fair, can you blame them? </p><p>Most meetings are low-energy and boring. Even the managers and leaders running these meetings agree. </p><p><strong>So what&#8217;s the solution?</strong><br>Mix in an icebreaker! The right one can wake people up, help them connect, and break the awkward silence that usually comes  during a meeting.</p><p>By the end of this article, you&#8217;ll have a handful of quick ideas that save time and add energy to your meetings so your team walks away energized and looking forward to the next one.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!b4EZ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc07b580d-6895-4436-8c58-33e66dccc21d_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!b4EZ!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc07b580d-6895-4436-8c58-33e66dccc21d_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!b4EZ!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc07b580d-6895-4436-8c58-33e66dccc21d_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!b4EZ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc07b580d-6895-4436-8c58-33e66dccc21d_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!b4EZ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc07b580d-6895-4436-8c58-33e66dccc21d_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!b4EZ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc07b580d-6895-4436-8c58-33e66dccc21d_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c07b580d-6895-4436-8c58-33e66dccc21d_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:866119,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/i/173294019?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc07b580d-6895-4436-8c58-33e66dccc21d_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!b4EZ!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc07b580d-6895-4436-8c58-33e66dccc21d_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!b4EZ!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc07b580d-6895-4436-8c58-33e66dccc21d_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!b4EZ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc07b580d-6895-4436-8c58-33e66dccc21d_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!b4EZ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc07b580d-6895-4436-8c58-33e66dccc21d_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h2><strong>1. Two Truths and a Lie</strong></h2><p>This one's a classic. Each person shares three statements(two true, one false) and the team guesses the lie. This instantly creates laughter, surprise, and curiosity, making it a simple way to spark connection.</p><h2><strong>2. Would You Rather?</strong></h2><p>&#8220;Would you rather have Reece&#8217;s or Snickers?&#8221; Questions like these start fun debates and reveal personality quirks. It&#8217;s quick, lighthearted, and opens the door for stories you wouldn&#8217;t hear otherwise. Each time someone in the room answers a &#8220;would you rather&#8221; question, they can pick the next person to ask. </p><h2><strong>3. Office Trivia</strong></h2><p>Put together trivia questions about your company, current projects, or even fun facts about coworkers. Teams compete for points, which makes it both educational and bonding. Plus, it boosts awareness of what&#8217;s happening across company.</p><h2><strong>4. Desert Island Scenario</strong></h2><p>Ask: <em>If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring three things, what would they be?</em> Then have everyone in the room answer. People&#8217;s answers might be creative, funny, or even tactical. Either way, it gives insight into what matters most to each person.</p><h2><strong>5. Guess the Childhood Photo</strong></h2><p>Before the meeting, collect childhood photos. Display one at a time and have everyone guess who it is. Sharing old photos brings out nostalgia, personal stories, and guaranteed laughs.</p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p></p><h2><strong>6. Rapid Fire Questions</strong></h2><p>Go around the room asking light questions: &#8220;What&#8217;s your favorite breakfast?&#8221; &#8220;If you could have any superpower, what would it be?&#8221; Keep it fast-paced to inject energy and learn quick tidbits about teammates.</p><h2><strong>7. Pictionary</strong></h2><p>Whether on a virtual whiteboard or just pen and paper, one person draws while the others guess. It's fun and encourages creativity. The playful competition makes the meeting fly by.</p><h2><strong>8. Name That Tune</strong></h2><p>Play a few seconds of a popular song and see who can name it first. Music brings instant energy to the room and often sparks conversation about concerts, favorite bands, or funny memories.</p><h2><strong>9. The Compliment Train</strong></h2><p>Start with one person giving a compliment to another teammate. That person then passes it on until everyone has both given and received a compliment. It&#8217;s simple, but it builds positivity and boosts morale fast.</p><h2><strong>10. Minute to Win It Challenges</strong></h2><p>Bring in fun challenges like stacking cups, balancing objects, or quick puzzles. If you only allow less than a minute on the clock, the turns into a pretty high-energy game. </p><h2><strong>11. One Word Story</strong></h2><p>Each person adds one word to build a story. It usually turns hilarious by the third or fourth person. This game definitely encourages creativity and teamwork.</p><h2><strong>12. Who Am I?</strong></h2><p>Write down the name of a famous person or character. Stick it to someone&#8217;s forehead. They can only ask &#8220;yes&#8221; or &#8220;no&#8221; questions until they figure out who they are. It&#8217;s interactive and definitely leads to laughs.</p><p><strong>Final Thought</strong><br>Try one or two of the ideas above in the next meeting you lead, and watch how the energy shifts. </p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The 7-Day Game Plan ]]></title><description><![CDATA[A Proven Guide For Getting Results Faster]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/the-7-day-game-plan</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/the-7-day-game-plan</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 22 Jun 2025 17:34:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PlxI!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc72b232-8e7f-425a-82de-f653a3cef8f9_1545x2000.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2><strong>What if your whole life got better in 7 days just by writing one sentence the right way?</strong></h2><p>This is <em>NOT</em> a &#8220;motivation&#8221; book. It&#8217;s a survival guide for people who are tired of failing at their goals(not because they&#8217;re lazy, but because they were never shown how to succeed).</p><p>If you&#8217;ve ever felt like:</p><ul><li><p>You set big goals but lose desire halfway through,</p></li><li><p>You swear you&#8217;ll &#8220;start back up&#8221; every week but never actually do, or</p></li><li><p>You&#8217;re confused about what the &#8220;right&#8221; next step even is&#8230;</p></li></ul><p>Then this book is for you!</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PlxI!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc72b232-8e7f-425a-82de-f653a3cef8f9_1545x2000.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PlxI!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc72b232-8e7f-425a-82de-f653a3cef8f9_1545x2000.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PlxI!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc72b232-8e7f-425a-82de-f653a3cef8f9_1545x2000.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PlxI!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc72b232-8e7f-425a-82de-f653a3cef8f9_1545x2000.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PlxI!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc72b232-8e7f-425a-82de-f653a3cef8f9_1545x2000.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PlxI!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc72b232-8e7f-425a-82de-f653a3cef8f9_1545x2000.jpeg" width="1456" height="1885" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/fc72b232-8e7f-425a-82de-f653a3cef8f9_1545x2000.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1885,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:376357,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/i/166531783?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc72b232-8e7f-425a-82de-f653a3cef8f9_1545x2000.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PlxI!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc72b232-8e7f-425a-82de-f653a3cef8f9_1545x2000.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PlxI!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc72b232-8e7f-425a-82de-f653a3cef8f9_1545x2000.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PlxI!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc72b232-8e7f-425a-82de-f653a3cef8f9_1545x2000.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PlxI!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc72b232-8e7f-425a-82de-f653a3cef8f9_1545x2000.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption"></figcaption></figure></div><h2>Why People Fail, and How This Fixes It</h2><p>Most goal setting methods don&#8217;t leave you with a clear, practical outline that keeps you making  progress from Point A to Point B.</p><p>That confusion and fear of failure is pain you can subtract. And you can do it in just 7 days. </p><h2>What You'll Learn</h2><p>&#9989; How to write your goal the right way so it motivates you automatically</p><p>&#9989; How to keep consistent progress with a daily &#8220;rep&#8221; or habit</p><p>&#9989; How to track your progress towards the finish line</p><p>&#9989; How to solve problems fast when life hits hard</p><p>&#9989; How to stay confident even when motivation disappears</p><h2>&#127873; Bonus: Free AI Goal-Tracking Tool</h2><p>When you grab the ebook, you also get free access to an AI companion tool that helps you write, plan, and track your goals automatically.</p><p>It&#8217;s like having a digital coach that keeps you focused when life tries to knock you off course.</p><h2><strong>Ready to build the gameplan for the life you want?</strong></h2><p>GUESS WHAT! You can get the 7-Day Game Plan ebook free when you join our newsletter. This offer is limited to the next 100 subscribers. You&#8217;ll also receive monthly systems, tools, and solutions for your biggest life and business problems &#8212; straight from Nick, your favorite goal doctor. Just subscribe below. You can cancel at any time.  </p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"> Get the ebook free &#128071;</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><h2>A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR</h2><blockquote><p>&#8220;Hey I&#8217;m Nick, the author of the book. This process helped me go from confused and stuck in life to clear, focused, and in motion. If you feel like you&#8217;ve tried everything but still aren&#8217;t close to the results you want, this might be the solution. Sometimes simple is the answer. Check out the book and see for yourself!&#8221;</p></blockquote><div class="native-video-embed" data-component-name="VideoPlaceholder" data-attrs="{&quot;mediaUploadId&quot;:&quot;3d83c1d2-281d-4f06-a5f9-57965275952b&quot;,&quot;duration&quot;:null}"></div><div class="native-video-embed" data-component-name="VideoPlaceholder" data-attrs="{&quot;mediaUploadId&quot;:&quot;cf434cb4-805a-409f-ba6d-480262e7abc3&quot;,&quot;duration&quot;:null}"></div><div class="native-video-embed" data-component-name="VideoPlaceholder" data-attrs="{&quot;mediaUploadId&quot;:&quot;94216fb4-94ef-4db2-9618-e30882bdbd5d&quot;,&quot;duration&quot;:null}"></div><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Get the ebook free &#128071;</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Gifting Tool ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Retain Your Customers and Team Members By Giving Gifts]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/the-gifting-tool</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/the-gifting-tool</guid><pubDate>Mon, 10 Mar 2025 17:06:41 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ho1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe44bb446-517a-4460-a032-ed4eda6f5776_960x540.gif" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ho1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe44bb446-517a-4460-a032-ed4eda6f5776_960x540.gif" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ho1!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe44bb446-517a-4460-a032-ed4eda6f5776_960x540.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ho1!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe44bb446-517a-4460-a032-ed4eda6f5776_960x540.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ho1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe44bb446-517a-4460-a032-ed4eda6f5776_960x540.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ho1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe44bb446-517a-4460-a032-ed4eda6f5776_960x540.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ho1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe44bb446-517a-4460-a032-ed4eda6f5776_960x540.gif" width="960" height="540" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/e44bb446-517a-4460-a032-ed4eda6f5776_960x540.gif&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:540,&quot;width&quot;:960,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:8470587,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/gif&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/i/158679648?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe44bb446-517a-4460-a032-ed4eda6f5776_960x540.gif&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ho1!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe44bb446-517a-4460-a032-ed4eda6f5776_960x540.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ho1!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe44bb446-517a-4460-a032-ed4eda6f5776_960x540.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ho1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe44bb446-517a-4460-a032-ed4eda6f5776_960x540.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6ho1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe44bb446-517a-4460-a032-ed4eda6f5776_960x540.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Many businesses struggle with retaining both customers and team members, and the problem isn&#8217;t always money&#8212;it&#8217;s connection. <strong>People stay loyal to companies that</strong> <strong>make them feel valued</strong>.</p><p>So we created The Gifting Tool to help you give genuine, personalized gifts that show your customers and team members you truly care. More than just a nice gesture, these gifts create meaningful connections&#8212;and when people feel connected to a company, they&#8217;re far less likely to leave for a competitor.</p><p>With strategic gifting, you&#8217;ll strengthen relationships and improve retention. As a result, you will generate word-of-mouth marketing that attracts new customers and team members.</p><p>The only thing standing in your way are the 5 simple steps below.</p><p><strong>Please watch this video for a walkthrough of the 5 steps</strong>:</p><div class="native-video-embed" data-component-name="VideoPlaceholder" data-attrs="{&quot;mediaUploadId&quot;:&quot;41afe122-898b-490f-8c7c-3d2ad161ae1f&quot;,&quot;duration&quot;:null}"></div><blockquote><p><strong>Step 1 - Download the PDF below:</strong></p></blockquote><p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1seRh_hXlE2JAkzfL8075U-rgXT4r5OLy/view?usp=sharing">PDF - The Gifting Tool Assisting Attachment</a></p><blockquote><p><strong>Step 2 - Copy this italicized paragraph and paste it into Chat GPT:</strong></p></blockquote><div><hr></div><p><em>Hey ai, please give a list of gift ideas for someone considering the pdf attached and the notes about them below:</em></p><ul><li><p><em>What&#8217;s the occasion? - (<strong>insert answer</strong>)</em></p></li><li><p><em>Did they mention any goals, problems, or recent accomplishments they have? - (<strong>insert answer</strong>)</em></p></li><li><p><em>What do I know about their background? - (<strong>insert answer</strong>)</em></p></li><li><p><em>What are their likes and interests? - (<strong>insert answer</strong>)</em></p></li><li><p><em>What's their gender(that they I.D as)? - (<strong>insert answer</strong>)</em></p></li><li><p><em>What's their age or age range? - (<strong>insert answer</strong>)</em></p></li></ul><div><hr></div><blockquote><p><strong>Step 3 - Attach the PDF you downloaded in Step 1 to your ai prompt.</strong></p></blockquote><p></p><blockquote><p><strong>Step 4 - Write an answer wherever you see &#8220;(insert answer)&#8221; in your ai prompt.</strong></p></blockquote><p></p><blockquote><p><strong>Step 5 - Generate your business plan.</strong></p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why am I always putting out fires at work and never getting ahead?]]></title><description><![CDATA[5 Steps to Managing The Systems in Your Business]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/why-am-i-always-putting-out-fires</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/why-am-i-always-putting-out-fires</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 05 Mar 2025 22:31:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PfQJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe109707b-3c40-4a9c-8a97-b517e0045436_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PfQJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe109707b-3c40-4a9c-8a97-b517e0045436_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PfQJ!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe109707b-3c40-4a9c-8a97-b517e0045436_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PfQJ!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe109707b-3c40-4a9c-8a97-b517e0045436_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PfQJ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe109707b-3c40-4a9c-8a97-b517e0045436_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PfQJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe109707b-3c40-4a9c-8a97-b517e0045436_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PfQJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe109707b-3c40-4a9c-8a97-b517e0045436_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/e109707b-3c40-4a9c-8a97-b517e0045436_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:244078,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/i/158471473?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe109707b-3c40-4a9c-8a97-b517e0045436_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PfQJ!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe109707b-3c40-4a9c-8a97-b517e0045436_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PfQJ!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe109707b-3c40-4a9c-8a97-b517e0045436_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PfQJ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe109707b-3c40-4a9c-8a97-b517e0045436_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PfQJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe109707b-3c40-4a9c-8a97-b517e0045436_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Have you ever met someone who had NO problems at work? Personally, I haven&#8217;t. I&#8217;ve never even heard of such a person.</p><p>But what I&#8217;ve seen many times is a manager or business owner who spends all of their time each day going from problem to problem, fire to fire, complaint to complaint. Sometimes they are able to get these things under control, but because they never take the time to find and resolve the cause of these issues, the problems never stop. </p><p>Unfortunately, work problems are something we all have to deal with. And sometimes it can be pretty overwhelming.</p><p>But fortunately, there&#8217;s a process that helps to get around that. I mostly got it from the books &#8220;Principles&#8221; by Ray Dalio and &#8220;Work the System&#8221; by Sam Carpenter. I&#8217;ve used the process over the last few years to deal with the majority of the problems I come across, and it&#8217;s always helped.</p><p>By the end of this article, you&#8217;ll know how to use it too and you&#8217;ll have a 5 step process for getting around the problems life brings to you!</p><h4><em>Step #1 - When problems come, don't focus on the result. Instead, focus on fixing the system or process that caused the result.</em></h4><ul><li><p>When problems come at work(and they always do), don&#8217;t spend too much time focusing on the negative result or being upset about it. Instead, stop and think &#8220;this is just a negative result that was produced by a system or process&#8221;.</p></li><li><p>Then, if there&#8217;s anything you can do to solve the problem or deal with it right then and there, do it. Otherwise, move on to Step #2 below.</p></li></ul><h4><em>Step #2 - How to go about fixing the system or process</em></h4><p>Whenever I come across a problem at work that I can&#8217;t solve right then and there, I try to always write it down somewhere. Then, at the end of the week, I come back to the list of problems that I&#8217;ve written down.</p><p>If there&#8217;s more than 3 problems, I&#8217;ll narrow the list down to the top 3.</p><ol><li><p>Problem -</p></li><li><p>Problem -</p></li><li><p>Problem -</p></li></ol><p><strong>Tip</strong> &#8212; Having trouble narrowing your list of problems down to 3? To get around this, ask yourself &#8220;Of the listed problems, which 20% would result in 80% of my desired outcomes and happiness?&#8221;. If you still have more than 3 problems listed, then ask yourself next &#8220;Of the problems that are still listed, which of them would either directly address other problems or make them irrelevant if they were solved?&#8221;</p><p>From there I&#8217;ll pick the #1 biggest problem on the list and answer the questions below in order of 1-6 to find a solution for it.</p><ol><li><p>What is the problem? - </p></li><li><p>Why is this a problem? -</p></li><li><p>What&#8217;s the result I need or that I&#8217;m looking for? -</p></li><li><p>What actions or inactions(only mine) got me to where I am now? -</p></li><li><p>What ideas do I have for a solution? -</p></li><li><p>How will I get this done? -</p></li></ol><p>Each time I find a solution to one of these problems and apply it, I&#8217;m preventing that same problem from happening to me again in the future. With the 6 questions above, you can easily do this too! </p><h4><em>Step #3 - Make a list of the solutions you find</em></h4><ul><li><p>After I&#8217;ve found the solution, the next step is to write it down somewhere along with instructions so that my team and I can apply it later. Tip - try to write your solutions down into 1 to 3 sentence statements. For example, &#8220;Stop at stop signs&#8221; is one of the basic principles of driving, and it can be expressed in just 4 words.</p></li><li><p>As you find more and more solutions to problems, write them down on the same list.</p></li><li><p>Eventually, as the list grows, you should be able to look at your solutions and separate them into categories. So if your list has a lot of solutions around talking to customers, then one category would be &#8220;talking to customers&#8221;.</p></li></ul><h4><em>Step #4 - Use the solutions you already have to solve new problems faster</em></h4><p>From there, whenever you go to solve one of the problems you&#8217;ve written down throughout the week, ask yourself &#8220;what category does this problem most relate to?&#8221;</p><p>Then, just look for the solution(s) that seem most relevant to your current problem. If there&#8217;s one on the list you haven&#8217;t tried yet, this is probably the answer to the problem.</p><h4><em>Step #5 - Make videos to go along with your solutions so your team can use them easily</em></h4><p>I&#8217;ve found it very personally useful to make videos walking through how I applied a solution I found to a certain issue. But more importantly, my team has found this useful in carrying out the solutions themselves. </p><p>If you want to give instructions for how to do something that requires a laptop or phone, use a screen recorder app to record yourself while you demonstrate your solution.</p><p>For things that require a laptop, I use a website called <a href="https://www.loom.com/">Loom</a>. It lets you record your computer screen and voice while you browse, and then download the video when you&#8217;re done.</p><p></p><p>Thank you for reading this article from The Goal Doctors - Providing clarity and guidance for people who chase big goals!</p><p></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">The Goal Doctors is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[How do I follow up with customers after they buy? ]]></title><description><![CDATA[A simple way to gain referrals and repeat customers]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/how-do-i-follow-up-with-customers</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/how-do-i-follow-up-with-customers</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 05 Mar 2025 04:36:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!r8-R!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F14ff2304-9400-419d-ba29-4db8ff19721c_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!r8-R!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F14ff2304-9400-419d-ba29-4db8ff19721c_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!r8-R!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F14ff2304-9400-419d-ba29-4db8ff19721c_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!r8-R!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F14ff2304-9400-419d-ba29-4db8ff19721c_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!r8-R!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F14ff2304-9400-419d-ba29-4db8ff19721c_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!r8-R!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F14ff2304-9400-419d-ba29-4db8ff19721c_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!r8-R!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F14ff2304-9400-419d-ba29-4db8ff19721c_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/14ff2304-9400-419d-ba29-4db8ff19721c_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:120693,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/i/158415912?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F14ff2304-9400-419d-ba29-4db8ff19721c_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!r8-R!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F14ff2304-9400-419d-ba29-4db8ff19721c_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!r8-R!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F14ff2304-9400-419d-ba29-4db8ff19721c_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!r8-R!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F14ff2304-9400-419d-ba29-4db8ff19721c_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!r8-R!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F14ff2304-9400-419d-ba29-4db8ff19721c_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Most times after a customer purchases something from a business, the business stops talking to them and neglects to keep in touch.</p><p>That's unfortunate because one of the easiest times to get someone&#8217;s attention is after they've shown they like you enough to spend their money with you.</p><p>Even more, it's the biggest opportunity we have to make someone who's a customer want to come back and become a repeat customer.</p><p>I recently read a book called &#8220;Giftology&#8221; by John Ruhlin. The book gives a full guide on how you can use gifts to keep in touch with your customers and make them wanna keep coming back. The rest of this article will explain how I've been using what I learned from the book, and how you can use it too.</p><p>Note &#8212; While I&#8217;m writing this article in the context of gifting a customer, these lessons also apply when sending gifts to members of your team. This increases the connection that your team members feel to the place they work. </p><h4><strong>Step 1 - Pick a good gift</strong></h4><p>&#8220;What would make a great gift for (insert person)?&#8221;</p><p>For people like me, this can be a tough question to answer. That question has terrorized me at times because I just don&#8217;t know the right answer in most cases. But luckily the &#8220;Giftology&#8221; book gives a pretty straight forward list of the things that make up a good gift:</p><ul><li><p>Get gifts that the person can use again and again. Ask myself &#8220;would this person use (insert gift. likely an item or service) 5+ times in the next month?</p></li><li><p>When you give a gift, try to give one that the person &amp; their whole family, friend group, or work team/staff will benefit from or enjoy too &#8212; not just them</p></li><li><p>No food or beverages. There&#8217;s a lot of ways that could go wrong and get a negative response, so manage risks and just avoid that for the most part</p></li><li><p>No gift cards(too basic)</p></li><li><p>If you&#8217;re giving a gift to someone working on your team or one of your customers, it shouldn&#8217;t have your company logo on it. That says &#8220;I wanna give you this so you can advertise my company&#8221; more than it says &#8220;I care about you and I&#8217;m giving you this without expecting anything in return&#8221;</p></li></ul><p>To think of a gift that fits the criteria above, I&#8217;ve found it useful to copy and paste the following bolded text into Chat GPT or a similar AI app: </p><p><strong>Please give a list of gift ideas for my customer considering the rules and notes below: </strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>Rules &#8212; The gift must be something they&#8217;ll use 5+ times in the next month. Will the gift benefit the customer&#8217;s friends or family members too? No food or beverages. No gift cards. Nothing that seems like I&#8217;m &#8220;gifting&#8221; a branded or promotional item </strong></p></li><li><p><strong>Did they mention having any goals, problems, recent accomplishments, or special occasions? &#8212; (insert your answer)</strong></p></li><li><p><strong>What do I know about their background? &#8212; (insert your answer)</strong></p></li><li><p><strong>What are their likes and interests? &#8212; (insert your answer)</strong></p></li><li><p><strong>What's their gender(that they I.D as)? &#8212; (insert your answer)</strong></p></li><li><p><strong>What's their age or age range? &#8212; (insert your answer)</strong></p></li></ul><p>Wherever you see &#8220;(insert your answer)&#8221;, please type any answers you might have to the correlated question. </p><p>Finally, generate the list of gift ideas and pick the one that you think best fits the criteria.</p><h4>Step 2 - Always make your gifts as personalized as possible.</h4><p>The easiest way to make a gift feel special to the person receiving it is to make the gift personal. Now that you've picked the gift you wanna send to your customer, here are a few tips to make it as personal as possible:</p><ul><li><p>If you can, opt to get the person&#8217;s name or a short message printed onto the item. For example, don&#8217;t just get a generic mug. Get them a mug with their name or nickname, or a funny quote that they always say printed on it</p></li><li><p>Always send a hand written note with anything physical. If it&#8217;s not a physical gift, still send a nice personal note or message over text or something</p></li><li><p>If at all possible, don&#8217;t get something shipped directly to the person from the store or site you bought it at. For example, try not to just get an Amazon box sent to someone. Instead, get it shipped to yourself first so you can make it personal(maybe wrap the box or add a nice note or something). Then send it to the person</p></li></ul><h4>Step 3 - Decide when you'll send or give the gift</h4><p>This part is pretty easy. Just pick a day. But before you do that, keep this rule in mind: <strong>Don&#8217;t send gifts on the obvious dates like holidays and birthdays. Gifts are much better received when they&#8217;re unexpected.</strong></p><ul><li><p>Avoid November 15th to January 1st. That&#8217;s holiday season, and it&#8217;s the easiest time for your gift to get lost in the shuffle. Besides that, don&#8217;t send a gift within 30 days after a major holiday or their birthday. They might be receiving a lot of other gifts at this time making it harder for yours to standout</p></li><li><p>A good number of times to gift a person in a year is 2 to 4 times(once a quarter, or once every other quarter). More than that can seem excessive</p></li><li><p>Don&#8217;t send a gift to a customer right after they made a purchase or bought from you because that seems more like a transaction than just giving out of care for them. It says &#8220;you bought from me, so I&#8217;m sending you this &#8216;gift&#8217; in return&#8221; more so than it says &#8220;I was just thinking about you&#8221;. Instead, set a reminder on your calendar to send the gift a month or 2 after the purchase so it&#8217;s unexpected</p></li><li><p>That last tip also applies to gifting a member of your team that helped you or did a favor. Again, if you gift them right after they helped you, it seems transactional(you helped me, so now I&#8217;m sending you this &#8220;gift&#8221; in return).</p></li></ul><p>Once you've decided on a date and sent the gift, you're done. All that's left is for your customer to open it and feel appreciation for you.</p><p>One thing I can see being a concern for many people is &#8220;What if I can't afford to buy gifts for all my customers?&#8221; To deal with this cover:</p><ul><li><p>Use (1)creativity and (2)focusing on fewer people to overcome what you lack in money or a &#8220;gifts budget&#8221;</p></li><li><p>In the AI prompt provided in Step 1, change the the first sentence from &#8220;Please give a list of gift ideas&#8230;&#8221; to &#8220;Please give a list of <strong>free</strong> gift ideas&#8230;&#8221;</p></li><li><p>If you have no budget for this at all, just send a personal thank you note to your customers and make sure it&#8217;s hand written. That goes a long way.</p></li></ul>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Big Goals Tool]]></title><description><![CDATA[Create A Perfect Plan to Accomplish Your Goal at Work In 5 Steps]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/the-gameplan-tool</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/the-gameplan-tool</guid><pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 23:28:26 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/fb15781c-32b9-4d6c-9396-be4bbb16432a_1280x720.gif" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xJYM!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e1694bf-ea60-4565-a4e6-ed0514e27bb0_1280x720.gif" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xJYM!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e1694bf-ea60-4565-a4e6-ed0514e27bb0_1280x720.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xJYM!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e1694bf-ea60-4565-a4e6-ed0514e27bb0_1280x720.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xJYM!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e1694bf-ea60-4565-a4e6-ed0514e27bb0_1280x720.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xJYM!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e1694bf-ea60-4565-a4e6-ed0514e27bb0_1280x720.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xJYM!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e1694bf-ea60-4565-a4e6-ed0514e27bb0_1280x720.gif" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/2e1694bf-ea60-4565-a4e6-ed0514e27bb0_1280x720.gif&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1840922,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/gif&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.goaldoctors.com/i/156333681?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e1694bf-ea60-4565-a4e6-ed0514e27bb0_1280x720.gif&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xJYM!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e1694bf-ea60-4565-a4e6-ed0514e27bb0_1280x720.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xJYM!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e1694bf-ea60-4565-a4e6-ed0514e27bb0_1280x720.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xJYM!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e1694bf-ea60-4565-a4e6-ed0514e27bb0_1280x720.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xJYM!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e1694bf-ea60-4565-a4e6-ed0514e27bb0_1280x720.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>What was the last goal you decided to chase but never fully reached because you stopped making progress? </p><p>When you&#8217;ve thought of something, ask yourself next &#8220;Did I ever write down a plan for how exactly I&#8217;d reach that goal?&#8221; If the answer is no, we&#8217;ve got a solution that will make it easy to answer &#8220;yes&#8221; in the future: The Big Goals Tool.</p><p>By just following the 5 simple steps below, you can create a custom game plan for your work or life goals so that you&#8217;ll finally have clarity on the steps you need to take and a system to keep you on track.</p><p><strong>Please watch this video for a walkthrough of the 5 steps</strong>:</p><div class="native-video-embed" data-component-name="VideoPlaceholder" data-attrs="{&quot;mediaUploadId&quot;:&quot;1b0d1878-31f7-4e45-ac94-7b9982f8e2d8&quot;,&quot;duration&quot;:null}"></div><blockquote><p><strong>Step 1 - Download the PDF below:</strong></p></blockquote><p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R3woqssJZrHvPMwAiOsOPCwKwPqV2fZA/view?usp=sharing">PDF - The Big Goals Tool Assisting Attachment</a></p><blockquote><p><strong>Step 2 - Copy the italicized paragraph below and paste it into Chat GPT:</strong></p></blockquote><div><hr></div><p><em>Hey chat gpt, please write a game plan for the goal below that answers the 7 questions in the &#8220;The goal gameplan questions for ai&#8221; section of the pdf attached:</em></p><p><em>1. What's your goal and why? - (<strong>insert answer</strong>)</em></p><p><em>2. What date do I want to have this goal done by? Aim for within the next 6 to 12 months? - (<strong>insert answer</strong>)</em></p><p><em>3. Are there any obstacles(internally or externally) that you fear would get in the way of you reaching your goal or slow down your progress? - (<strong>insert answer</strong>)</em></p><div><hr></div><blockquote><p><strong>Step 3 - Attach the PDF you downloaded in Step 1 to your ai prompt</strong></p></blockquote><blockquote><p><strong>Step 4 - Write an answer wherever you see &#8220;(insert answer)&#8221; in your ai prompt</strong></p></blockquote><blockquote><p><strong>Step 5 - Generate your gameplan</strong></p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Day 7 of Setting Up Your New Business Plan]]></title><description><![CDATA[An Example of a Game Plan From The Business Plan Tool]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/day-7-of-setting-up-your-new-business</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/day-7-of-setting-up-your-new-business</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:02:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1595a050-243d-4a38-922d-3a2df7eeeba1_500x500.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I recently wrote a <a href="https://goaldoctors.substack.com/p/the-business-plan-tool">blog post explaining how you can make a perfect business plan</a> around a product, service, or skill that you want to sell in just 5 steps.</p><p>In that post, we made a sample plan to become a virtual personal trainer. So I launched our 7-day walkthrough following the plan we created. This way:</p><ol><li><p>you can see an example of how you'd put together your own game plan, and</p></li><li><p>I can fulfill my dream of online training.</p></li></ol><p>The rest of this post will show Day 7 of the ai generated business plan that we will be putting together. Congratulations, you made it! </p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/day-7-of-setting-up-your-new-business">
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          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Business Plan Tool]]></title><description><![CDATA[5 Steps to a Perfect Business Plan Around Your Talents]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/business-plan-tool</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/business-plan-tool</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:32:52 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/33613080-4315-4e50-834d-3cafc01fd90c_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you&#8217;re here, it&#8217;s likely because you have a skill that you want to use to make money. Well look no further. You&#8217;re at the perfect place to get started. </p><p>Q: How will you monetize your skill? </p><p>A: By starting a business around it </p><p>Q: Well what if I don&#8217;t know how to start a business? </p><p>A: No worries, that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re here for. </p><p>Just follow the steps in the video below, and you'll have a full game plan explaining how to build your new business in no time! </p><p><strong>What you'll need</strong> - the <a href="https://chatgpt.com/">Chat GPT website</a>(if you're on a laptop) or <a href="https://openai.com/chatgpt/download/">app(if you're on a phone)</a>. Both are free, so if you're prompted to pay for anything when you're signing up&#8230; don&#8217;t.</p><div class="native-video-embed" data-component-name="VideoPlaceholder" data-attrs="{&quot;mediaUploadId&quot;:&quot;0ea1da17-3c41-4659-9a13-f9978cb2b7e7&quot;,&quot;duration&quot;:null}"></div><blockquote><p><strong>Step 1 - Download the PDF below:</strong></p></blockquote><p><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&amp;id=1UNA2RvWa6G5nkOjj0jGfzeNtNVQMhpD4">$100M Leads by Alex Hormozi Book Summary.pdf</a></p><p></p><blockquote><p><strong>Step 2 - Copy this italicized paragraph and paste it into Chat GPT:</strong></p></blockquote><p><em>Hey chat gpt, please write a game plan for the goal below that answers the 8 questions in the &#8220;questions you'll need to ask to create your own sales funnel&#8221; section of the pdf attached:</em></p><ol><li><p><em>What's your goal and why? - (insert answer)</em></p></li><li><p><em>What's the name of your business? If you don't have a name, just say &#8220;dont have one yet&#8221; - (insert answer)</em></p></li><li><p><em>What is your product, service, or skill? - (insert answer)</em></p></li></ol><p></p><blockquote><p><strong>Step 3 - attach the PDF you downloaded in Step 1 to your Chat GPT prompt</strong></p></blockquote><p></p><blockquote><p><strong>Step 4 - write an answer wherever you see &#8220;(insert answer)&#8221; in your Chat GPT prompt</strong></p></blockquote><p></p><blockquote><p><strong>Step 5 - generate your business plan</strong></p></blockquote><p></p><p>Bonus - Wanna see the business plan I generated in the walkthrough video? <a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/goaldoctors/p/how-to-to-become-a-virtual-personal?r=2n9e6v&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;showWelcomeOnShare=true">Click here to check it out!</a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Day 6 of Setting Up Your New Business Plan]]></title><description><![CDATA[An Example of a Game Plan From The Business Plan Tool]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/day-6-of-setting-up-your-new-business</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/day-6-of-setting-up-your-new-business</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 26 Dec 2024 13:16:47 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/175c5571-c8ec-4ab5-a320-c9483db7ad84_500x500.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I recently wrote a <a href="https://goaldoctors.substack.com/p/the-business-plan-tool">blog post explaining how you can make a perfect business plan</a> around a product, service, or skill that you want to sell in just 5 steps.</p><p>In that post, we made a sample plan to become a virtual personal trainer. So I launched our 7-day walkthrough following the plan we created. This way:</p><ol><li><p>you can see an example of how you'd put together your own game plan, and</p></li><li><p>I can fulfill my dream of online training.</p></li></ol><p>The rest of this post will show Day 6 of the ai generated business plan that we will be putting together.</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/day-6-of-setting-up-your-new-business">
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Day 5 of Setting Up Your New Business Plan]]></title><description><![CDATA[An Example of a Game Plan From The Business Plan Tool]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/day-5-of-setting-up-your-new-business</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/day-5-of-setting-up-your-new-business</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 25 Dec 2024 13:15:45 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0f66233a-d3ef-4cff-9ed1-6b250a5bd7b4_500x500.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I recently wrote a <a href="https://goaldoctors.substack.com/p/the-business-plan-tool">blog post explaining how you can make a perfect business plan</a> around a product, service, or skill that you want to sell in just 5 steps.</p><p>In that post, we made a sample plan to become a virtual personal trainer. So I launched our 7-day walkthrough following the plan we created. This way:</p><ol><li><p>you can see an example of how you'd put together your own game plan, and</p></li><li><p>I can fulfill my dream of online training.</p></li></ol><p>The rest of this post will show Day 5 of the ai generated business plan that we will be putting together.</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/day-5-of-setting-up-your-new-business">
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      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Day 4 of Setting Up Your New Business Plan]]></title><description><![CDATA[An Example of a Game Plan From The Business Plan Tool]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/day-4-of-setting-up-your-new-business</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/day-4-of-setting-up-your-new-business</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:02:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/47541612-a887-410c-880a-1c230082d424_500x500.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I recently wrote a <a href="https://goaldoctors.substack.com/p/the-business-plan-tool">blog post explaining how you can make a perfect business plan</a> around a product, service, or skill that you want to sell in just 5 steps.</p><p>In that post, we made a sample plan to become a virtual personal trainer. So I launched our 7-day walkthrough following the plan we created. This way:</p><ol><li><p>you can see an example of how you'd put together your own game plan, and</p></li><li><p>I can fulfill my dream of online training.</p></li></ol><p>The rest of this post will show Day 4 of the ai generated business plan that we will be putting together.</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/day-4-of-setting-up-your-new-business">
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[How Giving Better Gifts Can Bring You More Customers]]></title><description><![CDATA[A Book Summary of Giftology by John Ruhlin]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/how-giving-better-gifts-can-bring</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/how-giving-better-gifts-can-bring</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:31:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1ec09e14-0a2c-494a-a717-a0f00c815e16_259x194.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Most times after a customer purchases something from a business, the business stops talking to them and neglects to keep in touch.</p><p>That's unfortunate because one of the easiest times to get someone&#8217;s attention is after they've shown they like you enough to spend their money with you. </p><p>Even more, it's the biggest opportunity we have to make someone who's a customer want to come back and become a repeat customer. </p><p>I recently read a book called &#8220;Giftology&#8221; by John Ruhlin. The book gives a full guide on how you can use gifts to keep in touch with your customers and make them wanna keep coming back. The rest of this article will explain how I've been using what I learned from the book, and how you can use it too.</p><p>Note &#8212; While I&#8217;m writing this article in the context of gifting a customer, these lessons also apply when sending gifts to your teammates, friends, and family.</p><h4><strong>Step 1 - Pick a good gift </strong></h4><p>&#8220;What would make a great gift for (insert person)?&#8221; </p><p>For people like me, this can be a tough question to answer. That question has terrorized me at times because I just don&#8217;t know the right answer in most cases. But luckily the &#8220;Giftology&#8221; book gives a pretty straight forward list of the things that make up a good gift:</p><ul><li><p>Get gifts that the person can use again and again. Ask myself &#8220;would this person use (insert gift. likely an item or service) 5+ times in the next month?</p></li><li><p>When you give a gift, try to give one that the person &amp; their whole family, friend group, or work team/staff will benefit from or enjoy too &#8212; not just them</p></li><li><p>No food or beverages. There&#8217;s a lot of ways that could go wrong and get a negative response, so manage risks and just avoid that for the most part</p></li><li><p>No gift cards(too basic)</p></li><li><p>If you&#8217;re giving a gift to someone working on your team or one of your customers, it shouldn&#8217;t have your company logo on it. That says &#8220;I wanna give you this so you can advertise my company&#8221; more than it says &#8220;I care about you and I&#8217;m giving you this without expecting anything in return&#8221;</p></li></ul><p>To think of a gift that fits the criteria above, I&#8217;ve found it useful to copy and paste the following prompt into Chat GPT or a similar AI app&#8212; &#8220;Please give a list of gift ideas for someone who(insert notes about the person) considering the rules below: (insert the bullet list from Step 1).&#8221;</p><p>Next, copy and paste the 5 bullet points a couple paragraphs above this into the &#8220;(insert the bullet list from Step 1)&#8221; part of the prompt.</p><p>Lastly, in the &#8220;(insert notes about the person)&#8221; section, type any answers you might have to the questions below: </p><ul><li><p>What&#8217;s the occasion?</p></li><li><p>Did they mention any goals, problems, or recent accomplishments they have?</p></li><li><p>What do I know about their background? </p></li><li><p>What are their likes and interests?</p></li><li><p>What's their gender(that they I.D as)?</p></li><li><p>What's their age or age range?</p></li></ul><p>From there, generate the list of gift ideas and pick the one that you think best fits the criteria. </p><h4>Step 2 - Always make your gifts as personalized as possible.</h4><p>The easiest way to make a gift feel special to the person receiving it is to make the gift personal. Now that you've picked the gift you wanna send to your customer, here are a few tips to make it as personal as possible:</p><ul><li><p>If you can, opt to get the person&#8217;s name or a short message printed onto the item. For example, don&#8217;t just get a generic mug. Get them a mug with their name or nickname, or a funny quote that they always say printed on it</p></li><li><p>If at all possible, don&#8217;t get something shipped directly to the person from the store or site you bought it at. For example, try not to just get an Amazon box sent to someone. Instead, get it shipped to yourself first so you can make it personal(maybe wrap the box or add a nice note or something). Then send it to the person</p></li><li><p>Always send a hand written note with anything physical. If it&#8217;s not a physical gift, still send a nice personal note or message over text or something</p></li></ul><h4>Step 3 - Decide when you'll send or give the gift</h4><p>This part is pretty easy. Just pick a day. But  before you do that, keep this rule in mind: <strong>Don&#8217;t send gifts on the obvious dates like holidays and birthdays. Gifts are much better received when they&#8217;re unexpected.</strong></p><ul><li><p>Avoid November 15th to January 1st. That&#8217;s holiday season, and it&#8217;s the easiest time for your gift to get lost in the shuffle. Besides that, don&#8217;t send a gift within 30 days after a major holiday or their birthday. They might be receiving a lot of other gifts at this time making it harder for yours to standout </p></li><li><p>A good number of times to gift a person in a year is 2 to 4 times(once a quarter, or once every other quarter). More than that can seem excessive</p></li><li><p>Don&#8217;t send a gift to a customer right after they made a purchase or bought from you because that seems more like a transaction than just giving out of care for them. It says &#8220;you bought from me, so I&#8217;m sending you this &#8216;gift&#8217; in return&#8221; more so than it says &#8220;I was just thinking about you&#8221;. Instead, set a reminder on your calendar to send the gift a month or 2 after the purchase so it&#8217;s unexpected</p></li><li><p>That last tip also applies to gifting a member of your team that helped you or did a favor. Again, if you gift them right after they helped you, it seems transactional(you helped me, so now I&#8217;m sending you this &#8220;gift&#8221; in return). </p></li></ul><p>Once you've decided on a date and sent the gift, you're done. All that's left is for your customer to open it and feel appreciation for you. </p><p>One thing I can see being a concern for many people is &#8220;What if I can't afford to buy gifts for all my customers?&#8221; To deal with this cover:  </p><ul><li><p>Use (1)creativity and (2)focusing on fewer people to overcome what you lack in money or a &#8220;gifts budget&#8221;</p></li><li><p>In the AI prompt provided in Step 1, change the the first sentence from &#8220;Please give a list of gift ideas&#8230;&#8221; to &#8220;Please give a list of <strong>free</strong> gift ideas&#8230;&#8221; </p></li><li><p>If you have no budget for this at all, just send a personal thank you note to your customers and make sure it&#8217;s hand written. That goes a long way. </p></li></ul>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Days 2 and 3 of Setting Up Your New Business Plan]]></title><description><![CDATA[An Example of a Game Plan From The Business Plan Tool]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/days-2-and-3-of-setting-up-your-new</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/days-2-and-3-of-setting-up-your-new</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:09:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f313c64c-79e8-40c6-9b30-d0bc152acbdc_500x500.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I recently wrote a <a href="https://goaldoctors.substack.com/p/the-business-plan-tool">blog post explaining how you can make a perfect business plan</a> around a product, service, or skill that you want to sell in just 5 steps. </p><p>In that post, we made a sample plan to become a virtual personal trainer.  So yesterday I launched the start of our 7-day walkthrough following the plan we created. This way:</p><ol><li><p>you can see an example of how you'd put together your own game plan, and</p></li><li><p>I can fulfill my dream of online training.</p></li></ol><p>The rest of this post will show Days 2 and 3 of the ai generated business plan that we will be putting together.</p>
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          <a href="https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/days-2-and-3-of-setting-up-your-new">
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Day 1 of Setting Up Your New Business Plan]]></title><description><![CDATA[An Example of a Game Plan From The Business Plan Tool]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/how-to-to-become-a-virtual-personal</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/how-to-to-become-a-virtual-personal</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Mitchell]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 18 Dec 2024 02:30:38 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b1563f58-cc42-48d1-985e-25ad638eaf02_500x500.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I recently wrote a <a href="https://goaldoctors.substack.com/p/the-business-plan-tool">blog post explaining how you can make a perfect business plan</a> around a product, service, or skill that you want to sell in just 5 steps. </p><p>In that post, I put together an example business plan that would help me become a virtual personal trainer(a lifelong dream of mine&#8230; since last week). </p><p>While virtual training isn't actually something I ALWAYS wanted to do, it sounds cool. In fact, it sounds so cool that over the next 7 days we'll be carrying out that business plan I generated together. This way:</p><ol><li><p>you can see an example of how you'd put together your own game plan, and</p></li><li><p>I can fulfill my dream of online training.</p></li></ol><p>So the rest of this post will show Day 1 of the ai generated business plan that we will be putting together.</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/how-to-to-become-a-virtual-personal">
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Business Plan Tool]]></title><description><![CDATA[Create A Simple Plan to Start Your Business With These 5 Steps]]></description><link>https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/the-business-plan-tool</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.goaldoctors.com/p/the-business-plan-tool</guid><pubDate>Sat, 14 Dec 2024 21:10:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7407dd9a-fb64-487c-b4b7-aa80c09a23c2_1280x720.gif" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Rf!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd44215b3-87bb-41ae-85c0-47d60231cba5_960x540.gif" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Rf!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd44215b3-87bb-41ae-85c0-47d60231cba5_960x540.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Rf!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd44215b3-87bb-41ae-85c0-47d60231cba5_960x540.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Rf!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd44215b3-87bb-41ae-85c0-47d60231cba5_960x540.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Rf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd44215b3-87bb-41ae-85c0-47d60231cba5_960x540.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Rf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd44215b3-87bb-41ae-85c0-47d60231cba5_960x540.gif" width="960" height="540" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Rf!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd44215b3-87bb-41ae-85c0-47d60231cba5_960x540.gif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Rf!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd44215b3-87bb-41ae-85c0-47d60231cba5_960x540.gif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Rf!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd44215b3-87bb-41ae-85c0-47d60231cba5_960x540.gif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F8Rf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd44215b3-87bb-41ae-85c0-47d60231cba5_960x540.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>We all have genius business ideas. Some people even intend to bring those ideas to life, but they never take action.</p><p>Why? It&#8217;s not because they aren&#8217;t capable, but because they don&#8217;t know the best way to get started.</p><p>What&#8217;s the biggest obstacle? No clear and simple plan.</p><p>To get around this, we made the Business Plan Tool. It gives you a step-by-step plan so you can start your business the easiest way possible and begin getting customers. No more confusion, just confidence and the daily habits that will bring your vision to life.</p><p>The only thing standing in your way are the 5 simple steps below.</p><p><strong>Please watch this video for a walkthrough of the 5 steps</strong>:</p><div class="native-video-embed" data-component-name="VideoPlaceholder" data-attrs="{&quot;mediaUploadId&quot;:&quot;71fd595a-dc69-4089-89a7-270647ab2118&quot;,&quot;duration&quot;:null}"></div><blockquote><p><strong>Step 1 - Download the PDF below:</strong></p></blockquote><p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/14avk_h3vHvKMA_BkamoOuYHNbYv5kSyO/view?usp=sharing">PDF - The Business Plan Tool Assisting Attachment</a></p><blockquote><p><strong>Step 2 - Copy this italicized paragraph and paste it into Chat GPT:</strong></p></blockquote><div><hr></div><p><em>Hey chat gpt, please write a game plan for the goal below that answers the 8 questions in the &#8220;questions you'll need to ask to create your own sales funnel&#8221; section of the pdf attached:</em></p><ol><li><p><em>What's your goal and why? - (<strong>insert answer</strong>)</em></p></li><li><p><em>What's the name of your business? If you don't have a name, just say &#8220;dont have one yet&#8221; - (<strong>insert answer</strong>)</em></p></li><li><p><em>What is your product, service, or skill? - (<strong>insert answer</strong>)</em></p></li></ol><div><hr></div><blockquote><p><strong>Step 3 - Attach the PDF you downloaded in Step 1 to your ai prompt</strong></p></blockquote><blockquote><p><strong>Step 4 - Write an answer wherever you see &#8220;(insert answer)&#8221; in your ai prompt</strong></p></blockquote><blockquote><p><strong>Step 5 - Generate your business plan</strong></p></blockquote>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>