Breakthroughs are awesome. When you’re building your business almost nothing feels better.

Finally taking that huge step you’ve been resisting, and seeing everything work out in a big way — it’s electric.

It’s what happens next that can send you right back to square one.

When you bask in the buzz for too long, and don’t build on the action that created the breakthrough, you can come crashing down to earth.

I call these moments ‘Trophy Breakthroughs’.

And they look like this:

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There’s something that scares the you know what out of you. That’s the biggest block standing between you and a huge leap forward.

And then one day … you get through it.

• Maybe it’s calling the person you’re scared to ask to work with you.
• Maybe it’s getting on the phone to book speaking gigs.
• Maybe it’s finally going to that high level networking event with the people you **really** want to work with.

But you do it!

You celebrate with an emotional post on Facebook, sharing how terrified you were. and not only was it not as bad as you thought.

It actually worked out better than you could have imagined!

You got the client. You booked the gig. You showed up where you were sure you were way out of your league, and people clamored to talk to you.

The response showers down upon you! It feels awesome! And everyone is so excited for you!

But here’s where it goes wrong …

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Because what happens next is you put the breakthrough up on your business ‘Trophy Shelf’. Where you can cherish it, tell stories about it, and relive the warm fuzzies of how good it made you feel.

And where it becomes the exception … instead of the rule.

Breakthroughs don’t exist for you to remember and relive. They are there for you to repeat.

A breakthrough is only truly valuable:

• When you re-create and build on the success it brought you over and over.
• When it becomes your new normal.
• When it becomes your floor (instead of your ceiling).
• When it becomes something you do almost without thinking about it.

And this is where you find one of the big differences between business owners who succeed and the ones who merely aspire to succeed:

The folks who succeed make a routine of their breakthroughs. The folks who aspire to succeed to make trophies out of their breakthroughs.

And as good as it feels to win that trophy, it’s not half as good as it feels when you win so many of them that it’s no longer a big deal.

So when you experience your next breakthrough:

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1.
By all means … celebrate! Feel awesome. Soak it in. And share!

2.
But don’t stop there. As quickly as you can … do what you need to do to re-create that breakthrough again. And again. And again.

3.
Do it so often that it no longer feels special, but just another part of your business you’re really good at, that brings you amazing results and satisfaction.

Because breakthroughs aren’t about the buzz.

The pats on the back and the emotional high you get from them are the Consolation Prize. (Like the free luggage you get when you lose on a game show).

The real gift of a breakthrough is when you have the focus and discipline to climb off the high, and repeat it so many times that it becomes the foundation for your next big business leap.