What I found to be the Most Important Asset in Business (and life).

Just to give you a little context, I’m not sitting on top of a multi-million dollar empire. We’re a team of eight insanely talented individuals who crush so hard our clients think there’s a hundred of us. I still tend to eat chicken that might be a little too old to be eaten, and survival on cashews on walnut is something I’m pretty good at these days. Don’t worry, I’m not malnourished or impoverished — I just tend to be a little over-practical in some areas of my life. My point is, the bootstrapping is real.

With that said, 7twelve has grown substantially month over month with our best months hitting numbers I only dreamed of a few years back. It’s seriously incredible to see what my team has done, and I couldn’t be more grateful for their dedication to the business and the vision. I told you I’d write about the most important thing that helped launched 7twelve Marketing, so here it is.

Rewind to December 2014.

Imagine getting fired from the first non-commission job you’ve had in almost five years. Imagine not having any savings and nothing to sell to cover rent that month. Imagine that this is your situation only months after you filed your LLC, wide-eyed with dreams of ‘doing your own thing’. Now imagine getting sued. For a lot of money. That, my friends is where I got to start 7twelve Marketing.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you I had a positive attitude about it.

I went into a weird depression. I was drinking heavily, ordering so much pizza that the guys at Dominos knew my name and my order. I wasn’t working out, sleeping in my bed, or even getting off the couch for like months. I was so fucking depressed I couldn’t even swipe right to find my next date. You know, because I found out that my girlfriend at the time was cheating on me. I did find a way to get out of it, though.

I was grateful.

It started with my faith, and then heavy doses of Tony Robbins to get the grateful juice going. I know what you’re thinking: cheesy, right? Well, as cheesy as it may be perceived to be, it worked. No, the tapes (tapes?) didn’t work, my willingness to learn worked. Anyone can listen to a podcast, anyone can watch a YouTube video that pumps you up, but the crazy thing is you actually have to get to work once you’re done with them. The ‘work’ in this case was on myself, on my mindset and on my habits.

What was there to be grateful for? Everything.

Every. Little. Thing.

When you can get to the point that you’re grateful for 99¢ Store bologna sandwiches, you’re on the right track. When you thank the heavens for the mom & pop pizza shop that paid you $600 dollars for 12 hours of consulting, a photoshoot, and to build a website, you’re on the right track. When you’re half way to tears for every check that comes in the mail because you can’t believe people continue to pay you, you’re on the right track.

When you can get your head in a place where the air you breathe, the feet you stand on, and the shirt on your back is true abundance, that’s when the real change happens.

That type of gratitude allows you to listen more when you’re sitting at the bigger tables. It empowers you to help someone else, or provide more value to your clients even when it’s inconvenient to you. It’s the beginning of self awareness, it’s the beginning of progress, and the beginning of real abundance. The best parts of you shine the brightest when you realize thatyou’re not entitled to anything.

In business, in life.

Your mind and body are your biggest assets in life and business, right? So why wouldn’t you fuel it properly? When you practice real gratitude, it opens up your mind to creative solutions for in every challenge in your life. It gets you to the gym, it fires you up for your 8 (or 18) hour workday, and gets you loving your friends and family more than you ever have in the past.

The freedom, energy, and outlook that practicing true gratitude has given me is greater than any dollar amount that I can ever imagine. I can’t remember the last time I had a ‘bad day’. I can’t remember the lat time I didn’t see an amazing future. I can’t even remember the last time something ‘ruined’ my day. I’m literally getting pumped up just writing this thing, and I’m grateful that I have the means to share this with you.

So what are you grateful for?