Welcome to One Thing Better. Each week, the editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine (that's me) shares one way to achieve a breakthrough at work — and build a career or company you love.
Today's edition is sponsored by Vanta — the all-in-one trust management platform. Details at the end of the newsletter.
You want to reach the "next level," but you're not sure how.
What's the next level for you? Maybe it's a promotion. Or charging higher prices. Or becoming more in-demand.
You're wondering: Why can't I get there? What else do I need to do!?
Today, I'll give you an answer — but it's going to sound strange: You must do the thing you stopped doing.
This was a recent revelation for me, and it's been an absolute game-changer.
I'll show you how it works — but first, here's how I've been using it myself:
How I got successfully lazy
See that photo? It's from my first-ever paid keynote in 2017. They offered a small fee and I thought I'd hit the jackpot. I rehearsed every day for weeks, including the night before my talk — and again the next morning.
The talk went well. Over the years, I got more work — bigger clients, larger fees. I've done Google, Microsoft, Pfizer, and more. (You can book me here!) But as this happened, my behavior shifted:
I started practicing less. In fact, I kinda stopped practicing at all.
Why? This will sound obnoxious, but I saw it as a perk of success. I thought: "Professional speakers don't need to practice. We just know our material!"
But also, if I'm being honest, that led to some sloppiness. I wasn't always 100% on stage. My timing might have been a little off. Or I'd stumble on a transition. Or I'd forget a joke.
Recently, I started asking myself: What will get me to the next level of speaking? I'm proud of what I've accomplished, but I know there's more room to grow.
So I decided to make two changes…
How I stepped it up
First, I developed a lot of new material, which I hadn't done since 2022. It took me a few months — workshopping, practicing, refining. It was hard but valuable.
Then I made a promise to myself: I am going to rehearse before every talk.
I developed a routine. When I travel for a keynote, I now block out time for my rehearsal — either the night before I talk, or the morning of. I perform the full thing in my hotel room, running through my slides on a laptop, while I time myself as if I'm on stage.
I don't care if I delivered the same talk a week prior. I still rehearse. And I am grateful every single time.
I know my material — but still, I stumble on every rehearsal! There are always a few moments where I'm rusty, or where I improvise something that fails. Then I pause, reflect, and try it again.
As a result, I show up on stage more confident. My material is sharper. And I am honoring my client, who paid good money for me to be excellent for their audience. They deserve the rehearsed version of me.
We can't forget what got us here
Here's what I've come to realize: As we become better at what we do, we sometimes take the fundamentals of our work less seriously.
We might think: I don't need to prepare. Or I don't need to study. Or I don't need that class, or that lesson, or that help.
But... what if we're wrong? What if we're standing atop a shaky foundation, because we're not nurturing the lowest levels underneath us?
Right now, ask yourself: "What did I used to do, that I stopped doing?"
Maybe the answer is...
"I used to watch my competitors, but now I'm not paying attention."
"I used to meet new people in my industry, but now I stick to my network."
"I used to research potential customers, but now I wing it on sales calls."
"I used to set aside time for big thinking, but now I just act on what's urgent."
Now ask yourself: "What would happen if I started doing those things again?"
As we grow in our careers, we start to believe that growth comes from newness — as if there are magical unlocks just waiting to be discovered.
But advancement doesn't really work that way. It isn't only about acquisition of the new. It's really about collecting and maintaining — keeping your fundamentals strong and then building on them.
How seriously do you want it?
I used to think: "The sign of a pro is nothaving to practice anymore."
But now I think: "The sign of a pro is taking my work extremely seriously."
I mean, NBA players still practice before every game! They're the best at what they do. So if that's how they stay at an elite level, I should expect the same for me.
That's really what I'm suggesting here: Through the rigor of our work, we must consistently show ourselves — and in our results, show others! — that we take this seriously.
That we'll still do the grunt work.
That we're never "too good" for the process of greatness.
And that's how to do one thing better.
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