Hey friends! If you’ve been following my journey for a while, you know I talk a lot about setting goals, managing stress, and the daily grind of building something meaningful. But today, I want to talk about the fireworks. I want to talk about the moment all those tiny steps coalesced into something monumental—the moment of the Big Win.
A “Big Win” isn’t just luck. It’s not winning the lottery (though that would be nice!). For me, a Big Win is the culmination of strategic planning, relentless effort, and sheer stubborn refusal to quit. It’s when the universe finally says, “Okay, fine, you earned it.”
My personal Big Win wasn’t a single event, but the pivotal turning point that validated nearly five years of sacrifice: successfully pivoting my career, launching my specialized consulting firm, and landing our first Tier 1 client—a deal that secured our runway for the next three years. It felt like standing on the summit of a mountain I wasn’t even sure I could climb.
This isn’t a boast; it’s a friendly roadmap. I want to share the practical, sometimes painful, steps I took so that maybe you can apply them to your own monumental goal, whatever your “Big Win” looks like.
1. The Grind Before the Glory: Why the Struggle Matters
Before the exhilarating high of signing that contract, there was an exhausting, demoralizing low. For years, I was stuck in a corporate job that paid the bills but stifled my creativity. My dream was to build a boutique firm focused on sustainable growth strategy—a niche I believed in deeply, but one that demanded massive upfront investment in time and reputation.
I spent nearly three years in what I now call the “Parallel Life Phase.” I worked my 9-to-5, and then worked my 5-to-midnight building the foundation of my business: crafting proposals, networking, developing proprietary frameworks, and teaching myself the labyrinthine world of startup finance.
The initial results were painful. I launched my first two minimal viable products (MVPs) to resounding silence. I pitched dozens of small firms and received generic rejections. I missed birthdays, skipped vacations, and drank way too much coffee. There were many evenings I genuinely contemplated deleting my business plan and just enjoying my evenings again.
The single biggest obstacle wasn’t the market; it was my own self-doubt. Every rejection felt like proof that the critics were right—I was too small, too specialized, too late. But that doubt became the fuel. I realized that if I was going to fail, I needed to fail forward, learning something critical from every mistake.
2. Key Ingredients to the Breakthrough
The shift from constant rejection to genuine success didn’t happen overnight, but it was driven by a few critical shifts in strategy. These are the non-negotiables that unlocked the door to my Big Win:
The 5 Pillars That Secured the Deal
Hyper-Focus on a Niche: I stopped trying to serve “everyone who needed strategy” and focused solely on mid-sized tech companies transitioning to sustainable supply chains. This allowed me to speak their specific language and demonstrate unparalleled expertise.
Document and Prove Results: Instead of just promising future success, I spent six months developing detailed case studies based on pro bono work I had done. I needed empirical evidence that my methods worked, even on a small scale.
The Power of the Network (Strategic Asks): I stopped generic networking events. I started identifying three specific high-level connectors per month and requested 15-minute consultations, treating them like a paid advisory session. I wasn’t asking for a job; I was asking for insight.
Mastering the Follow-Up: The target client for the Big Win deal initially ghosted me. I waited three months, sent a single relevant article I knew they’d find valuable, and simply asked, “How is the challenge going?” Persistence, not nagging, was key.
Investing in Infrastructure: I dedicated a significant portion of my minimal savings to professional legal and accounting setup before I even landed the major contract. This preparation signaled to the Tier 1 client that I was serious, scalable, and compliant.
3. The Metrics That Define Success
Landing that client was more than just a monetary boost; it was a fundamental shift in my stability and quality of life. Defining a Big Win requires looking beyond the dollar amount and assessing the tangible, measurable impact on your operations and bandwidth.
Here is a look at what changed when the “Big Win” came through:
Metric Before the Big Win (The Grind) After the Big Win (Stabilized) Change (%)
Average Hours Worked / Week 75+ (Corporate + Business) 55 (Focused Business) ↓ 27%
Project Revenue Pipeline $5,000 (Patchwork of small gigs) $350,000 (Secured Annual Contract) ↑ 6900%
Time Spent on Sales/Admin 40% 15% (Hired Part-Time Support) ↓ 62.5%
Confidence Level 3/10 (High Imposter Syndrome) 9/10 (Market Validation) ↑ 200%
Sleep Quality Poor (4-5 hours) Good (7+ hours) ↑ 50%
The most important figure here isn’t the revenue increase—it’s the 27% drop in time worked and the massive spike in confidence. The Big Win gave me back my time and validated my expertise, allowing me to finally breathe and delegate.
4. Building Momentum: What Happens Next?
The celebratory high lasted maybe 48 hours. Then the reality set in: now the real work starts. A Big Win doesn’t mean the game is over; it means you’ve earned the right to play at a higher level.
Securing that massive contract meant I had to immediately transition from a solo operator to a leader. I had to scale responsibly, maintaining the high quality and personalized service my firm was built on.
This is where the wisdom of others truly helped me ground myself. I kept this quote pinned above my desk during those intense scaling months:
“The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.” — Often attributed to legendary coach Vince Lombardi
This wasn’t just about celebrating the win; it was about honoring the preparation that made it possible. I immediately invested the upfront earnings into better systems, specialized training, and bringing on my first two dedicated contractors. The goal shifted from getting clients to delivering exceptional, repeatable results.
The path after the Big Win involves intense operational discipline, turning that single success into a replicable model. The key is to never let the success make you complacent.
FAQ: Your Path to Your Own Big Win
Achieving a goal this substantial often raises specific questions about sacrifice, timing, and strategy. Here are a few things people ask me most often:
Q1: How did you know when to finally quit your corporate job?
A: Timing is everything. I didn’t quit until the Big Win contract was signed and the first installment was securely in the bank. I followed the “6 Month Rule”: I needed enough secured future revenue plus personal savings to cover my operational and living expenses for at least six months if the contract suddenly fell apart. Leaving before you have tangible, signed proof of viability is trading anxiety for desperation.
Q2: Was the sacrifice worth the gain?
A: A qualified yes. The sacrifice was immense—mentally, emotionally, and socially. I missed significant time with family. However, the gain isn’t just financial freedom; it’s autonomy. The ability to control my time, choose my clients, and build a unique vision makes every hour of sacrifice worth it now. But be honest about the cost beforehand—it is heavy.
Q3: What was the single biggest setback you overcame?
A: Early on, I poured three months of work into a custom software solution only to discover a competitor had launched something nearly identical weeks before my release. It felt devastating, like three months wasted. I didn’t pivot away entirely; I doubled down on the human element. I scrapped the generic software and integrated personalized, high-touch consulting services around the existing tech, something the competitor couldn’t replicate at scale. The setback forced me to define my true differentiator.
Q4: How do you maintain the “win” momentum?
A: By immediately shifting focus from achievement to process refinement. Once you hit a major goal, document exactly how you did it. Turn the successful execution into a standard operating procedure (SOP). This turns a lucky break into a repeatable system, guaranteeing future wins are built on structure, not chance.
Closing Thoughts
For those of you grinding away at your own secret projects, building your own parallel careers, or just pushing hard toward that impossible-seeming goal: keep going.
Your Big Win isn’t waiting for a lucky break; it’s waiting for your preparation to intersect with opportunity. When you finally hit that homerun, remember to celebrate. But more importantly, remember to study the box score. Analysis is how you ensure the next Big Win is even bigger.
I’m rooting for you! Go build something monumental.