Successful, Exhausted & Lost

In partnership with

Coach Will here…

I hope your 2026 is off to a great start.

Earlier in my career, there was a moment burned into my brain like a scar.

I was 43 and had just been promoted to CEO. Running what everyone else called a "successful company."

Revenue? Growing.

Team? Expanding.

Calendar? Packed tighter than a New York subway at rush hour.

And I was completely. Freaking. Lost.

Here's the thing, though—I wasn't struggling. I was busy.

And there's a MASSIVE difference between the two.

Every morning, the same routine, no matter where I was in the world:

Wake up at 5 am. Drink Coffee. Workout. React to whatever screamed loudest. Put out fires. Answer emails. Sit in meetings that could've been a text message.

Collapse at night, feeling like I'd run a marathon...

...but built absolutely nothing.

You know that feeling?

When you're exhausted but can't point to anything meaningful you actually accomplished?

Yeah. That was my life.

Weeks melted into months. Months into years, and hoping to make it to the endgame.

I was in constant motion. But I wasn't making any real progress.

⚡️ The One Question

I was having coffee with my friend and mentor—a guy who'd built and sold three companies, the kind of person who sees through your BS in about 30 seconds.

He let me ramble about how "busy" I was for about five minutes.

Then he leaned back, took a sip of his coffee, and asked me something that stopped me cold:

"Will, what are you actually BUILDING? Not managing. Not maintaining. Building."

I opened my mouth to answer.

Nothing came out.

He just nodded. Like he already knew.

That question?

It cracked something wide open inside me.

Because here's what I realized sitting there, feeling like an idiot:

I'd spent years confusing activity with achievement. Motion with momentum. Being busy with being effective.

I was like a hamster on a wheel—working my tail off, going absolutely nowhere.

💥 Here's What I Figured Out

Success isn't about doing more stuff.

It's about thinking differently about the stuff you do.

And I mean really differently.

The busiest seasons of my career? Rarely the most profitable.

The most profitable ones? I was laser-focused. Crystal clear.

Making fewer decisions...but the right ones.

Think about that for a second.

Fewer decisions. More results.

Sounds backwards, right? But it's not.

I started calling this Alternative Thinking, thus AltLevel™ Strategist.

Not "alternative" like some weird contrarian nonsense or trying to be clever.

Alternative, as in: different from how most business owners think and operate.

Here's what I mean:

➡️ Most owners wake up and think about what to do next. Alternative Thinking asks what to decide next. (Big difference.)

➡️ Most owners optimize what exists. Alternative Thinking questions whether it should exist at all. (Sometimes the best optimization is deletion.)

➡️ Most owners react to the business all day long. Alternative Thinking designs the business to react to them. (You're the architect, not the firefighter.)

🧰 The New Framework

After five decades of trial, error, and the occasional breakthrough that made it all worth it, I've distilled all of this into one simple framework:

Think Bigger. Play Smarter. Win More.

Let me break it down for you:

✅ Think Bigger — Stop solving small problems that don't actually matter.

Your time is worth more than that. Instead, identify the ONE decision that makes ten others completely unnecessary.

Example: Instead of "How do I get more leads?" ask "What if I doubled my prices and served half the clients?"

Suddenly, you don't need more leads. You need better positioning.

See how that works?

✅ Play Smarter — Use AI as a thinking partner, not just a task robot. We're talking strategy here, not just speed.

Most people use AI like a fancy typewriter. They're missing the whole point.

The real power?

Using it to challenge your assumptions, spot blind spots, and think through scenarios you'd never consider on your own.

✅ Win More — Design your business around outcomes that actually matter, not activities that feel productive.

Here's a test: Look at your calendar from last week.

How many of those meetings, tasks, and "urgent" items actually moved you closer to your real goals?

Be honest.

If it's less than 50%, we need to talk.

🎯 Check This Out…..

Stop reading for a second and do this. Open ChatGPT (or whatever AI you use) and paste this exact prompt:

"I'm a business owner who's been busy but not building.

I need to identify the ONE thing I should focus on for the next 90 days that would actually move the needle—not just keep me occupied.

Ask me 5 rapid-fire questions about my business. Then tell me—bluntly—where I'm spinning my wheels and what deserves my real attention."

Do it right now. I'll wait.

The answers you get might surprise you. Or they might confirm what you already suspected but were afraid to admit.

Either way, you'll have more clarity in 10 minutes than most business owners get in a year.

📣 What About 2026?

It's here whether you're ready or not.

And honestly? The pace of change is only accelerating.

AI. Market shifts. Customer expectations. Competition that didn't exist six months ago.

The question isn't whether things will change. They absolutely will.

The real question is: Are you building something that matters, or are you just busy?

Are you designing your future, or just reacting to your present?

Are you making decisions that compound, or just checking boxes that don't?

I've been on both sides of this. I know what it feels like to be stuck in the busy trap. And I know what it feels like to break free.

The difference? It's not about working harder.

It's about thinking differently.

📊 Quick Poll

🌀 Ponder This…..

A final thought—my mentor, who asked me the hard question, told me something else that day:

"Will, the business you have today is a perfect reflection of your thinking that created it. If you want a different business, you need different thinking."

That hit me like a ton of bricks.

What would YOUR business look like if you thought about it completely differently?

Just something to chew on.

Think Bigger, Play Smarter, Win More!

—Coach Will

P.S. I'm putting together something special for Q1 that I'm genuinely excited about.

It's a small, focused group of business owners who are done with the busy trap and ready to build their 2026 with the right frameworks, tools, and community.

Not some massive course with 10,000 people you'll never meet.

A real group. Real conversations. Real accountability.

We're going to think bigger, play smarter, and win more—together, not alone.

If that sounds like something you need in your life right now, reply with one word: "INTERESTED."

I'll make sure you're first to hear the details when we open it up.

Your competitors are already automating. Here's the data.

Retail and ecommerce teams using AI for customer service are resolving 40-60% more tickets without more staff, cutting cost-per-ticket by 30%+, and handling seasonal spikes 3x faster.

But here's what separates winners from everyone else: they started with the data, not the hype.

Gladly handles the predictable volume, FAQs, routing, returns, order status, while your team focuses on customers who need a human touch. The result? Better experiences. Lower costs. Real competitive advantage. Ready to see what's possible for your business?

See it in action

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