Journaling and Accountability for Your Personal Success
Level 2- Value Investor
Welcome Avatar! WE’ve got BowTiedTiger here to outline his general journaling plan as a multiple business line owner. When you’re juggling a family, investments and a wide range of businesses (Med spa to Real Estate), being organized and accountable is the only way to make it.
The article is entirely written by Tiger. We’ve added a section for our own basic outline (still use it today). It’s a lot more simple and designed for newbies who need to stop procrastinating “I’ll do it tomorrow” types.
Tiger’s Journaling Protocol: Introspectively Mastering Your Game
Journaling is not a random action, it should be a disciplined practice to view your life, improve your focus, and be used as a tool to enable you to execute on your goals. This journaling protocol is designed for those who are truly seeking self-awareness and for developing a blueprint for consistent action. The process is divided into Daily Journaling and Quarterly Planning.
Daily Journaling
As each day ends, I complete a simple exercise that, over time, is transformative. First, reflect on the day comprehensively. Was today a win or a loss (general feeling- physically/relationships/business)? Then evaluate three areas: meaningful actions taken, successes and failures. Meaningful actions should be: based upon your intentions and goals- what did you do to move the ball down field today? Successes are used to guide future actions and provide momentum; failures need to be evaluated to uncover why they happened and prevent them from happening again.
If you failed to move the needle, look inward: Was the obstacle internal or external? How can you limit the risk of this recurring? Writing daily, and reviewing your entries on some interval, keeps you from self-delusion and highlights recurring patterns that need to be addressed. The more specific you are in identifying patterns, the more actionable your solutions will become. You will take lessons from all of this and build yourself stronger as you become more practiced.
Quarterly Journaling/Planning
My quarterly and year end reviews go beyond reflection; they are an exhaustive, deep dive into what I see as the core pillars of your life: Physical and Sexual Health, Spiritual and Mental Health, Work and Finances, and Personal Relationships. You will construct what will be a tree structure. Each pillar is treated as the trunk of a tree, with branches representing subcategories and your specific objectives and goals within that trunk, and leaves embodying specific challenges, roadblocks, opportunities, and solutions to those challenges that exist.
The process begins with a stream-of-consciousness exercise for each pillar. Write freely and continuously for three to five minutes to articulate how you feel (keep it general and just keep writing): gut check, what is working, and what is not. You need to be completely honest with yourself and this will set the stage for deeper introspection. Read and internalize this.
Next, expand into detailed goal-setting for the next one, five, and ten years. If there is a great deal to work on you need separate trunks for each timeframe. Your goals need to reflect your current reality and your ideal outcome- how far apart are you? The further apart you are, the more time you need to spend in deep thought on this branch.
Now identify roadblocks for each goal. Visualize all potential challenges and assign some relative probability to each. A very general example: if your goal is to lose 10% body fat by X date, roadblocks might include time constraints (high probability), social obligations and pressure (moderate probability), and injury (low probability), etc. Prioritize solutions based on the relative probability and begin to design a roadmap to anticipate and mitigate the scenarios preventing you from optimizing every section of your life.
Break each roadblock into smaller components, taking each branch to its terminal depth. What’s the worst-case outcome? How can I avoid it? If it happens, how will I recover? What would my action be? By methodically addressing every possible obstacle, you’re not just reacting to challenges- you’re proactively solving them.
This iterative process breaks down problems into fundamental pieces and empowers you to build solutions from the ground up. Over time, this method will sharpen your strategic thinking, gut instinct, and resilience. You should be prepared for any eventuality.
Once you have mapped out every little branch for each trunk, read it all again. Digest it, adjust, add, delete, etc. Consolidate all of this into a comprehensive action plan for your quarter or year. Execution is non-negotiable.
Revisit and refine your tree each quarter, prune solved issues or outdated branches and add new branches as your life evolves. Having a cadence to reflect on your past iterations allows you to see patterns and pivot more effectively.
Introduction to Management and Scaling: Building Your Empire with Precision
Scaling a business is not about getting bigger; it’s about becoming better. Effective management requires effective communication, clear expectations, boundaries, and an unhealthy obsession with efficiency. I will provide a framework for building systems that scale, managing people effectively, and maintaining this efficiency as you continue down the road of execution and success. This approach should be rigorous and malleable.
Expectations, Consequences, and Boundaries
At the center of great management lies the need for absolute unwavering clarity. Expectations of both you, and those you manage, must be explicit, quantifiable, and understood by all parties (read: a monkey).
For every role you employ and every task they are responsible for- you need to write and demonstrate a clear SOP (documentation they can read, and even better, use YouTube or some other platform to make video guides of their tasks). Design a training program around your SOPs for each role. Define what success looks like in that role and in each task that they will be assigned.
Ambiguity leads to confusion, inefficiency and eventually failure. This would be YOUR problem and YOUR fault. Your goal is incentive alignment across every level of your organization. Most of the people you employ will be just that, people. They are simple. They are not geniuses and they have no equity in what you have put your blood sweat and tears into. To combat this, you will use repetition. It is frustrating but you will repeat yourself again and again until it’s baked into the culture of your org.
Boundaries and Consequences are essential. Without them, there is no accountability- which you want to engrain in every employee. Your culture cannot have unchecked mediocrity or failure at any level- top performing people will be frustrated and leave. This doesn’t mean failure isn’t tolerated at some level. It is part of the learning process for all roles, and it is part of providing some autonomy to certain roles where it makes sense (sales comes to mind). Where you draw the line in the sand of how much failure you will tolerate is up to you- it all has cost associated with it. Once again, this should be communicated clearly to each hire.
Boundaries involve defining the scope of each person’s responsibilities and decision-making power. Every individual should understand what falls within their domain and what does not. Clear boundaries prevent scope creep, and ensure accountability at each level. This will stop the “he said, she said” bullshit. This also provides people comfort in their role and empowers them to operate confidently within their roles, knowing exactly where their authority begins and where it ends.
Most other boundaries are basic: Don’t harass your coworkers, Don’t assault your coworkers, regulatory mandated items must be adhered to, Hierarchy exists and must be followed (if not you will be bothered by nobodies with every tiny thing), orders are to be executed properly, timely and efficiently without fail - and if a question exists about an order take them to the next person up the ladder. If it makes it all the way to me there better be a good goddamn reason why it’s being questioned.
However, consequences are not about punishment- they are about realignment. When someone fails to meet expectations, it is to be addressed immediately. This is not a blame game. This is a fact-finding mission and an exercise in finding solutions with every level employee who was involved in the failure. Many times, you may find that a system is broken or needs to be re-evaluated or designed. Perhaps there is a more efficient way to solve an issue or approach a process.
Drop your ego. Be like water.
If your line is crossed- act decisively and immediately. Remember: Hire slow, fire fast. A single weak link really can destroy an entire group- even with attitude. (see Culture section)
Building Systems That Scale
Scaling a business is a delicate balancing act. Remember: growth without structure leads to chaos. Before expanding, assess whether your current systems can handle increased demand. Are your processes robust? Have you identified and addressed bottlenecks at each level? Scalability isn’t just about adding more - it’s about improving what already exists. No matter what you do, you will find you scale one thing, and the next breaks due to the big move up, back and forth. You must be adaptable. Pivot often and get used to it.
Redundancy is the basis of scalability. Every critical system and role needs redundancy.
Cross-train employees (scheduled ride alongs, required review of other member’s SOPs, etc), diversify your revenue streams so you are durable (increase # SKUs, contract with private and public sector, etc), and build backups into essential processes and tech that you use and require.
Be intentional. Every hire, every dollar you spend, every process you implement should serve a strategic purpose. Execution is encouraged, but impulsivity is not allowed. Be certain that your actions align with your long-term objectives and vision- do not compromise for short-term wins no matter how tempting.
Eliminate inefficiencies and, for all that is holy, stop having meetings unless absolutely necessary. Email and phones exist. If you are hiring people who are illiterate, literally, or in the use of tech, then you are an idiot also and should fire yourself.
Your focus is not on minutiae. It is on activities that generate revenue and growth. That. Is. It.
Letting Go A Little
Micromanagement is the antithesis of growth. Delegation is a necessity. It is difficult when you start- no one will do the job as well or with as much care as you will.
We know. Get over it.
80% is good enough. Your hires need to have ownership of outcomes. You are trusting them to deliver, but that is built on a foundation of clear expectations and accountability. Micromanagement is your insecurity- you’re not allowed to be a bitch and run a business.
You care about results, not effort. There are no participation trophies.
Again, many times failures are opportunities for learning and growth. Encourage calculated risk taking within your defined boundaries. When people are encouraged to innovate, you will be surprised at what they deliver. So, take your boot off their neck and grow a pair.
Culture
Culture is more important than most let on as you grow- especially into hundreds of employees.
All of this starts with the hiring process. I held onto this for too long, but it is VERY important and I still insert myself often depending on the role. Values and worldviews must align with yours. No blue haired fat fucking communists/feminists allowed.
If you are a high performer- you get more autonomy, more pay, more flexibility, etc.
If you are a low performer- you’re fired.
Be upfront and transparent about your company’s goals, expectations and how everyone fits into the process.
The “Why” matters.
Feedback needs to happen often and meaningfully. What is working? What isn’t? Where can we improve? But you also want feedback from each employee. “What would you say….you do here?”
Really though, they may have useful insight in their role.
Execution
Execution is where the rubber meets the road. If you can’t do this, move the fuck along. Without this, all your “killer ideas” and strategies fail.
Action> Overanalyzing. Perfection is a trap- it delays progress and kills momentum.
Start before you’re ready, and pivot as you go.
Deep work is critical to high performance. Everyone is different: Identify the times when your mind is sharpest and reserve those blocks of time for your most cognitively demanding tasks. Protect these periods from interruptions (this is so important in an age where your phone beeps 8232342 times a minute and your phone won't stop ringing). Turn. It. Off.
You need to be a master of your time. Evaluate how you spend every hour and ruthlessly eliminate or delegate low-yield actions.
Optimizing Growth
Stop chasing vanity metrics like revenue, headcount, views, impressions, clicks, etc. If you want real growth, focus on KPIs that matter: Net profit, LTV, AOV, and operational efficiency.
Scaling is an iterative process- identify weaknesses, fix them, and repeat until you are a well-oiled machine. A monster. Untouchable. Make your competition fear you.
Final Thoughts
What I have briefly described in this random stream of consciousness post demands immense time, focus, and discipline but separates the mediocre from the exceptional.
Journaling provides you with introspection, clarity and a plan of action; effective management requires much of you, the least of which is execution, and scaling is a multiplier of your efforts. All together they are a sustainable path to success.
The only question is whether you’re willing to do whatever it takes to win.
BTB Lazy Newbie Guide to Journals
This is going to be a refresher for people who have been around for years. Essentially, most people have an accountability issue. It is no surprise that when you’re taking Tequilla shots with Push Up Bra Susan every weekend, you don’t really develop good habits. This is normal. When you’re younger, you have so much energy that it is hard to even comprehend. This leads to irrational and near-term decision making.
Three Sentence Journal For Newbies
In this environment, where you know you’re not moving in the right direction we have three simple sentences to write. The only catch is you need to answer three questions before moving on:
What is the main thing you’re trying to achieve? One sentence answer
What is the second most important thing you’re trying to get achieve. One sentence answer
What is the primary personal life item you are working on? One Sentence Answer
After you have this done you can now go ahead and journal 1x a day before bed. You can do it first thing in the morning or before bed. We recommend doing it before bed
By doing the three sentence answer before bed you will create significant peace or restlessness. If you’re writing “did nothing” every single day, you will have to stew with that on your mind as you fall asleep. If you write something clearly actionable daily? You’ll sleep instantly since you know you’re making the right decisions.
Example Good Answers: Start a business doing XYZ. Earn more money on the internet, in real estate etc. Lose 10 lbs of body fat. Take up a healthier hobby such as golf instead of drinking 2 days a week (moving to 1x).
Accountability
As you can see by having three clear tasks and three clear sentences you will go insane writing “didn’t set up S Corp” or “Didn’t go to the gym” or “Didn’t message so and so to get Item A rolling”
This also gives you two main improvement points and a third “personality” based item. It could be as simple as learning a new language, getting in shape or learning how to dance. Frankly don’t care. This makes sure you’re focused on two main items and a third item to prevent you from becoming a robot/aspergers type.
Example Entry: Assumes goal is to make money online, reduce work hours at W-2 and get in shape.
In this format something like this would show real progress:
“I researched on TikTok and narrowed down to XYZ product targeting women”
“I found a way to create an automated tool to reduce work hours by 30 mins on a monthly excel document”
“I went to the gym and lifted for 45 minutes despite being out in a hotel for work”
If you look closely at this format. The next day you can’t say “I research the same thing on TikTok” or “I automated the same product”. This format *forces* you to show progress.
If you get into this standard habit which takes less than 3 minutes a day, you will see your productivity spike. Once you’re more scaled up? Look at the overview from Tiger!
He knows because he’s clinically insane.
On that note, talk soon and stay Toon’d!
Disclaimer: None of this is to be deemed legal or financial advice of any kind. These are *opinions* written by an anonymous group of Ex-Wall Street Tech Bankers and software engineers who moved into affiliate marketing and e-commerce.
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