Author: Marcus Schaller

Shifting from Transactional to Transformational Achievement

There’s a myth that true achievement can only come from struggle and strain. That in order to feel successful and happy, you need to first pick a specific goal—and then apply consistent, forceful effort to mold the world according to that vision.

But there’s another model of success to consider. One where you shift from trying to force specific outcomes based on some made-up goal, to learning how to align with life and take the right action in each moment.

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Prospecting and Selling—The Keys to Building Your Freelance Business More Quickly

If you’re relying on inbound channels and gig platforms to land new projects, you’re probably missing out on the majority of clients who need the type of creative services that you offer.

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Accepting the Trade-Offs of Entrepreneurship

We all want to experience the upsides of entrepreneurship—the success, the praise, the creative freedom, the money.

But each of those things is just one side of a coin. For every upside, there’s an inherent downside. The possibility of success comes with the possibility of failure. Same for praise vs blame, creative freedom vs external judgement, and financial abundance vs financial scarcity.

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My Guest Appearance On the We‘ve Got a Problem Podcast with Andrew Wallace

I recently had the chance to be a guest on the We‘ve Got a Problem podcast with Andrew Wallace, where we talked about ways to get unstuck and build the business you were born to create.

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Less Noise, More Flow

It seems like the only constant in today’s world is constant distraction. More pings, meetings, emails, Slack alerts. Less space, time, clarity, quiet.

More noise. Less flow.

It’s no wonder so many of us struggle to focus on what actually matters. The game seems rigged against us, rewarding unhealthy habits like task switching with quick hits of dopamine. This game has turned the concept of “reactivity” from a weakness (“I have such a short attention span”) into a virtue (“who has time to actually focus and think when there are so many fires to put out?”).

Where has all this reactivity gotten us in the long run? We’ve lost our ability to set our own course, instead allowing day-to-day “urgent but not important” things guide all of our decisions—regardless of whether they’re taking us in a direction we actually want to go. Many of us are stuck in motion, a frenetic cycle of busywork that looks like productivity. But in reality, reactivity just keeps us running in circles, perpetually striving and feeling burned out, but not actually going anywhere worthwhile.

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Prospecting Doesn’t Have to Feel Gross

I’ve always believed in the value of prospecting.

Of reaching out directly to the people I’m looking to serve, instead of waiting around for them to discover me on social media, my podcast, or my blog.

Relying completely on inbound tactics leaves too many good options off the table. Being able to reach out and start conversations opens up nearly endless opportunities to proactively build your business.

That said, for most of my career, I hated actually doing direct outreach and prospecting. Just the thought of cold-calling or cold-emailing strangers would send me spiraling into a dark hole of anxiety and shame.

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