Last year, I met a guy at a networking event who made $40K a month. I asked him his secret.
He said: “I stopped doing what everyone else does.”
Specifically, he stopped following the same tired playbook—cold calling scripts, generic LinkedIn messages, chasing every lead like a zombie. Instead, he built his strategy around principles most people ignore.
His results? Unusual. His methods? Even more unusual.
Why Normal Strategies Get Normal Results
Here’s the deal: if you’re doing exactly what everyone else does, you’ll get exactly what they get—mediocre numbers, endless hustling, and frustration.
However, when you do something different, unusual, or even slightly weird, the rewards multiply. Consequently, your income becomes unusual too.
Most reps won’t take this route because it requires thinking for yourself. Nevertheless, that’s precisely why it works.
Strategy #1: Your Imagination Is Your Only Limit
First principle: whatever ceiling you create in your mind becomes your reality.
I learned this the hard way. Back in high school, I thought my peak career would be becoming a registered nurse or dental assistant. Nothing wrong with those jobs—they pay decently. But that was my cap.
Nobody told me I could aim higher. Therefore, I didn’t.
Fast forward a few years: I shattered that ceiling once I realized it was imaginary. Now? My reality looks nothing like what I envisioned back then.
The Target Problem
Here’s what most people don’t realize: even when you hit your target, you’re still capped. Because you didn’t believe you could achieve anything beyond it.
Worse yet, most people shoot under their targets and wonder why they feel stuck.
Example:
A sales professional set a goal to make $5K a month. He hit it consistently for a year. Then he plateaued. Why? Because $5K was his mental ceiling. Once he raised his target to $15K, suddenly new opportunities appeared—bigger clients, better offers, partnerships he’d never considered.
The target didn’t just change his actions. It changed what he noticed.
Shoot Higher Than You Think Possible
Five years ago, I wrote down my monetary goals, where I wanted to live, and how I wanted to structure my days. Looking back now, almost everything came true.
My only regret? I should’ve aimed higher. Because if I’d written down bigger goals, I probably would’ve hit those too.
Here’s your takeaway: aim for the highest ceiling that’s reasonably achievable. Not fantasy-land stuff like “I’ll be a billionaire next month.” Rather, the kind of ambitious that makes you slightly uncomfortable but not paralyzed.
You’ll surprise yourself.
Strategy #2: Get Closer to the Money
Second lesson: success is about proximity.
The more I’ve grown, the more I’ve realized that luck plays a massive role. Not dumb luck—strategic luck. Meaning, you position yourself where opportunities naturally flow.
The Positioning Game
Let’s say you’re a marketing consultant. You’ve got the skills to help businesses scale. However, if you never meet business owners, you make zero money.
On the other hand, if you attend networking events, join mastermind groups, or simply hang out where your ideal clients gather, you start bumping into opportunities.
One successful consultant runs an advisory for e-commerce brands. Most of his clients come from random conversations—dinner with a friend who knows someone, a casual chat at a conference, even YouTube comments. He didn’t force these deals. He just positioned himself near high-quality people who needed his help.
That’s strategic luck.
Dating and Sales Are Identical
Think about it: dating works the same way.
If you want to meet someone great, you improve yourself first—posture, style, confidence, skills, whatever makes you more attractive. Then you meet as many high-quality people as possible.
You won’t get a yes every time. Nevertheless, the more you put yourself out there, the higher your odds.
Sales is no different. Improve your offer until it’s undeniable. Then get in front of as many qualified prospects as possible. Eventually, someone says yes.
Simple, but most people skip one half or the other.
Strategy #3: Know Your Worth (And Charge It)
Third principle: you’re probably undercharging.
I realized this when pitching a potential client. After quoting my price, he paused and said: “You know, you’re charging way too little.”
I thought I’d priced aggressively. Turns out, I hadn’t adjusted for how much my skills had improved over the years.
That conversation was a wake-up call. Consequently, I raised my rates by 40% the following month. Nobody blinked.
Why People Undercharge
Fear, mostly. You’re worried prospects will say no if you charge too much. However, here’s the truth: the right clients want to pay premium prices because they associate higher prices with higher quality.
One consultant used to charge $2K for consulting projects. He was constantly overworked and underpaid. Then he tripled his rates to $6K. His workload dropped by half, but his income doubled. Why? Because he attracted better clients who valued his expertise.
The lesson: your worth increases as you improve. Therefore, your pricing should increase too. Don’t lock yourself into old rates just because that’s what you used to charge.
How to Know Your Real Worth
Ask yourself:
- What results do I deliver for clients?
- What’s the ROI they get from working with me?
- What would it cost them not to solve this problem?
If you’re saving someone $50K a year in expenses, charging $10K isn’t aggressive—it’s a bargain.
Strategy #4: Learn How to Learn (The Meta-Skill)
Fourth strategy: master the art of learning itself.
As an entrepreneur or top-performing sales rep, you’re essentially a professional problem solver. Every day brings new challenges. Consequently, your ability to learn and adapt determines your ceiling.
The Problem-Solving Loop
Here’s how it works:
- Identify the problem
- Admit you don’t know the solution yet
- Research, ask experts, Google, experiment
- Learn the skill you need
- Solve the problem
- Teach your team so they can solve it next time
Most people get stuck at step two. They assume not knowing the answer means they’re incapable. However, the best performers see “I don’t know” as a starting point, not a dead end.
A Personal Example
Years ago, I had zero idea how to build a YouTube channel. I didn’t know how to edit videos, optimize titles, or engage audiences. Nevertheless, I knew it was important for my business.
So I learned. Watched tutorials, tested different formats, analyzed competitors. Within six months, I’d figured it out. Now it’s one of my primary lead sources.
That’s the power of learning how to learn.
Book Recommendation:
If you want to master this skill, read The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin. He breaks down the fundamentals of accelerated learning using his experience as a chess prodigy. It’s one of those books that shifts how you think permanently.
Strategy #5: Fix Your Health (Or Stay Broke)
Fifth tip: your productivity is directly tied to your health.
Sounds obvious, right? Yet most entrepreneurs wreck their bodies chasing success. They binge on junk food, skip sleep, drink too much, and wonder why they’re sluggish.
Here’s the truth: supplements won’t save you if your foundation is broken.
The Basics That Actually Matter
Forget fancy biohacks for a second. Focus on these first:
1. Eat real food. Cut out processed garbage. More vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats. Less sugar, seed oils, and fast food.
2. Drink clean water. Tap water is loaded with chemicals in most places. Switch to filtered or spring water.
3. Sleep 7-8 hours consistently. Track it if you have to. I use a sleep tracking device to monitor sleep quality, and it’s been a game-changer. When I see my recovery score drop, I know to adjust.
4. Move your body daily. Doesn’t have to be intense. Even a 20-minute walk improves clarity.
The Self-Sabotage Trap
When you’re stressed or overwhelmed, it’s tempting to binge Netflix, scroll TikTok, or drink to numb out. However, that only digs the hole deeper.
One entrepreneur used to stay up until 2 AM “relaxing” after long workdays. Unsurprisingly, his mornings were foggy, his energy tanked, and his sales suffered. Once he committed to a consistent sleep schedule and cut out late-night distractions, his performance skyrocketed.
Tools That Help:
Your body is your business. Treat it accordingly.
Strategy #6: Control Your Life (Or Someone Else Will)
Sixth principle: if you’re not in control, someone else is.
This sounds dramatic, but it’s true. Every time you reach for a vape, scroll mindlessly, or binge something you don’t need, you’re being controlled by marketers who designed that addiction.
The Invisible Strings
Companies spend millions engineering products to hook you. They hire psychologists to study your behavior. Then they exploit it.
Consequently, you’re not making free choices—you’re responding to engineered triggers.
One professional realized this when he noticed he was spending $200 a month on energy drinks without even thinking about it. Someone designed that craving. Someone profited from his habit. Once he recognized the pattern, he cut it out cold.
Take Back Control
Ask yourself:
- What habits drain my time and money?
- Who profits from those habits?
- What would my life look like if I eliminated them?
The truth is, mastering yourself makes everything else easier. Sales, business growth, relationships—all of it becomes simpler when you’re fully in control.
The Common Thread
All these strategies share one core idea: think for yourself.
Don’t blindly follow what everyone else does. Instead, examine your limits, raise your standards, position yourself strategically, price yourself accurately, learn relentlessly, protect your health, and take full ownership.
That’s the unusual path. Most people won’t take it. Therefore, most people get average results.
Your Action Plan
Here’s what to do next:
- Write down your current income ceiling. Then double it. What would need to change?
- List three places where your ideal clients gather. Show up there consistently.
- Review your pricing. Are you undercharging? Raise your rates by 20% and test the response.
- Pick one skill you need to learn. Block two hours this week to start learning it.
- Audit your health. Fix one habit—sleep, food, or movement—this month.
- Identify one addiction or distraction. Cut it out completely for 30 days and track the results.
Do this, and you’ll separate yourself from 90% of your competition.
Drop a comment: What’s one unusual strategy you’ve tried that actually worked? Let’s swap notes.