How to Build Momentum in Your Business and Your Life

Geoff interviews Mark Schaefer about his book 'Cumulative Advantage,' which breaks down the mechanics of how momentum actually builds in business and life. The conversation covers how to find your initial advantage, burst through under-defended market opportunities, and sustain momentum through constancy of purpose. Best for LOs who feel like they're doing everything right but still can't break through the noise.

Takeaways you can run this week

• Audit your last 6 months of emails, social posts, or video content and identify which specific topics generated the highest open rates, views, or replies — then produce 3 new pieces of content on only those themes before branching out.
• List 3 'seams' COVID opened in your local market that are still under-served (e.g., first-time buyers priced out of inventory, relocating remote workers, self-employed borrowers with non-traditional income) and build one piece of content or one referral partner pitch specifically targeting that gap this week.
• Apply the Black Keys principle: after each closed loan or agent presentation, identify one specific thing to do slightly better next time — write it down. Review the list monthly to track your compounding improvement.
• Instead of seeking a traditional mentor, pursue 'door-openers' — people who can make one introduction, open one opportunity, or offer one word of encouragement at a critical moment. Reach out to 2 people this week and ask for a specific introduction, not general advice.
• If you teach Zoom classes to agents and are hearing 'Zoom fatigue,' diagnose whether your content is the problem: survey 5 past attendees and ask what one topic would make them show up live and bring a colleague.
• Read 'Cumulative Advantage' by Mark Schaefer alongside 'Known' (also by Schaefer) — the pair functions as a complete system: Known helps you define your unique positioning; Cumulative Advantage shows you how to scale it.

The playbook

1. 1. Identify your Initial Advantage — something unique to you: a skill, experience, network, or perspective no competitor has.
2. 2. Find the Seam — locate an undefended or under-defended opportunity in your market where your advantage is newly relevant.
3. 3. Burst through with speed — once you spot the seam, move fast and as far as possible before competitors catch up.
4. 4. Create the Sonic Boom of Awareness — concentrate effort on building visibility around that specific advantage and seam.
5. 5. Seek door-openers — find people who can make introductions, create opportunities, or provide timely encouragement (not just long-term mentors).
6. 6. Constancy of Purpose — when things go wrong, resist the panic pivot; return to what created the momentum and stay the course.

Worth quoting

“Getting an audience is hard, sustaining an audience is hard. It demands a consistency of thought, purpose, and action over a long period of time.”

“The biggest thing that disrupts momentum is that people quit too soon. There's no such thing as an overnight success.”

Best for

LOs who are consistently producing content or showing up online but feel invisible — and need a strategic framework for why momentum isn't building and what to do differently.