Contractor Tip Of The Month: How to Keep Moving to Success - Questions and Answers

Words: Damian Lang

Damian Lang

My goal in writing has always been to share my insights about business and to not focus on me. But maybe I opened a can of worms last month when I gave away the secret of my success: reaching out to someone you respect to learn some of their secrets. A contractor friend recently emailed me for advice. He is successful in business, so I was surprised he reached out. He told me he has used my success for inspiration. He wrote:  “I grew up in a broken-down home, part of a family that didn’t push me and offered little encouragement. As you can imagine, I had nothing to look forward to and just existed on food stamps for four years before I went into the Army. So, when I started contracting, I looked to you for an example of how to manage my business.” Today things are much different. By moving on and changing his attitude about life, he has achieved success. He continued:  “Today, I’m very blessed with a lot, but now I’m struggling on how to keep moving forward. I’m just so damn impressed how you are so positive in all perspectives and I want to learn what you do to get there.” Here is an excerpt of his questions and my answers:  
  • Do you use a vision board? 
No, but that is a good thought. I do share my vision with each team regularly, including at yearly retreats as well as monthly and weekly meetings. I do my best to get everyone's buy-in to the vision.   
  • What is your morning routine?
I wake up at 4 a.m. and follow these steps:  First: Meditate for 10 minutes using an Undaunted golf app on my phone. This reduces my tension and helps my golf game. To date, I have logged 226 days (not all in a row) on this app.   Second: Do my Kegel exercises with the KP app on my phone, as I want to keep my sex life active for it is a huge source of energy.  Third: Exercise on my elliptical machine. Do push-ups and sit-ups followed by extreme stretching because I think this is the best for my body and golf game. I listen to self-improvement or business strategy programs while exercising. On days when I take a break from exercising, I still get up at the same time to chip and put around my front yard green under the lights because another goal of mine is to get my handicap down to a 3. After exercise, I shower at 6 a.m., eat one hardboiled egg, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. (I switched from watermelon and cantaloupe to berries to maintain my proper weight.) I get to the office just before 7 a.m. where I start my day reviewing the goals and action plans I have written out for myself.   
  • How do you push forward from risk and fear?
I do the things I fear most, and it gives me the power to do them. I make a list each morning of the things I plan to do and face the fear by doing the most difficult one first, and on down the list. Usually, this is having a difficult talk with someone about their performance or moving someone from a position that is not a good fit. I either move poor performers to another position or let them go quickly. I know you are good at this as well, and it is a huge part of your business success.   
  • What keeps you positive?
The programs I listen to each morning while exercising. I also tell myself over and over every day that I like myself, I like myself, I like myself. I know I must look in the mirror and love the person I see, or I cannot love or be loved by anyone else. I think one of the most difficult things we all must do is love the person we see when we look in the mirror. Once we convince ourselves we like ourselves, we will shine, and those around us will feel that energy and like us as well.   
  •  What drives you?
My vision, goals, and progress toward them. I write these out every year in specific detail, including the steps and processes I will take to get there. Then, I require my teams to set goals for their company to hit. A goal is 50% accomplished just by writing it down.  By the way, I think my golf goal is a big motivator for me too, as it gives me something besides just business to be proud of accomplishing. It is part of the drive. Luckily, my wife Rachelle loves playing too, so it is something we can do together.  
  • What made you say to me, “I am so damn excited about the future, that is stupid fun”?
I have come so far, and I feel like I am just starting again. I am your age and feel great. With all I have learned over the last 36 years of business, I have an opportunity to use that knowledge to build wealth, health, freedom, as well as personal relationships with people like you, and, of course, my wife. I can live in Florida in the wintertime and play golf every afternoon if I want, while still building an empire. That's pretty damn exciting!  Twenty years ago, and when I was doing around $10 million in sales, I set a goal at our retreat for our companies to do $100 million a year in sales, and everyone laughed at me. Well, we will come close this year and blow the doors off that goal next year. So, I have already set my next goal at $200 million, and I am contemplating whether I desire to do a billion. If I commit to a billion, I know I can do it. I just have to make sure that is what I want, so I am studying if I truly have the capacity and energy to do that. I think I do. As crazy as it seems, most of Grant Cardone’s 10X strategy is right on target.   Do you know what the funny part about my career is? Going from zero in sales to $10 million the first 17 years was harder than going from $10 million to now closing in on $100 million. What makes me think going from $100 million to a billion will be harder than going from $10 million to $100 million?  You said it is time for a supercharge – I love it, I love it, I love it. Supercharge is the keyword. Thank you for listening, and I will always be there for you my friend. In 1999, I wrote my goals on a business card and carry it in my wallet to view every day. I have accomplished most of those goals, but I still look at that card to remind me how far I have come and how far I still need to go. To me, it is accountability to myself to accomplish the mission I set out to reach that drove me where I am  today.  Are you supercharging your life to build a better future? Damian Lang is CEO at Lang Masonry Contractors, Wolf Creek Construction, Malta Dynamics, and EZG Manufacturing. To view the products and equipment his companies created to make jobsites more efficient, visit his websites at ezgmfg.com or maltadynamics.com. To receive his free e-newsletters or to speak with Damian on his management systems or products, email:dlang@watertownenterprises.com or call 740-749-3512.
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