When you study the lives of massively successful people, you often notice that there was a defining moment or incident in their life that accelerated their growth.

Something happened and they got big, fast.

Not always. Many take years to come into their own. But more than a few don’t and the reason is because something allowed them to achieve momentum.

Sometimes momentum occurs because of a strategy. Sometimes a new person comes into their life—a key client, an employee, an advisor, or a source of referrals. Sometimes it’s an opportunity that opens new doors, or an influx of cash which they put to good use.

You can’t predict what it will be, when it will happen, or to what extent. In fact, these kinds of things often sneak up on you.

But momentum isn’t always a lucky occurrence. There is something you can do to create it. You can create momentum by compressing time.

Compressing time means doing more in less time. It means moving quicker than you usually do. You take less time off. Work longer. Try more things and more often.

Instead of making one or two calls, you make ten. Instead of writing one article, you write three. Instead of waiting for someone to follow up with you, you follow up with them and more than once.

You don’t wait for things to happen, you make them happen. You compress time and create momentum by hustling.

Because you’re moving faster, you might make more mistakes. You don’t always know how to do what you’re doing because you’re learning as you go. But by moving faster, even if mistakes occur, more things happen, some of which might lead to big results.

But establishing momentum is just the first step. Once you create momentum, you must sustain it by continuing to hustle. If you don’t, if you slack off, you lose momentum. You need to keep going long enough that even if things do slow down, you won’t fall too far back.

And then, once you have created and sustained momentum, if you want to make it to the big leagues, you have to advance momentum. This is where you bring in other people, more capital, better systems, and expand into other markets.

That’s how you build an empire.

You can create momentum, sustain it, and advance it, and you can start by hustling.

How to create momentum in your practice