SPARK Insights™ Issue #0050

As you're reading this, Arlene and I are playing golf at Myrtlewood in Myrtle Beach. One of our favorite courses. A couple of the holes run right alongside the Intracoastal Waterway.

It's fall in South Carolina. The humidity's finally broken. The courses are in perfect condition. And tomorrow, I turn 56.

I tell you this not because birthdays matter all that much anymore, but because of what they represent.

The evidence that you kept moving forward.

Every year you make it around the sun is proof that you pushed through despite the fear, the uncertainty, the voices that told you to play it safe.

And that's what I want to talk about today.

The Gap

We've all been there.

You know you need to make a change.

You can see the opportunity.

But somehow, you stay stuck.

The gap between knowing what you should do and actually doing it can feel insurmountable.

What's missing?

Conviction.

And here's what I learned during my Purpose Factor® certification that changed everything:

Conviction isn't mystical. It isn't reserved for a chosen few.

It's actually a simple two-part equation.

The Conviction Equation

Conviction = Pain + Clarity

Let me break that down.

The Pain Component

First, you need pain.

Not just mild discomfort that you can ignore. Real, uncomfortable, undelayed pain with your current situation.

This is the frustration you stop sugar-coating.

It's when you're finally honest about how much your status quo is costing you.

Maybe it's the client work that drains you.

The leadership role that doesn't fit.

The business model that keeps you on a hamster wheel.

The relationship pattern that keeps repeating.

Whatever it is, conviction requires you to face the full weight of staying where you are.

The Clarity Component

But pain alone isn't enough.

I've seen people stay stuck in misery for years because they had pain without clarity.

That's why the second part of the equation is critical.

Clarity comes in three forms:

1. Clarity on who you are - Understanding your purpose, your strengths, what truly fulfills you

2. Clarity on your target - Knowing specifically what you're moving toward

3. Clarity on your initial steps - Having at least the first few steps mapped out

You don't need the entire roadmap.

You just need to see far enough ahead to take the first few steps with confidence.

When you combine uncomfortable pain with clear direction, something powerful happens.

That's your conviction moment.

The Momentum Flywheel

Here's where it gets really interesting.

Once you experience a conviction moment, you unlock what I call the Momentum Flywheel:

Uncertainty → Conviction → Action → Evidence

How the Cycle Works

Uncertainty is where we all start. You're not sure. You're hesitating. You're weighing options and second-guessing yourself.

Conviction breaks through that uncertainty. When pain and clarity collide, you move from "I should probably do this" to "I'm doing this. Period."

There's no question mark anymore.

Action is where conviction becomes real. And here's the part most people don't talk about: there's usually a moment of fear right before you act. That wall of "what if I fail?" or "what if people judge me?" It's called the Terror Barrier, and it shows up precisely because you're about to do something that matters. But when you have real conviction—when the pain is clear and your direction is defined—you can move through that fear. You acknowledge it and act anyway.

Evidence comes from action.

You start seeing results. Small wins. Proof that you're on the right track. Feedback from the real world that validates your direction.

And here's the beautiful part:

Evidence feeds back into conviction.

Each result strengthens your belief.

Each win makes the next action easier.

Each time you push through fear and survive, that barrier becomes less intimidating.

The more convicted you become, the more action you take.

The more action you take, the more evidence you gather.

That evidence builds more conviction, which drives more action, which generates more evidence.

This is how you drive real results and growth.

Not through motivation or hoping you'll feel like it someday.

Through the compounding power of the conviction-action-evidence cycle.

The Three Conviction Killers

But there's a catch.

Even when you know the equation, there are three forces that will try to kill your conviction before it ever produces action.

The Purpose Factor® training calls them the Three Conviction Killers: people-pleasing, perfectionism, and procrastination.

What I found fascinating is that these three are actually cousins.

They're all different strategies for avoiding the same thing: rejection.

• People-pleasing is what you do to avoid rejection when you're WITH people

• Perfectionism is what you do to avoid rejection BEFORE you see people

• Procrastination is what you do to avoid seeing people altogether

Think about it.

When you're people-pleasing, you're editing yourself to maintain approval.

When you're stuck in perfectionism, you're telling yourself "I'm not ready yet" so you don't have to risk being judged.

When you're procrastinating, you're just avoiding the whole situation entirely.

All three will kill your conviction dead in its tracks.

They give you seemingly rational reasons to stay on the safe side instead of taking action.

How to Build Conviction

So how do you build real conviction?

First, get brutally honest about your pain.

Stop minimizing it. Stop pretending it's not that bad. Feel the full weight of what staying stuck is costing you.

Second, get clarity.

If you don't know your purpose, find out. If you don't have a clear target, define one. If you don't know your next steps, identify just the first two or three.

Third, watch for the conviction killers.

When you catch yourself people-pleasing, perfecting, or procrastinating, call it what it is: fear of rejection dressed up as something else.

Fourth, take the first action—even while afraid.

Even a small one.

You don't need to feel brave. You don't need to feel ready.

You just need to move.

Because action produces evidence, and evidence feeds the flywheel.

The Compound Effect

Here's what I've learned:

The first spin of the flywheel is the hardest.

Uncertainty has inertia. Fear feels the biggest the first time. It takes real force to break through.

But once you do—once you experience that conviction moment, take action, and see evidence—something magical happens.

The second time is easier.

You have proof that you can survive on the other side.

The third time is easier still.

Pretty soon, the flywheel is spinning so fast that momentum itself carries you forward.

The fear doesn't disappear completely—it's always there when you're about to level up—but it becomes more familiar. Less intimidating.

You learn to recognize it as a sign of growth rather than a warning to turn back.

That's when breakthrough becomes inevitable.

Not because you're more talented or luckier than anyone else, but because you've learned to harness the power of the conviction cycle and you've built evidence that you can thrive on the other side of fear.

Your Turn

Where are you right now in the cycle?

Are you stuck in uncertainty, waiting for some magical moment of clarity?

Have you felt conviction but haven't taken that first action yet?

Have you let the conviction killers talk you out of moving forward?

Or are you in motion, building evidence and watching the flywheel spin faster?

Wherever you are, remember:

Conviction isn't mystical. It's pain plus clarity.

Fear is real, but it's not a stop sign—it's a signpost.

And once you start building evidence, the momentum flywheel takes over.

Get Clear on Your Purpose

If you're stuck in uncertainty because you don't have clarity on who you are and what fulfills you, that's where the Purpose Factor® assessment can help.

It gives you language for:

• Your natural advantage (how you show up in the world)

• Your pull passion (what drives you)

• What fulfills you and what frustrates you

• How you're best led and how you best lead

That clarity is half the conviction equation.

And when you have it, taking action becomes so much easier.

👉 Get your Purpose Factor® Assessment and Clarity Call here

Until next week,

– Coach Reg

P.S. By the time you read this, I'll have turned 56 and played some of the best golf of my fall. Not because I'm more talented than I was last year, but because I kept showing up. Kept pushing through. Kept building evidence.

That's all any of us can do.

Show up. Push through. Build evidence.

The flywheel does the rest.

The concepts of conviction, the conviction equation, and the three conviction killers come from the Purpose Factor® training program developed by The Purpose Company. The Terror Barrier concept comes from materials in my CCA coaching certification. The Momentum Flywheel framework represents my application and synthesis of these principles.