FEATURE STORY CONT .
“ If you don ’ t have a seat at the table , you make one ,” Jesse said . “ That ’ s how it works . We ’ ve got to create our own seat . Matt comes in . I start talking to him . I start pitching him . It ’ s too loud . I can ’ t hear him . I said , ‘ Matt , when are you going back to LA ?’ He says , ‘ I ' m going back on Sunday .’ So , I say , ‘ You want to fly with me ?’ He says , ‘ Yes .’”
12 . PUT PRESSURE ON YOUR SHOULDERS .
Success comes from learning how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and putting pressure on yourself . When Jesse was trying to close Matt Damon , Jennifer Lopez , and Ben Affleck , he risked his entire marketing spend for the whole year to pay for the private jet to fly Matt Damon back to LA from the Sundance Film Festival because , as he told his partner , “ That ’ s all the credibility we need for a lifetime .” “ We went back and forth discussing whether we should bet our marketing money on this flight , and we decide to do it ,” Jesse said . “ But it comes with all this pressure . He puts all this pressure on my shoulders . Let me tell [ you ], pressure is a privilege . As leaders and entrepreneurs , we play for pressure . Behind the wall of pressure is where the gold is . Pressure weeds everybody else out in the space . If you don ’ t have enough pressure , put some pressure on your shoulders . As a 27-year-old kid , I wanted that pressure . And by the time we landed , I signed all three of them up .”
13 . DON ’ T LIMIT YOURSELF .
Thinking big is about your mentality . It will shape the way you make decisions and the way you do things . It can motivate you , attract the right people and opportunities , and lure you out of your comfort zone . After asking his wife to look at his business plan for a coaching program , Jesse realized he wasn ’ t thinking big enough , so he ripped up his plan and came up with a new one . “ I said , ‘ This could be a $ 20 million business ,’” Jesse said . “ My wife said , ‘ Shame on you .’ That was her reaction . And I said , ‘ What do you mean ?’ She replied , ‘ Why would you limit yourself to $ 20 million ? You just set a limit .’ And I said , ‘ You ’ re right .’ I got my team back together , and I said , ‘ Show me how this could be a $ 50 [ million ] or $ 100 million company .’”
Be like Jesse . Reach for peak performance by overcoming self-doubt and pushing past your self-imposed limitations . Have the courage to put yourself out there even when it ’ s foreign or scary , and do things that make you feel proud of yourself . When you do , you ’ ll create your own luck . “ We ’ ve been wired to think success is the outcome of our journey ,” Jesse said . “ What I ’ m most proud of in my backstories is that I put myself in a situation on the field . Sometimes it works out . Sometimes it doesn ’ t . But I ’ m proud . And I ’ m proud that I put myself in a position , despite the fear , despite not having it all figured out , or being the best on the field . If you want to do exceptional things , you have to put yourself in exceptional situations . Period .”