P50: The Momentum Effect

Welcome to Just One Pivot, your weekly pause to find clarity and consider your next best move. If this was sent to you, subscribe to get your own copy next week.

Welcome!

This week brought a record number of new subscribers—welcome! I’m so glad you’re here. And it’s perfect timing, because growth and progress are exactly what we’re talking about today.

Now, if you’ve been here for a while, you know I’m obsessed with momentum—how it starts, how it stalls, and how it accelerates.

Momentum feels like pure bliss whether you’re strengthening a relationship, advancing your career, building a business, or creating art.

It’s like a tailwind moving a sailboat across the water, a bird in flight, a gazelle’s burst toward freedom, or a rocket breaking Earth’s gravity (which may be that spark of inspiration you’ve been waiting for).

What I call “The Momentum Effect” is smooth forward motion and flow.

On the flip side, without momentum, everything feels as if we’re pushing boulders uphill.

The Momentum Effect

Please indulge me a geek moment. I promise it’s useful.

In science, momentum describes how hard it is to stop something once it’s moving. Its equation depends on two factors: how heavy the object is (its mass) and how fast it’s moving (its velocity).

When I talk about The Momentum Effect (and I’ll share my version of the formula in a moment), I’m using the term as a way to think about how hard it becomes to stop your progress once you’re steadily moving toward a goal.

Why a formula? Because it can be a “go to” when you need to jumpstart momentum when you stall, and to sustain it when you’re flying.

Here it is.

I like using the little fish-like scientific symbol (∝), which means “in proportion to”, instead of the equal sign (=), because… well, life isn’t that exact. Progress rarely unfolds in perfect equations.

In other words:

• Time (t) multiplies your consistent effort (e).

• But it’s the pivot (ᵖ) that transforms steady progress into exponential momentum.

Pivots are the small, strategic adjustments based on data and feedback.

That’s The Momentum Effect.

A Real Example

For years, I wanted to share the practical insights that had helped my mentees and coaching clients more broadly through writing.

But after years of crafting technical papers, strategic plans, and academic research, I felt like a recovering academic. I felt stuck and unsure whether my creative voice could find its place in public again.

Then, in the summer of 2023, after finishing my PhD and rereading Todd Henry’s Die Empty, I set a new goal: I will write 1,000 words a day to connect with new audiences.

I opened a Beehiiv newsletter account and began drafting without fanfare.

For over a year, I wrote and wrote 1,000 words a day, building a collection of half-baked ideas, draft newsletters, and unedited essays.

But I didn’t just want to write the way I had been writing, so I pivoted regularly.

I began writing more conversationally, more humanly, more authentically. I wove in personal stories, anecdotes, and exciting pieces of science but in ways that would be accessible and actionable.

The Momentum Effect

But what is a writer without a reader? Another pivot was in order.

Did you see what happened when I stopped waiting and hit Publish in the graph above?

That was my next big pivot because now I was making a commitment to show up every week and add value to those who had trusted me with their most valuable asset: their time.

That single shift triggered the Momentum Effect and each dot on my progress timeline represents a minor or major pivot applied to consistent effort over time.

This letter marks my 50th issue!

Each issue generated more momentum: weekly issues sparked short snippets on LinkedIn. Those snippets evolved into longer essays, the essays into a new publication to help readers master the skills for the future of work (The Structural Skills Project) and then a 10th anniversary release of my book adapted for the Age of AI.

The story behind the numbers boils down to 10k+ readers a month across three platforms who I have the opportunity to impact. But it’s really not about the numbers but about those who will walk away with inspiration for their next move.

The Power Is in the Pivot

We all hate plateaus, but each carries feedback. Think of this feedback as data to help you adjust the effort rather than abandon it. (Yes, some things are worth abandoning, but that’s a topic for another week).

Consistency builds the base.
The pivot multiplies it.

Key takaway: Momentum accelerates when consistency is paired with strategic curiosity, because curiosity informs smart pivots:

The longer you stay consistent—and the wiser your pivots—the faster the Momentum Effect compounds.

The Uncommon Move

Think of one area in your professional or personal life where you need more consistency (your writing, your wellness, your business…). Make a pivot from inconsistency to consistency today.

If you’ve been consistent but haven’t yet seen the curve lift, pause. Before you walk away, pivot intelligently:

By the Way…

While we’re talking about flying high, let me share one more story about how one entrepreneur turned a struggling business into a $500K success story in just six months by tapping into the power of the Momentum Effect. Read it here.

To your next leap!

Until next week,

P.S. Great news 🚀! If you want to work with me to accelerate momentum, I’ve got a few openings!  I only work with ~10 individuals a year to align strategy and results. 📧 Send me a note to learn more.

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