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How Top CEOs Stay Calm Under Pressure

🐬 Join the Sprint Club: https://www.strategysprints.com ⚡️ Receive our newsletter: https://thesalesshow.beehiiv.com/ The hardest CEO lesson? Saying NO to $200K opportunities. Simon Severino and Sean Malone reveal the hidden pressure of leadership, the "bounceback factor," and why 5-7 income streams beat chasing revenue. The $200K dilemma: When to say NO to lucrative projects that aren't aligned From "doing" to delegating: Why 1+1=11 in business (the "we vs. me" principle) Cash flow revenue: Simon's shift from chasing numbers to building 5-7 income streams The "bounceback factor": Pro golfers' secret that defines CEO performance under pressure Manual vs. automated: Why doing things manually makes you a sharper decision-maker Income Stream Blueprint (13 Ways): Simon's framework for generating cash flow even on 5-week vacations: One-on-one services → Groups/cohorts Subscriptions, licensing, royalties Affiliate commissions, paid newsletters Options income (be the casino, not the gambler) Capital gains, passive rent, sponsors, products Daily CEO Systems: The Circle Habit Tracker: 4 daily habits with visual accountability streaks 5-minute reset techniques: Breath work, kettlebells, high-intensity burpees The 60-second smile hack: Reset cortisol levels before team meetings Options trading as decision-making training: Calculate odds in 10 minutes daily CEO Lessons Learned: Simon's biggest mistake: Thinking options = gambling for 45 years (now generates income as "the casino") Sean's delegation breakthrough: Selling all real estate, moving to luxury apartment with better cash flow Character over capital: Teaching kids frustration tolerance through rowing and tennis Culture via structure: You can't change culture directly—only through systems and daily habits Chapter Markers: 02:10 – CEO Pressure & Lifestyle Trap 03:30 – CEO Café: Mindset of a CEO 04:00 – Hardest Shift: Saying No to Wrong Clients 07:15 – Hardest Shift: From Doing to Delegating 09:10 – Cash Flow Over Revenue 12:30 – Bucking the Trend: Rethinking Real Estate 14:20 – 13 Ways to Create Cash Flow 16:50 – Daily Habits to Stay Focused 19:10 – Permission & Clarity for CEOs 21:30 – Best Lesson: Becoming the “Casino” in Options 24:40 – Bounceback Factor: Reset After Mistakes 26:00 – Why Manual Work Builds CEO Skill 28:30 – Decision-Making: Whole vs Parts 31:10 – 5-Minute Reset Before Meetings 33:00 – What Makes a Great CEO: Culture 34:20 – What Makes a Great Company: Character in Crisis 36:00 – Parenting & Building Long-Term Character 🐬 Join the Sprint Club: https://www.strategysprints.com ⚡️ Free Tools: https://www.strategysprints.com/tools CONNECT WITH ME 🐦 X: https://x.com/simonseverino 👋 LinkedIn: https://at.linkedin.com/in/simonseverino 🎉 Free Community: strategysprints.com ACCELERATE YOUR SALES 🐬 Business Coaching: https://www.strategysprints.com 🌴 Sales Show: https://www.youtube.com/@simonseverinosales 💪 Investing Show: https://www.youtube.com/@InvestingShow SIMON SEVERINO Simon Severino is the CEO of Strategy Sprints. He has created +2B in additional sales for his clients over the last 21 years. As an advisor who became CEO, he had to learn the importance of working ON the business more than IN it. Now, he shares his proven templates with high-ticket entrepreneurs. They reclaim 14 hours per week using the Strategy Sprints™ Method and enjoy sales that soar. Author of "Strategy Sprints", Podcast Host Ranking Top 2,5%, TEDx speaker, Forbes contributor, Triathlete. Has appeared on over 1300 podcasts. When he is not supercharging sales, you'll find him swimming, biking, running and tricking his 3 kids into outdoor activities so they can't escape his annoying shrinky questions.