Fire Yourself
Every quarter, imagine firing yourself. Look at your role as if you were your own replacement. What would you do differently? What systems would you change? What habits would you eliminate? This mental reset prevents stagnation.
Most people get comfortable. They build routines, establish patterns, and settle into familiar grooves. But comfort breeds mediocrity. The processes that worked six months ago might be holding you back today. The habits that got you here might not get you there.
Fresh eyes find flaws that familiar ones miss. A new CEO would spot inefficiencies you've learned to live with. They'd question traditions you accept without thinking. They'd optimize systems you've gotten too close to see clearly. Your replacement wouldn't carry your emotional attachments to "how things are done."
Watch how new leaders transform organizations. They're not necessarily smarter than their predecessors—they just haven't learned to accept limitations. They haven't developed blind spots. They haven't made peace with fixable problems.
Your greatest competitor should be your future self. Each quarter, push yourself to make your current role obsolete. Develop systems that would let someone else step in. Build processes that don't depend on your presence.
Fire yourself before life does it for you. Your job isn't to protect your role—it's to evolve beyond it. Growth happens when you become your own successor.