What’s Working Right Now (Part 3): Not Holding Back

This is the third and final part in a short series on what’s working in my business right now.

Last month was the most successful month my business has ever had. Rather than enjoying that result and moving on, I wanted to understand why it happened. I wanted to identify the specific factors that made the difference so I could repeat them, and so I could share them with other video business owners who are trying to build something solid and sustainable.

In the first post, I talked about long-term client relationships and why ongoing work with the right clients is one of the most powerful forces in any service business. In the second post, I focused on consistent lead generation and the importance of having predictable, high-quality enquiries rather than relying on referrals, luck, or timing.

This final post goes deeper. It is less tactical and more personal. It also feels more awkward to express, but it may be the most important part of the series.

The Real Reason Things Shifted

When I reflected on why last month was so strong, a long list of sensible explanations came up. A clearer sales process. Better systems. A strong team. Smarter spending. Growing authority in the market.

All of those things matter, and all of them contributed.

But when I forced myself to narrow it down to the three most powerful reasons, one thing stood out above everything else.

The most honest way I can say it is this. I stopped holding back.

I am fully committed to this business. I am throwing everything I have at it. I am no longer hedging, pacing myself unnecessarily, or keeping something in reserve just in case. That shift alone has changed how I work, how I think, and how I show up day to day.

What This Is Not About

This is not about being the best filmmaker or video producer in the industry. I regularly see work that is technically and creatively far beyond what I am capable of, and I have enormous respect for the people doing it.

It is also not about having the biggest production company, the flashiest gear, or the most impressive client list.

What I am talking about is commitment. About extracting the maximum from what you already have. About genuinely testing the limits of your own potential rather than operating comfortably inside it.

Over the years, I have noticed that many capable and talented people hold back. Sometimes only slightly, sometimes significantly. They do good work, but they never fully commit to finding out how good they could actually be.

I think I understand why.

How Holding Back Protects the Ego

I have spent a lot of time cycling, and like many long-term cyclists, I have learned as much about myself as I have about the sport. There is a behaviour in cycling that I see constantly, and it shows up in business too.

Before a ride or a race, people talk down their preparation. They mention illness, lack of training, mechanical issues, or fatigue. These comments quietly lower expectations before anything has even happened.

Afterwards, the story continues. If the performance was decent, it becomes impressive given the circumstances. If it was poor, the explanation is already in place.

What is really happening is that the benchmark has been lowered in advance. Anything above it feels like success.

In business, this pattern often hides behind the idea of underpromising and overdelivering. On the surface, that sounds responsible. But there is another version of this that happens internally. Underpromising to yourself. Quietly setting the bar low enough that you never have to stretch.

Over time, this normalises mediocrity. It makes not reaching your potential feel acceptable.

I believe the main reason people do this is ego protection. If you never give something your full effort, failure is easier to explain away. You can tell yourself that you did reasonably well for the amount of energy you invested.

Once you give something everything you have, that safety net disappears. If it does not work, there is nowhere to hide.

Learning to Be Comfortable With Discomfort

At some point, I became more comfortable with that discomfort. I became more willing to fail, as long as I knew I had genuinely shown up.

There is an endurance cycling event I have returned to repeatedly over the past decade called 3 Peaks. It is a brutal ride. Two hundred and thirty-five kilometres, five thousand metres of climbing, and often very tough conditions. For amateur riders, finishing in under ten hours is the benchmark.

I kept coming back and missing that goal. Year after year. It became an obsession.

Eventually, I decided to remove all ambiguity. I trained harder than ever before. I changed my diet, lost significant weight, added strength training, focused on recovery, and committed fully. Then I crashed and fractured my pelvis. Months on crutches followed, then a long rebuild.

When I finally returned to the event in the best shape of my life, I had my worst result ever.

Strangely, that was the moment the obsession disappeared. Knowing that I had truly given it everything mattered more than the outcome. There was no lingering regret, no unanswered question about what might have happened if I had tried harder.

That experience reshaped how I think about effort, commitment, and success.

A Regret Minimisation Approach to Business

That same thinking now guides how I approach my business and my life.

As I have got older, I have become far more deliberate about what I commit to. I have cut back on obligations that do not matter, relationships that drain energy, and activities that do not align with how I want to spend my time.

When I decide something is worth doing, I recommit properly.

After my cycling accident, I had a lot of time to reflect. Was this business what I wanted to give my energy to? Was I prepared to make the sacrifices required? Was I willing to endure discomfort and uncertainty?

Once I answered yes, the commitment deepened.

In cycling, there is a phrase about leaving everything out on the road. That is the mindset I bring to my business, to this podcast, and to my coaching work.

What Full Commitment Looks Like in Practice

Not holding back does not mean working endlessly or burning yourself out. It means learning with intensity and acting deliberately.

When I get interested in a topic, I go deep. That might be sales, content strategy, conversion optimisation, or operational systems. I read, study, test, and refine until I understand how something really works. Sometimes that learning comes from unexpected places. I once read a book on Toyota’s production system just to see what principles could be applied to video editing workflows.

It also means obsessing over the client experience. Looking for friction. Improving communication. Raising the standard of delivery. Doing what it takes, consistently.

Setting a Higher Standard

One of the best examples I know of this mindset is a restaurant in Melbourne called Cicciolina. I have been going there for over twenty years and have never had a bad experience.

The food is consistently excellent. The service is attentive without being intrusive. Every detail is considered. When you watch the staff work, especially from the bar near the kitchen, you can see the intensity and focus they bring to their roles. They are fully present and deeply invested in the experience they are creating.

That is why the restaurant has endured. They set a high standard for themselves and refuse to compromise.

That is the level I aspire to in my own work.

This approach is not about underpromising. It is about setting a high standard and doing everything you reasonably can to meet it. I am not competing with other video businesses. I am competing with my own potential, and every time I get closer to it, I realise there is more available.

Why This Matters for You

A large part of my coaching work is helping video business owners access this level of commitment. Not through pressure or bravado, but by helping them remove the internal brakes that keep them playing small.

It is about aiming higher, accepting discomfort, and being willing to come up short, as long as you genuinely showed up.

As I look back on the past year, there are things I would do differently. Some ideas did not work. Some decisions missed the mark. But I do not have regrets. I gave it a proper go.

That matters more than a flawless result.

A Final Thought

There is a cultural idea that effort should look effortless, that trying too hard is uncool. I see the opposite in the businesses that are doing well. Their founders care deeply, think hard, and apply themselves with focus and energy.

The most sustainable way to do this is to fall in love with the work itself. The learning. The craft. The satisfaction of doing something well. The experience of serving clients properly and being paid fairly for it.

If this resonates with you, if you feel the pull to stop sitting on the fence and fully commit to the business you know you are capable of building, this is the work I love helping people with.

You can learn more at ryanspanger.com/coaching when you are ready.