Written by Michael Gillespie
In this issue:
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“When you stop questioning your pace, you start mistaking motion for meaning.”
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You’re a membership operator - and you’re busy.
There’s always something to do.
Launch the next module. Write the next email. Drop the next benefit. Post. Promote. Refine. Repeat.
And before long, this work you’re so passionate about becomes something else - something with a slightly differentflavor than you were once used to.
It stops feeling like building. And starts feeling like feeding - a system, a schedule, a funnel…the list goes on.
And the hard part is, everything looks like it’s working.
But deep down, you can feel it: You’re producing, but not progressing.
You’re growing, but not grounded.
And suddenly you realize you’re operating a machine but not really driving your business anymore.
If this sounds as familiar to you as it often does to me, then let’s talk about what an operator must do when motion becomes more important than meaning.
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That’s been one of the most valuable lessons I ever learned in membership.
You built your business with a belief. A purpose. A vision.
But somewhere between onboarding flows and renewal emails, those things got buried.
Not lost. Just drowned out by the pace of things.
And here’s the truth most operators won’t say out loud:
It’s entirely possible to grow your membership and lose your connection to it at the same time.
Let that one sink in.
You might still be helping people. Still getting testimonials. Still converting.
But if your work feels hollow to you - like you're just meeting deadlines and ticking boxes, then you’re no longer driving your membership from a place of conviction.
Instead, you’re just keeping up.
You’re feeding the machine.
And machines don’t care what you believe.
They only care that you keep going.
I’ve seen this play out over and over again. And I can tell you that most operators who have significantly grown their businesses in relatively short time, will tell you they feel less connected to their purpose than when they started.
So the question I want you to consider is this:
When you disconnect purpose from growth, what happens?
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