I just got off a call with “Trevor”.

He’s a $1.1M producer, who’s recently hit a roadblock of sorts.

On one hand he wants to scale, grow his book, and grow his team. Hit $2M, maybe more.

But he also has this nagging feeling that if he does, he's going to lose something.

He loves where he’s at. He has time to coach his kids, spend time with his wife, makes a solid income, and has the mental bandwidth to actually breathe.

So I challenged him with a question I’m wrestling with myself:

Is more going to give you more of what you want? Or is more going to give you less of what you want?

He didn't have an answer. And honestly, I’m still squaring that circle too.

Because here’s the thing:

Our culture has programmed us to believe there's only one path: more.

For us in ProducerLand, that means more premium, more clients, more revenue. Top Producer or bust.

But I’m not a fan of following the programming. I believe you should question everything.

And my question for you in this newsletter is:

What if more is the wrong game entirely?

The Top Producer Trap

There's this thing in our industry where everyone's chasing the same trophy:

Top Producer.

Bigger book, bigger deals, bigger income. The more skins on the wall, the better.

And look, I get it. Growth is good. Ambition is good. Pushing yourself is good.

But here's what I've come to realize after almost 15 years:

More for the sake of more is a fool’s game.

Because with more comes more stress, more clients who need you, more problems to solve, more mental real estate occupied by things other than your family or yourself.

I've seen it play out dozens of times with colleagues:

They hit $500k, then $1M, then $2M. But at each step they're still not satisfied.

They reflexively follow the programming to keep building, but never once stop to think about their end goal. Or more importantly, what was enough.

Until one day, they look up and realize instead of building a life of margin and freedom, they built themselves a trap.

What If You Optimized for Freedom Instead?

My thesis is, there's a better way.

I call it being a Free Agent.

The Free Agent doesn't optimize for size. They optimize for freedom.

And they do it by asking different questions from the start:

• How much do I actually need to make?

• What's the sweet spot where I can serve clients well without being underwater?

• What book size gives me margin for my family, my sanity, my life outside this job?

Here's the reality:

Top Producers are slaves to their book. Free Agents own theirs.

A Free Agent might cap out at $1.2M revenue or maybe $2.5M. The number doesn’t matter, and is unqiue to the individual Producer.

But they're selective. They know their clients. They can actually take a vacation without their phone blowing up. They have dinner with their kids without wondering if they're dropping balls at work.

They key is figuring out your enough.

Enough Is the Real Win

And that's the secret.

Because fulfillment doesn't come from a bigger book. It comes from having what you need so you can have the margin for everything else that actually matters.

The industry glorifies the grind. The producer who writes $5M. The one who never stops hustling. The one who's "always on”.

But nobody asks:

• Are they happy?

• Do they see their wife and kids?

• Are they living a well-rounded fulfilling life?

I'm not saying don't grow.

I'm saying grow with intention. Know your enough.

And when you get there, be okay with being there.

Because being a Free Agent isn't about settling. It's about being smart enough to know that the real win isn't more, it's enough.

That’s freedom.

My Challenge To You

Stop chasing Top Producer, and start becoming a Free Agent.

Here's how you do it:

Step 1: Start with the end in mind.

What does your ideal life actually look like? How much time do you want with your family? What does financial security mean for you, not your neighbor, or the Top Producer at your agency, but you?

Spend time thinking about this and put pen to paper.

Step 2: Focus and execute.

Work backwards. What income do you need to fund that life? What book size gets you there? How many clients can you actually serve well without being underwater?

Now lock in and get after it.

This isn't about working more, it's about working with direction.

Every call, every prospect, every deal should move you toward becoming a Free Agent.

Be ruthless with what doesn't fit.

Step 3: Reassess when you get there.

Maybe you hit your number and realize you want to push a bit further. Maybe you realize you overshot and need to scale back. No worries.

The point is you're making the call, not the industry, not your agency, not the scoreboard.

Figure out your enough, and build a book that serves you, not the other way around.

And when you get there, have the guts to be content.

Because that's where fulfillment and happiness is, not somewhere over the revenue rainbow.

Ok, that’s enough for now.

See you Friday bright and early.

Kick ass take names,

Micah

P.S. We just finished shooting the Producer Playbook 2.0. It should be up by next weekend. Meaning it’s the last week to grab the 1.0 version at $195 before we bump up to premium pricing.

And yes, if you buy 1.0 now, we’ll give you access to the new 2.0 version at no addtional charge.

Here the link.