Last Monday, the second last day of August, I wrote the following, intending to post it this week: I need your help. I’m not sure what colour belt I am anymore. Let me explain. August was a great month. You may recall back in June I wrote about a rookie error that almost cost me my yellow belt that month, when a training day dropped out at the last minute. Well I’ve been calling the company every couple of weeks since, and the money finally hit our account! We still don’t have a date for the workshop, and I think it was almost to the point of “if we pay you will you stop calling us”, but I have been paid.

I also had two weeks in Bali (where I did a lot of writing and thinking, but not much dollar productive delivery or sales), and had a very productive second half of the month when I got back. Not to mention that September looks like it could get me to blue belt if a couple of things fall into place.

However, largely as a result of being overseas for half the month, my income dropped back into yellow belt territory.

My initial thought was that that means I’m a yellow belt again. But I’m not sure.

Hypothetically if someone is a black belt and is consistently getting over $60k a month and over $720k a year, but then had a holiday and for that month their income dropped below black belt for that month before going back up above $60k the next month, they would still be a black belt. You wouldn’t strip them of their belt for one month.

On the other hand one good month of $40k does not a blue belt make.

So part of me says Pete, you dropped below $30k, you are a yellow belt again. Suck it in and move on.

Another part of me says that I’m still trending up, the dip is an anomaly caused by taking a holiday, even Thought Leaders are allowed to take holidays some time, Pete, you can keep your green belt.

I need your help on this one people. What do you think? What belt am I?

The day after I wrote this, in the afternoon of the last day of August I had a great meeting with a prospect who ended up buying a ticket to the Million Dollar Expert Program coming up in August, and a $10k mentoring program! Talk about being saved at the 11th hour! So I can now say without a shadow of a doubt that I am still a green belt. Phew.

But I'm still left with the question of what the criteria for getting the next belt should be? You can leave your comments below.