I've been writing about push mode and pull mode for the last two weeks.
Push mode is when everything requires force. Pull mode is when the structure of your business draws you toward outcomes.
Today I want to get practical. What does it actually look like to flip from push to pull?
Here's the honest answer: you can't flip everything at once. The goal is learning to recognize push mode when you're in it, then systematically converting those areas to pull over time.
Step 1: Notice where the force is coming from.
Spend a week paying attention to the moments that require willpower. The tasks you dread. The things you have to make yourself do. Just notice it. Don't try to fix it yet.
Step 2: Ask a different question.
Most shop owners ask "how can I push harder?" That keeps you trapped.
The better question: "What would need to be true for this to happen without me forcing it?"
Take following up with leads who didn't book. In push mode, you rely on yourself to remember and care enough to do it.
But what would need to be true for follow up to happen without you forcing it? Maybe it's a CRM that sends automatic sequences. Maybe it's a team member whose job includes lead follow up. Maybe it's a booking process so clear that fewer leads fall off.
These are structural solutions. They make the behavior happen through design rather than effort.
Step 3: Start with the physics, not the tactics.
Most shop owners jump straight to tactics. They hear about a tool and implement it hoping it will help. Sometimes it does. Often it doesn't.
Tactics only work when they fit the physics of what you're trying to achieve. You have to understand the force you're trying to eliminate before you can design the right solution.
Step 4: Invest up front.
This is where most shop owners bail out. They see that designing for pull requires time they don't have. So they stick with push mode because at least it's familiar.
But push mode consumes all your capacity so you never have space to build pull mode. You stay stuck forever, too busy pushing to create anything different.
The way out is treating pull mode design as a non-negotiable investment. A few hours a week dedicated to converting push areas into pull areas.
Every area you convert gives you capacity back. That capacity can be reinvested into converting more areas. The math starts working in your favor.
Step 5: Accept that not everything can be pull.
Some parts of your business will always require some degree of push. Difficult conversations. Creative decisions only you can make. Situations that don't fit any system.
The goal is strategic push mode. Pushing only where it's required. When you're pushing on five things instead of fifty, you have enough energy to push well.
What pull mode actually feels like
Pull mode feels like clarity. You know what needs your attention because the systems handle everything else.
Pull mode feels like momentum. Things move forward even on the days you're not at your best.
Pull mode feels like choice. The business doesn't collapse the moment you stop applying force.
The exhaustion you're feeling isn't permanent. There's a different way to build. It starts with recognizing where you're pushing, then asking what would need to be true for pulling to work instead.
That's the path. Not complicated. Just not easy.
-Gabe