E876 | How To Use Gratitude As Fuel

Gratitude as Fuel: How to Stay Sane When Your Cash Practice Feels “Slow”

If you’re in the early stages of building a cash-based practice, you already know this part is brutal.

You’re juggling a full-time job, seeing your own clients on nights and weekends, and trying to grow the thing fast enough to justify going all in. It’s messy, it’s slow, and it messes with your head.

That’s why this idea from PT Biz head coach, Courtney Morse, hits so hard:

“Gratitude is fuel.”

Not fluff. Not a cute quote for Instagram. Fuel.

Let’s break that down.

The Hardest Stage of Business

In our Rainmaker program, we work with clinicians who are either:

• Just starting their cash practice, or

• A little way in and realizing, “Wow, this is way harder than I thought.”

This stage is mentally the toughest because:

• Your confidence is fragile.

• You don’t know yet if this is actually going to work.

• You’re switching gears constantly – clinician by day, entrepreneur by night.

You’re tired, you’re stretched thin, and you’re not seeing results as fast as you want. That’s when it’s easiest to forget how far you’ve already come.

“Gratitude Is Fuel”: What Courtney Meant

Here’s the gist of what Courtney wrote to our Rainmaker group:

• Your business might look early, messy, or slow.

• But you took control of your future.

• Most people stay stuck, complain, and never do anything about it.

• You didn’t. You stepped out and bet on yourself.

That alone is worth being grateful for.

Gratitude isn’t just a holiday feeling. It’s a strategy.

When you use it on purpose, it:

• Calms the panic.

• Shrinks the “I’m so behind” narrative.

• Gives you the energy to keep showing up when progress feels slow.

Ask Your Past Self

One of the simplest gratitude exercises you can use:

Pick a point in the past – two years ago, five years ago, whatever – and imagine you could go back and tell that version of you where you are now.

• “Hey, we started our own clinic.”

• “We’re actually seeing cash clients.”

• “We’re building something that could replace our full-time job.”

That past version of you would be fired up.

They wouldn’t nitpick your current month’s revenue or stress over still being part-time. They’d say:

“You’re actually doing it. That’s badass.”

Current you is frustrated you’re not at the finish line.

Past you would be thrilled you even started the race.

That gap between those two perspectives? That’s where gratitude lives.

Why High Achievers Struggle the Most

If you’re wired like a lot of cash-based owners, you’re a high achiever. You:

• Set aggressive goals.

• Move the goalposts the second you get close.

• Downplay wins and obsess over what’s not done yet.

You’re the exact type of person who’s most vulnerable to frustration, burnout, and “it’s never enough” thinking.

Gratitude doesn’t erase your drive. It gives it a healthier base.

You can still:

• Want more.

• Build more.

• Push for bigger numbers.

You just don’t have to be miserable and blind to your progress while you do it.

It’s Not Just About Revenue

Most practice owners can tell you:

• Their monthly revenue

• Number of new evals

• Their goals for the year

But almost none track:

• How many nights they had dinner with friends

• How often they were fully present with their family

• The workouts, walks, or time invested into their own health

Those things actually matter more than the revenue number you’re mad about.

Take a minute and be grateful for:

• Your family, who supports you whether you hit a revenue target or not

• Your health and energy – the fact you can even make a run at this

• The flexibility and privilege of being in a position to start a business at all

Most people will never take that kind of swing. You did.

The “I Missed My Goal” Trap

Danny told the story of a year where his clinic did around $950k in revenue.

The goal was $1M.

They missed it.

He was grumpy, pacing around the house, annoyed at himself. His wife finally called him out:

“If I told you a few years ago you’d be mad about almost hitting a million dollars in your own business, you’d think that was insane.”

And she was right.

When he left the Army, his salary was $84,000.

Back then, he would’ve been thrilled just to replace that. Now he was frustrated about “only” doing $950k.

Same reality. Different lens. Gratitude flips the lens.

How to Actually Use Gratitude as a Strategy

Here’s how to turn gratitude into fuel instead of fluff:

1. Check in with your past self.
   Regularly ask: “What would 5-years-ago me think about what I’m doing now?”

2. List non-business wins.

   • Time with your kids

   • Trips you took

   • Health improvements

   • Relationships that got stronger

3. Celebrate progress that isn’t just numbers.
   Did you have the courage to launch? Raise rates? Host your first workshop? That matters.

4. Let gratitude reset your mood before you plan.
   When you stop and appreciate how far you’ve come, planning the next year feels exciting, not desperate.

You Don’t Have to Be Miserable to Grow

You can:

• Grind hard

• Want bigger things

• Push your clinic forward

And still be genuinely grateful for:

• The people you love

• The health you have

• The progress you’ve already made

Gratitude doesn’t mean you’re “settling.” It means you’re honest about the good that’s already here while you build what’s next.

If your business isn’t moving as fast as you want, that doesn’t mean you’re failing. It just means you’re in the hard part.

Use gratitude to remind yourself why it’s worth it.

Next Steps if You’re in the Early Grind

If you’re in that Rainmaker stage – working, building, doubting, and pushing – two resources that can help:

• PT Biz Part-Time to Full-Time 5-Day Challenge
  Get clear on exactly how many people you need to see, at what rate, to replace your income and go full time.
  physicaltherapybiz.com/challenge

• Free Discovery Call with PT Biz
  Talk through your situation with an advisor, get eyes on your numbers, and map out next steps.
  vip.physicaltherapybiz.com/discovery-call

Keep pushing. Just don’t forget to look around and be grateful while you do it.

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Ready to elevate your practice? Book a call at the link below with one of our expert consultants today and start your journey to delivering unparalleled physical therapy.

Podcast Transcript

Danny: 

[00:00:00] Hey, what's going on, doc Danny here at the PT Entrepreneur Podcast, and today we're talking about [00:00:05] how to use gratitude as fuel. [00:00:10] Then this comes from our head coach. His name is Courtney Morris, and [00:00:15] he works heavily within our Rainmaker program. These are people that are just starting their [00:00:20] clinics or they're very new and they're trying to grow them to a point where they can go full-time into their, into their [00:00:25] clinic, and in my opinion.

This early [00:00:30] stage is the, it's the hardest, uh, group of people to work with [00:00:35] mostly because mentally, like on the mindset side, it's, it's the [00:00:40] hardest stage. Um, it's where you can, your confidence can waver [00:00:45] the most, uh, and you just don't know if you're gonna be able to like, make it work or not. And [00:00:50] as well as if you're juggling, let's say you're working full time somewhere and you're doing this on the side, uh, [00:00:55] because you know you have.

People that depend on you. Uh, and you, you can't take the risk to [00:01:00] go all in and on yourself. You know, you, you might be switching back and forth a lot and nights [00:01:05] and weekends, you're, you're trying to get your business, uh, to the point where you have enough, enough volume where you can go [00:01:10] all in. And it's a very, very stressful stage.

Uh, and he put something in our [00:01:15] rainmaker group that I thought was really good and I wanted to read this and kinda explain my, my views on this and why I think it's important to [00:01:20] keep this in mind. He said, you know, gratitude is fuel. So you may not be [00:01:25] as far as long as you want to be. Your business might still feel very early, messy, [00:01:30] or slow.

But don't forget this, you took control of your future. [00:01:35] Most people settle. Most people complain. Most people stay [00:01:40] stuck. You didn't. You stepped out. You bet on yourself. You're building something from [00:01:45] nothing, and that's worth being grateful for. Gratitude isn't [00:01:50] just a holiday thing, it's a strategy. Be grateful for how far you've [00:01:55] come.

Be excited for how far you're about to go. So [00:02:00] when, you know, we think of gratitude, it's funny. Gratitude is one of those things that, [00:02:05] uh, it's, it's like you see on an Instagram post that some, [00:02:10] some person has put up in quotations about some sort of gratitude, uh, quote that [00:02:15] they, that they like. And it's sort of this thing you, you see in passing.

It almost feels, it, it always feels like [00:02:20] somewhat fake to me, you know? Um. I, I don't know. It, it's, it's like I don't [00:02:25] have time to be great, grateful, like I'm fucking working, like I'm trying to get shit done, you know? Um, [00:02:30] but here's the thing with gratitude, and [00:02:35] this is so accurate because we can be grateful for a lot of the [00:02:40] progress that we have.

As however small that might feel to you or however big that is. [00:02:45] And people who are high achievers expect to be able to, you know, do things that they wanna [00:02:50] do. They are the most susceptible to feeling, [00:02:55] uh, frustrated, stuck, can get borderline depressed when they're [00:03:00] not seeing the momentum. I'm not seeing the gains that they want to actually have.

And the whole thing with [00:03:05] gratitude is. That you want to take some time to appreciate [00:03:10] how far it is that you've actually come. And the way that I like to think about this is, [00:03:15] you know, if I, if I could go back in time and talk to myself two years [00:03:20] ago, five years ago, 10 years ago, whatever number you want on it, if [00:03:25] you go back and tell yourself where you were at now, how would that, you [00:03:30] know, person in the past feel about that?

Right? Like. If you went [00:03:35] back a couple years and let's say you started your own business and you told your yourself [00:03:40] a couple years ago that you'd done that, you had the courage to [00:03:45] make this massive change in your life and that you were betting on yourself for your own, [00:03:50] you know, financial and time freedom going forward for you and your family, they would [00:03:55] be fucking stoked for you.

They would be so excited. They'd be like, damn, [00:04:00] I'm a badass. I'm doing it like, this is so exciting [00:04:05] and you're sitting there frustrated because you haven't quite gotten where you need to go just [00:04:10] yet. As far as your volume goes to hit your goals that you have for the year, [00:04:15] that's fine. Like be be okay with like, you know, not accepting [00:04:20] where you're at, but also don't forget how far you have actually come.

And [00:04:25] gratitude is just such a powerful thing. It's like it's, it's so helpful [00:04:30] to. You know, center you around the work that you've put in, [00:04:35] not just on the business side, but even your family, even your [00:04:40] health. You know, like ju just other buckets that we don't put as [00:04:45] much emphasis on, especially as business owners.

You know, like I, I [00:04:50] bet you so many of you know exactly what your revenue is and what your business goals are, [00:04:55] but you know, how many times have you. I had dinner with friends [00:05:00] this past year. Like most of us are not tracking that. It [00:05:05] doesn't mean it's not important, and you should be grateful for the relationships that you do [00:05:10] have.

Should be grateful for the health that you have. Should be grateful for the family that you have, [00:05:15] and you should be grateful for the opportunity to work towards a business that you've [00:05:20] decided to to set up and grow. Now, this is just. Newer stage [00:05:25] businesses, but let's say you're bigger, you know, [00:05:30] you're trying to hit a million dollars this year and you fall short, [00:05:35] let's say either December and you're like $950,000 in gross revenue [00:05:40] instead of a million.

And I've been there, I literally had a year where that happen [00:05:45] to me, and I was bummed. I was super bummed, and I'm like [00:05:50] miserable walking around the house. And [00:05:55] you know, my wife, we've been married for a long time and she [00:06:00] knows, she knows when I'm being mopey. And you know, she's like, what's, [00:06:05] what's wrong with you?

What's going on? And I said, man, I had this goal. I didn't hit it, [00:06:10] whatever. And she laughed at me. She's like, what are you, are you serious? Like, how [00:06:15] can you be mad about this? Like, what would you have thought a few years ago [00:06:20] if this is what you're mad about? It's so crazy if you put it into perspective [00:06:25] and be grateful for where you're at and so much progress that you've actually made.

I mean, this is [00:06:30] what's so ironic about it, is that we're ambitious and we have these goals that we set, but at the same [00:06:35] time, we get, we get frustrated whether we, whether we hit 'em or not, even if we're close, [00:06:40] doesn't matter. But damn. Like if I would've gone back and told myself when I was getting [00:06:45] outta the military.

That I would had a business that just barely missed hitting seven [00:06:50] figures the year that I thought I was gonna hit it. Uh, I wouldn't have given [00:06:55] two shits about that. I would've been been like, are you serious, dude? Like, I would've just been [00:07:00] happy to replace my salary, which was $84,000 a year whenever I left, uh, the Army, [00:07:05] like it's perspective and gratitude is powerful.

So. [00:07:10] It's the holidays. Everybody has a chance to look back at the year and have a little bit of extra time 'cause people [00:07:15] are traveling and you know, we have more downtime around the holidays. What a perfect time [00:07:20] to keep in mind all the progress you've made to be grateful [00:07:25] and present around the people that you're doing all this for.[00:07:30]

That you're working so hard for, for, for your, your family that doesn't [00:07:35] care whether you have a successful business or not, because they're your family. They're gonna support you no matter what. [00:07:40] Like, be grateful for that. Be grateful for the fact that you have the health to be able to [00:07:45] even do this, that you have a position, uh, in life where you have the [00:07:50] flexibility to take a chance on yourself.

Many people do not. It's just the reality. [00:07:55] You are a lucky person. You are a fortunate person. And, and as soon as you start to [00:08:00] realize all these things that you should be grateful for, well, it's kind of hard to be a little bitchy, you know, grouchy [00:08:05] person like I was the year that, that I didn't end my goal so hard.

It just reframes your [00:08:10] perspective, gets you out of this, like these blinders on of, of [00:08:15] the negative side of what you didn't happen. Keep in mind all the great things that did [00:08:20] happen, and then plan to try to have the success that you wanna have the next [00:08:25] year at this point in time as well. So I hope this is something that resonates with you, something that I struggle with.[00:08:30]

To this day and doing podcasts like this, it helps remind me [00:08:35] too of the things that are really important, the things that I've made a lot of [00:08:40] progress on, that I'm very thankful for and very grateful to even have the [00:08:45] opportunity to do things like this in a number of ways, and that [00:08:50] is, that is a powerful thing for anybody to really.

Sit down, [00:08:55] appreciate those things. Look at the world around you and appreciate all the wonderful things that are, [00:09:00] that are in your life. And even if you're frustrated, 'cause your business maybe isn't making the progress that you wanted as [00:09:05] fast as you wanted, don't worry about it. If you're putting the work in on the right things, [00:09:10] you'll get where you're trying to go.

It may not be on the exact timeline that you want sometimes. Sometimes it [00:09:15] happens faster. Sometimes it happens slower, but it'll happen. But don't forget about all the other stuff. [00:09:20] Don't, you don't have to be miserable just to hit the goal that you have. Gratitude is a pretty awesome [00:09:25] thing.