The Momentum Year

In December, I entered a contest. In January, I won.

To enter, you had to hold up The Little Gold Book of Yes Attitude and explain how it had helped you develop a positive mindset.

The prize was a $30,000 trip to Charlotte to be mentored by Jeffrey Gitomer, the “King of Sales.” I was put up in a hotel, received all 13 of Jeffrey’s books, appeared as a guest on the Sell or Die podcast, and got direct mentorship from Jeffrey himself.

It was an incredible experience.

Coincidentally, Jeffrey is also the author of The Little Red Book of Selling—one of the best-selling sales books of all time. That was the very first book I read after my concussion, which makes the timing of everything feel almost unreal in hindsight. 

Finishing up the year, the winning streak continued. I was awarded the Enterprise Rent-A-Car All Around Sales Potential Scholarship, and I also received two other honors on the same day.

In April, I returned as a guest on Sell or Die for a second time to talk about my “5 Keys to Success.” This was big for me because it helped solidify what was coming next.

On the podcast, I shared that I was trying to land a job with the Chicago Bulls. They ended up shouting me out to the Bulls and joking that if the Bulls wouldn’t hire me, they would.

In March, we had a random overnight blizzard. Not really relevant to anything, but it’s not every day you get to make a 7-foot snowman.

Nearing graduation, I still didn’t have a job. I had offers from insurance companies, but I was adamant about doing something I loved. I was heavily pursuing a ticket sales role with the Chicago Bulls and made a late push.

I broke through the noise and was told I’d get the next interview if their final offer wasn’t accepted. But it was accepted, and that door closed.

As destiny would have it, the opportunity to work for Buy Gitomer in Charlotte opened up—and I accepted an offer to join the team.

I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Professional Sales and began my transition into the next chapter. I moved to Charlotte and got settled in.

During that time, I decided it was time to start building my personal brand.

That night, I bought the domain ZackKrupp.com.

At this time, I was still heavily involved with Vasayo. In November, I attended a business boot camp in Dallas. After the conference, a group of us went to play basketball, and during the game I badly sprained my wrist.

But what’s more significant is what happened the next day.

It’s important to mention that during this conference, many successful people in business shared testimonies about coming to Jesus and the miracles they experienced afterward.

Around the same time, I had been learning about the power of thought and how mindset can influence your body’s chemistry. When I sprained my wrist, I decided it was the perfect moment to test that idea after hearing so many testimonials about its effectiveness.

On the plane ride home, I literally talked to my wrist—telling it to heal, visualizing it recovering completely. I believed it would heal on its own through thought alone, but nothing changed.

When I got home, the pain was so intense I couldn’t even grip my toothbrush. I had to brush my teeth with my other hand. When I got into the shower, I decided to pray. I asked Jesus to heal my wrist in His name. I declared it was already done and thanked Him for healing me.

At that moment, I experienced what I would describe as an instant miracle. I felt a calm, warm wave of energy start at the tips of my fingers on my injured arm, moving up through my hand and stopping around my elbow.

In disbelief, I thought, No way.

I slowly began moving my wrist and realized I had more range of motion. I moved it more aggressively and felt almost no restriction. About 95% of the pain was gone. It was incredible.

I made a vow that day to never forget what happened and never doubt God again.

Miracles are real. Angels are real. Jesus is real.

Working for Jeffrey Gitomer, I was fortunate to be part of a lot of big wins.

My main role was selling The Gitomer Learning Academy online sales training. During that time, several key milestones and “firsts” happened for me:

• Closed a $50,000 sale tied to an $80,000 speaking engagement for Jeffrey
• Helped bring in top entrepreneurs to the podcast and office, including Andy Frisella, Grant Cardone, Jack Canfield, Charlie Rocket, David Meltzer, and Dallin Larsen
• Interviewed sales managers multiple times on the Sell or Die podcast alongside Jeffrey Gitomer
• Spoke on stage in major cities for several sales events
• Was offered my first solo speaking opportunity focused on overcoming hardship

When I first met Jeffrey—before I was hired—I shared my desire to one day become a top keynote speaker.

Within just a few months of working there, that opportunity started to take shape.

Jeffrey went on a speaking tour through Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Georgia.

The day before the Chicago seminar, I was asked to get on stage and share about the program we sold in front of about 100 people.

In the next city, I was told to create my own speech. By the third city, I had developed a more polished routine.

I ended up speaking in front of audiences of 45, 100, 150, and eventually 200 people.

It became a real proof of concept for me—of what happens when you openly share your goals and follow through on them.

I started building my own book collection.

I created a vision wall and started dreaming bigger.

I got access to my first airport lounge (the Centurion Lounge—free food and drinks).

I reached out to Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, and shared how his work had impacted me and what I was working toward. He responded and told me, “Zack, I believe you will be a billionaire.”

I ate the most expensive steak of my life.

I discovered Napoleon Hill—the father of personal development.

I watched one of my closest friends earn $10,000 in a single month. I was genuinely proud of him, and it pushed me to want the same for myself.

At an event, I met Lil Wayne’s former manager, who heard me speak and liked my style. He suggested I start thinking bigger—taking on larger speaking roles, doing reality TV, and charging $5K for speaking engagements. It didn’t materialize, but the timing of it stuck with me.

That year I started writing my first book.

I also began creating my first course on credit. I got about 90% finished before ultimately shelving it because I realized it didn’t align with my long-term direction.

It wasn’t perfect, but I knew one thing for sure—I was growing.

In the back half of the year, I started planning what would become one of my first bigger “massive action plans.”

I’ve always loved Christmas, and I wanted to experience it in one of the best places possible. So, I decided—last minute—why not this year?

I booked a full Christmas trip to New York City.

I didn’t know much about NYC at the time, but I remembered a fitness influencer I followed, Jen Selter, always hyping up the city.

Being a dreamer—and thinking she was attractive—I decided it would be a great trip. I also decided to shoot my shot. I sent her a DM and started posting a daily personalized countdown, letting her know it was #25DaysTill #TheChristmasTour, and that I was trying to meet up and grab ice cream.

As the trip got closer, the plan intensified. At one point, I even got 82 friends to comment on her latest post to bring attention to it.

I’ll be honest—it never actually happened. But her sister and roommate did DM me a few times, and Jen replied to my DM once. Either way, I still ended up having a memorable Christmas adventure in NYC.

What I proved to myself was that massive action creates attention. She has over 12 million followers, and everyone said it wouldn’t work—but in a way, it still did. I created awareness, and I learned something in the process.