Table of contents
Share Post

Even If Your Ass Falls Off

What does it take to transform from a troubled 19-year-old facing jail time to a solar sales legend generating seven-figure income year after year? In this powerful episode of The Solar Coaster, recorded live from my battleship on Oahu, Michael O’Donnell—co-founder and VP of Sales at Sun Solar Solutions—shares how a simple philosophy learned in recovery became the foundation for extraordinary success in solar sales.

Michael’s award-winning book “No Matter What (Even If Your Ass Falls Off)” tells this transformation story while providing a recipe for sales success that’s deceptively simple—though as he emphasizes, simple doesn’t mean easy.

The Origin of “No Matter What”

Michael’s philosophy didn’t originate in sales training or business school. It came from a much darker place—and a desperate need for change.

“I’ve managed to screw up my life. I’m about to lose my full scholarship to a private university. About to be sent to jail,” Michael shared about his situation at 19 years old.

The Twelve-Step Beginning

“And I get it in my head—maybe a judge will be lenient on me if he knows I’m going to twelve step meetings. So I start going to twelve step meetings, and I gather, you know, I probably also need to stop using alcohol and drugs.”

The Simple (But Not Easy) Answer

“So these old guys tell me how to do it. And it’s really, really simple. Now, they didn’t say it was going to be easy, but they said it was going to be really, really simple. And the answer is go to ninety meetings in ninety days.”

The Catch

“And you’re like, oh, okay, yeah. But you have to go no matter what. Like, you know, it doesn’t matter what the issue is. You’re going to go to a meeting every day no matter what.”

Michael thought: “I think I can do that if I can get these guys off my back and free myself from all this trouble I’ve managed to get myself into.”

The Real Catch

“And they said, oh, wait, wait, hold on. There’s a catch. The catch is two things. One, you have to go every day, no matter what. And that means even if your ass falls off, your ass falls off. Pick it up, take it to a meeting.”

The Title Explained

“And that’s where that asterisk comes from. It’s supposed to be a little bit funny.”

This philosophy—absolute commitment regardless of circumstances, excuses, or obstacles—became the foundation not just for Michael’s recovery but for his extraordinary success in solar sales.

The Book That Knows Too Much

As someone who recently wrote a book myself, I related deeply to Michael’s description of the strange experience of being an author:

“It’s funny, and I know you’ve recently written a book, and when you are in the process of writing a book, you know, you want to get it done. You can picture it being on shelves. What you don’t picture is someone coming up to you and knowing a lot about you because they read your book.”

The Rewarding but Frightening Reality

“And it’s a real rewarding, but almost a little bit frightening experience. Someone that you don’t know at all really knows a good deal about you.”

This vulnerability—putting your story, your struggles, your strategies into a book for strangers to read—requires its own kind of courage. But for Michael, who’d experienced transformation through honesty and vulnerability in recovery, perhaps it was a natural extension of his journey.

The Numbers That Demanded a Book

Michael didn’t just decide to write a book on a whim. His results spoke so loudly that others insisted he share his approach:

“As I experienced the success that I’ve experienced in selling solar—selling over two and a half million watts of solar in seventeen and then again in eighteen and between two and three million watts of solar in nineteen and twenty and year after year after year, generating a seven figure income—I had a lot of requests to come and share and talk.”

The Persistent Request

“And really specifically said, you know, you need to write a book about this.”

Let’s put these numbers in context:

  • 2.5+ million watts in single years (2017, 2018)
  • 2-3 million watts in 2019 and 2020
  • Seven-figure income consistently, year after year

For perspective, many solar salespeople struggle to close deals consistently. Michael was closing deals at a scale that put him in the top fraction of one percent of solar sales professionals nationwide.

People weren’t just curious—they were demanding to know: How?

The 1,000-Book Collection and Sliding Ladder

One of my favorite details from our conversation revealed Michael’s commitment to lifelong learning:

“I’m a big, big book reader. My pride and joy is my bookcase. I have about a thousand books in a bookcase, most of which I’ve read. And I have this ladder. It’s a bookcase that has a ladder that slides.”

The Vision Realized

“And the guy who built that for me was saying, you know, if you couldn’t possibly have this many books, if we didn’t make this bookcase quite so high, we wouldn’t need this ladder. I’m like, no, no, dude, you don’t understand. I have saved all these books so I would build a bookcase someday that has a ladder.”

This detail reveals so much about Michael’s character:

  • Long-term thinking (saving books for years for a future bookcase)
  • Commitment to learning (reading most of 1,000 books)
  • Vision (knowing exactly what he wanted and building toward it)
  • Prioritization (a bookcase with a sliding ladder as “pride and joy”)

From Reader to Author

“So to be the author of a book is kind of been this vague idea, but specifically experienced something that I had a bunch of people say, dude, you really need to write a book about this.”

Moving from consuming a thousand books to authoring one that becomes a bestseller represents a powerful evolution—from student to teacher, from learning to leading.

The Recipe Book

Michael’s book isn’t just memoir—it’s a practical guide:

“The subtitle of the book is The Recipe. It’s a recipe book, and it’s a recipe to generating a seven figure income selling in sales.”

The Solar Primer

“And there’s quite a bit in it also about solar and the solar sale. So it’s a bit of a solar primer, if you will. It’s got some of the concepts and the tactics and the philosophies and the strategies.”

The Counterintuitive Ideas

“Some of the big, big, big ideas that are counterintuitive to a lot of people that are in sales, to many people that are selling solar.”

This combination—personal transformation story PLUS practical sales strategies PLUS solar-specific tactics—creates a unique value proposition. Readers get inspiration AND implementation.

The Bestseller and Spanish Translation

Michael’s book achieved significant commercial success:

“And so it was exciting to do it and have it come out and be a bestseller.”

The Signing Experience

“And it’s an opportunity to sign copies for people that are about to read it. It’s been just super exciting.”

The Spanish Version

When I asked about the Spanish translation Michael had just launched:

“So No Matter What is the English version. And as you said, there’s a little asterisk funny part there that says even if your ass falls off.”

The decision to translate the book to Spanish reflects:

  • Recognition of Spanish-speaking solar professionals and markets
  • Commitment to accessibility
  • Understanding that the “no matter what” philosophy transcends language
  • Business savvy (expanding market reach)

Two Rooms of Old Guys

Michael’s story begins with contrast—two rooms of old guys, both profoundly shaping his trajectory:

“But the asterisk comes from and what the book is about is a story. It’s my story, incorporating this recipe, starting with two rooms of old guys—guys that when I say old, I mean guys that look like me, right?”

Room One: The Mandated Meeting

“Two nineteen years old. And I find two rooms of old guys. One I’ve been sort of mandated to, if you will. I’m in quite a bit of trouble.”

This is the twelve-step meeting—the room where “old guys” taught him the “no matter what” philosophy that saved his life.

Room Two: (Implied but not fully described in excerpt)

The second room likely refers to mentors in business or sales who helped shape his professional trajectory—though this wasn’t fully detailed in the portion of transcript I have.

The parallel between recovery mentorship and business mentorship is powerful: both required Michael to show up, commit fully, and trust the process even when he couldn’t see the outcome.

The Philosophy Applied to Sales

The beauty of Michael’s approach is how seamlessly the recovery principle translates to sales success:

In Recovery:

  • Go to meetings every day, no matter what
  • No excuses, no exceptions
  • Even if your ass falls off, pick it up and go

In Sales:

  • Show up for your work every day, no matter what
  • No excuses, no exceptions
  • Even when you don’t feel like it, even when prospects reject you, even when nothing seems to be working—show up

Simple but Not Easy

Michael emphasizes this crucial distinction: the recipe is simple. Anyone can understand “show up every day no matter what.” But simple doesn’t mean easy.

Showing up when you’re discouraged, rejected, tired, questioning yourself—that’s hard. But it’s also what separates seven-figure producers from struggling salespeople.

The Counterintuitive Strategies

Michael teases that his book contains strategies that are “counterintuitive to a lot of people that are in sales.”

While we didn’t dive deep into these specific tactics in this excerpt, the overarching philosophy itself is counterintuitive to how many people approach sales:

Common Sales Thinking:

  • Work smarter, not harder
  • Focus on high-probability leads only
  • Take breaks when you’re burnt out
  • It’s a numbers game—just keep grinding

The “No Matter What” Approach:

  • Consistent daily action trumps sporadic intensity
  • Showing up builds momentum that creates opportunities
  • Discipline, not motivation, drives results
  • The commitment itself changes you in ways that improve performance

Why This Episode Matters

Michael O’Donnell’s story offers something rare in solar sales conversations: a proven philosophy for success that’s grounded not in aggressive tactics or clever scripts, but in fundamental principles of commitment, discipline, and showing up.

For solar sales professionals struggling to gain traction, Michael’s approach provides hope: you don’t need to be the smoothest talker or most naturally gifted salesperson. You need to commit to showing up, no matter what, and trust that consistency compounds into extraordinary results.

For anyone facing challenges—in business, recovery, personal growth—Michael’s journey from jail-bound teenager to seven-figure professional demonstrates that transformation is possible, but it requires embracing a deceptively simple philosophy and executing it relentlessly.

And for the solar industry as a whole, Michael’s success story (and willingness to share it through his book) provides a roadmap that’s transferable, repeatable, and proven—not based on market conditions, company resources, or natural talent, but on a commitment anyone can make: show up, no matter what.

Even if your ass falls off.

Listen to the Full Episode

Ready to hear Michael’s complete story? Listen to this inspiring episode of The Solar Coaster on your favorite podcast platform:

Connect with Michael O’Donnell

Learn more about Michael’s sales philosophy and get his book:

Get The Solar Coaster Book

Explore more inspiring stories from the solar industry. Get your copy of The Solar Coaster book on Amazon.

About The Solar Coaster Podcast

The Solar Coaster is a podcast that takes you on the wild ride through the solar industry, told by the people who live it every day. Hosted by Anna Covert—author, digital marketing expert, and founder of Covert Communication—each episode features candid conversations with solar professionals sharing their journeys, challenges, and victories.

Connect with us:

chris@covertcommunication.com

Stay in the loop

Subscribe to our free newsletter.

Related Articles