No one knows exactly what next year will bring. It’s the realm of fear, hopes and dreams. It’s what our ambition aims towards. It’s a shot in the dark. It’s about unmitigated belief more than anything else. It’s about taking massive action, and then reaping massive rewards. It’s all of those things.
But when you’re at the start of it: none of that matters.
You may have hopes, but it’s like thin air.
It’s hard to breathe if you exert yourself too much.
It’s like pushing the body, and then some.
And that’s why it’s hard.
And that’s exactly why we admire people who push through anyway.
When you start anything, the stuff that you should put all stock into is “massive belief”. It has to be so massive that it almost borders on delusion, while you try to accomplish the impossible, and those around you may think that you have lost your mind.
It’s at this time that you take massive action.
It’s at this time that it doesn’t really matter where you start, but the fact that you start is what it’s about.
It’s about the belief that “these are the motions”.
It’s about the belief that you are “in a process”
And it’s at this time that your “massive belief” intersects with “the process”.
It’s this feeling, when you pull another all nighter, when dawn is upon you, when a million souls go about their business, having their version of “having it together” and “having it all figured out”. It’s at that time that your “massive belief” doesn’t falter, but it’s at this time that you can only do one thing, and one thing alone: you can only trust the process.
Because there has to be a method to your madness.
There is no other way—----
Because—--
You go through the motions.
You made a plan.
You have a destination in mind.
You have some idea of what has to be done.
And part of you just “wills the thing into existence”.
All while another part of you studies the plan, studies the data, learns from the mistakes of others, gets inspired by others who went down a similar path as yours, and who made it big.
And it’s at this hour that you just have to do it: you just have to “trust the process”.
Because without “trust in the process” none of it will happen.
Without the reps you ain’t moving forward, you ain’t making progress, and you surely will not get to where you want to be.
And then before you know it, you're a few months in, then a year, then a few years, and the object of your obsession is slowly turning into a reality. You may not have achieved it all the way, but it’s getting there, there is data in support of this, you have achieved small wins, and all of that contributes to your massive believe that is acquiring critical mass, your name is getting out there, as well as a massive moat, and then a few years later you’re right where you were supposed to be. Now ain’t that something.
The easiest way to give away all your power is just to lay it all out in the open. No filter. No nothing. Anything that comes to mind you just sling out into the world. Until one day you realize that no one listens. No one cares. You don’t want to be this person.
But the fact of the matter is: most people are that person.
Because it takes cunning, skill, and understanding to play a different game. One where you build reputation not by what you do say, but by what you leave out. When you play the game like this, you create an enigma because no one will be able to exactly pin you down.
You leave little breadcrumbs. Little clues. You give hints, but no instructions. You give a direction, but no roadmap. And by doing this you will instill this question in the back of everyone’s mind: who is this?
And you will find out that this is the way to get attention, because then you are turning your public figure into something that’s larger than yourself. You become hard to pin down, and exactly because of that people will want to know: who is this?
But you have to be out there. People will have to be able to find you. They will have to be able to find some sort of resource, which will allow them to spend two hours getting to know you.
You will have to be deliberate about what you put out there. There will have to be some original thought. You will have to be a critical thinker. You will have to be aware of using as few words as possible to get your point across. You will have to have the ability to finish most of an idea, but not all. You will have to connect your ideas to some other ideas, but you will have to do so loosely.
After those two hours of going through the stuff that you put out there—-- they will feel like they got to know you, but just like the enigma that you created around yourself: they will feel like they know some, but not all. And that’s the way that you answer the question: who is this?
And then, after a few years of “building” like this, you look back and you realize that you learned more about yourself than you ever did before. You have transformed, you have become more interesting, and you have a better life because of it. Now ain’t that something?
One of the ways that I keep constant reminder in sight is literally asking questions: am I making progress? Am I in charge? Am I on task? It may seem almost silly to literally ask those sorts of questions, but it works for me. Because it’s a constant reminder. It’s a constant reminder of what is important—--not just to me personally, but more so to get the job done.
And you can think of variations, literally in the vein of the job: is the job done? Am I making progress? Am I doing the right thing? And you can think of variations in this vein, and I guarantee you that this will be extremely helpful once you are on a task.
What about the “way before”? What about that time when you have an idea to act on? When you have a dream of which you believe that you can turn it into a reality? What sort of question can you ask yourself then to get started, to build momentum, to build self-belief, to build confidence, and to build the conviction that you can do this.
So for the way before it’s more about imagining an inner dialogue, not just with yourself, but with a third person who is simply going to ask the question: why not you? And this is where you turn the whole inner dialogue into a pep-talk, and it’s highly effective if you do it well. It should be build partly on rationale, partly on blind belief, but the outcome has to be certain as it can be.
Because the question is: why not you? You got the brains, you can study the plan, you can grow immensely in the next couple of years, you can build a wall around your family. So why not you? Because you can set priorities, you can identify a fat pitch, you can ride a wave for as long and as hard as you possibly can, you can get eye-balls, you can get people excited, you can create something that people will want and need. So why not you?
Why not do the thing that you care deeply about. Why not just try to do it. No matter what, and no matter how small. Consider this: if you do something that you care deeply about, then you will be able to create your best work. You will be able to create something that truly matters. Not just to you, but also to other people. They will be able to pick up on it when you do your best work, and they will cheer you on for it.
You will just have to find the inner strength to keep on going before the fly-wheel has picked up speed. Before it has so much momentum that it can’t be stopped. And this is hard. This is the lonely hour, where you will doubt yourself, people will think that you are a fool, and they will think that you will run yourself into the ground.
And this is the hardest part. Because is where you will need blind belief that goes against what your brain might be telling you. This is where you grind and keep going up that hill, and where that small question will be a constant reminder: why not you? And it will turn into: it has to be you.
And then when you have gone through it. When you are on the other end. Then you will have forgotten all about it. You will have transformed, you will have built a better foundation for your family, and it will then be down the line again, that you get an itch, where you get “willing” to back-track and to reinvent yourself.
And that’s when it becomes relevant again, that’s when you start asking yourself: why not you? But by then it’s different: you no longer start from scratch, but you start from something that you built before. You start from the foundation that you build during your first grind.
And that’s the exact place where you want to be, because then you have turned your whole life into a fly-wheel that just keeps on going and going. You will grow, you will evolve, and your life will be way richer because of it. But you have to start somewhere. You have to be willing to take the initial small risk, the small leap of faith, and then sometime after—-------boooooom, you’re where you want to be. Now ain’t that something?
So much of what we do or don’t do simply doesn’t happen because of “how it makes us look” or “what other people think”. We all want what’s out there in the world to be the “absolute best”, but the simple fact of the matter is that this isn’t what life is all about.
People care way less than you may think.
Try it. Upload a video to a new channel. Nothing happens.
The fact of the matter is just that you can just go out and try different things. If it ain’t perfect: don’t worry. If it’s meant to be good, then people will pick up on it in the “crappiest version”.
It ain’t about perfection. That can come later.
This is about trying things out. It’s about coloring outside of the lines. This is about going to the excess, to go the extreme, to figure out where things will bend.
And then you know.
Sometimes that’s all there is to it. Sometimes you just have to find out.
Hit the wall.
Try again.
Hit another wall.
Try again.
But learn from it. Make small progress each time, and then you will find out after some time that one of the things that you “put out there”. That it actually works. And they all say that you shouldn’t do it for validation, but man does it feel good. And none of it would have happened if you didn’t get started in the first place.
So just go and do it. Just start. See where it leads. See what happens. And the worst that can happen is that you figure out what doesn’t work. And then you do the opposite. Then you do what does work. And you keep doing it. And you do more of it. And then one day, you got something. You got a fly-wheel, that will keep on spinning, and that’s when you backpedal, try new things, because it feels good, it gives you that rush, and there ain’t nothing quite like it. And that’s when you have found your groove. Now ain’t that something?
Forget about mind-set, strategies, protocols, principles, key questions, long-term ambitions, “moon-shots”, missions, and all of those things. There is a place and time, but it only makes sense once you are able to put all of it in the right frame of mind. There needs to be a bigger idea that ties everything else together. The sort of idea that is easy to understand, but that puts everything in a brighter light. It’s because we lose track when it all gets way too complicated, and to an extent it’s all over-thinking a lot of things that are essentially simple.
And I have been thinking a lot about this lately, because it has to do with where you are right now, but also where you want to start when you build your empire———that’s where all this becomes ultra-important, and I thought the greatest thing to pass down is “wealth”, and “what it means to be a good person”. But I have come to realize that this is not all of it, because it’s too broad. It’s also too vague. It’s too fragile because it can all be lost. And with things like these; it usually requires just a bit of time until the insight comes to mind. So that’s what I did: I gave things some time.
There just has to be something that’s more important than wealth, and I think that I know what it is: it’s the belief that the world is a place of abundance. This means that there is more than enough food available for everyone. This means that there is enough land and resources to build a big ass house. This means that there are endless opportunities, and you can just take a pick. It means that having failed at something isn’t the end, but there are new opportunities around every corner. It means life is ultimately supposed to be good, enjoyable and easy.
This doesn’t mean that you will get it all served to you. Because you will still need to go out there. You will still need to do the Hard Work. You will still need to grind. You will still have sleepless nights because you aren’t there yet. You will still need to figure out your edge, as well as the one thing that will keep you going. You will still need to play the long game. You will still need to be patient. You will still need to take the beatings where you try a hundred times, and you will only have a few successes that you can put under your belt.
The world as a place of abundance just means that there are enough opportunities for everyone. The world is big enough. The world has enough to offer. It’s just a matter of time until you have figured out what is uniquely yours. Until you can claim your stake, and hold on to it for deer life as you move on from opportunity to opportunity. It’s all about finding the thing works, and to create leverage.
And if you keep all of this in the back of your mind; that the world is a place of abundance, then you are ten steps ahead of everyone else. And then it’s just a matter of time before you are where you are supposed to be. Because if the world is a place of abundance, then you will just start things and see where it leads. You will not doubt, overthink and put up roadblocks. You will just go, because you just unapologetically believe that it has to be out there. You just have to grind and go do the Hard Work, to charge on against everything else. People will look at you and think you are crazy, but you know better, you are on a mission, and deep down you just believe that it’s all just a matter of time before everything falls into place.
And then one day you will succeed, you will be at the top of the hill, you will look around, and you will be amazed at the life that you will have built for yourself. That’s when you sit back and think: yes, it really is a place of abundance. Now ain’t that something?
There is only one person that truly matters in the end, and that’s you. Because you are the one that you have to put up with at the end of the day. If you are doing well, then all the rest falls into place. And it may not seem “likable” or “right” to say this but we’re all motivated by what makes us feel good.
Even the most caring person that you know ultimately does this because they “feel good about it”. Feeling good about yourself is what keeps you going. You need ambitions, sure. You need to chip away at something. You need to get bigger, get stronger, you need to evolve, you need all of these things. But if you can’t feel good about yourself then you will not be able to do any of those things.
More than anything else, the way that you see yourself has to do with the way that you “see” what you did in the past. The trick is simple: feel better about your past, feel better about yourself. It’s sometimes referred to as “building a relationship with your past”, and there is something to it. It means that it takes constant work, care and it needs to have a purpose. If you manage to build that relationship in such a way that it makes you feel better in the present, then you are golden.
It hooks in with one of my other favorites, and that’s the “narrative identity”. The way that you see yourself has to do with the “stories that you tell yourself”. If you have a better story of your past, then you will feel greatly better about the present. What I like especially about the “narrative identity” is that it is rooted in the past, but it is aimed at the future. The “narrative”-part implies that it’s an ongoing process, and if you can forge that process towards a certain direction then it becomes a sort of fly-wheel that keeps on spinning, almost by itself.
So to begin, start with principle 1:
Combine this with “building a relationship with your past”, then hook in the “narrative identity” and you are well on your way to feeling better about yourself. Add some exercise, healthy diet, sensible sleep-rhythm, nurturing the best possible relationship with your wife and kids, and well then one day it’s just like booooooom: your life is way better. Now ain’t that something?
Some years ago there was this statistic that popped up: most people end up living close to where they grew up. There is just something about it that “sticks” and it’s almost in the same vein as that a lot of “luck” is involved as to where you were born. But this is very different from the “loyalty” to a location.
One of the hardest things that I ever did was to move abroad, and to decide to stay abroad for a longer period of time. My main “reason” for staying here was that in life there always has to be a “bigger opportunity”. Without a leap forward, it makes very little sense to return to something that may no longer be there.
But there’s still something about this statistic. Because where you live has a definite impact on your life trajectory. If you manage to surround yourself with like-minded people then your trajectory will be more steep and your life will be better. It’s as simple as that.
But it’s also hard to leave the things behind that you have known your whole life. But is that enough of a reason not to do things? Isn’t it the other way around: in that you should do things exactly because they are hard? Because the hard things are those that will get you to excel and get the best out of “you”.
If you take it to the next level, then it becomes even more obvious. Let’s say that you live in a place with low employment, drug abuse and overall misery. Then leaving should be easier. But in fact it may just be way harder. The “pull” might be stronger than what's keeping you from moving forward. And moving someplace else.
But I do get it. The longer you stay, the deeper the roots, the more you think you will “loose” if you decide to forge another path. But if you have an itch, then you owe it to yourself to explore it. And if there’s no “big opportunity”, then you will have to wait for a “fat pitch”. And when you got your sails up, when you are looking around, ready for opportunities, then you may just find out that everything was relative all along. The “big thing” that you were holding on to isn’t a sacrifice, but it will always be there and you can just go ahead, feeling good about it. When moving forward, there needs to be an indication that things will work out. Without it, mann, just hang on a little while longer.
