Within the past two or three years, it has become popular to say sentences with this structure: “I just couldn’t be more _______!” (Fill in the blank with whatever emotion you want.) One of the reasons it bothers me is because it’s not true.

Jarred always played with an intensity. Watching him take his at-bats, you could see a stern and determined brow. When he struck out, he walked back to the dugout with a look of pure disgust, flabbergasted that he didn’t get a hit. 

When you find yourself in a moment of stress, there are two prevailing pieces of advice. Some people will say, “just be present.” Other people will say, “this isn’t going to matter in five years, so stop worrying about it.” Neither one feels particularly helpful when you’re in a moment of stress.

At the end of 2023, I got burned out on producing. A few stressful projects in a row left me feeling overwhelmed by the idea of dealing with clients and crew, and I didn’t work on a major production for four months. 

At the end of every year in my twenties, I looked back with more regret. I regretted the things I didn’t accomplish. I regretted the projects that didn’t come to life, and the lack of progress in my career. 

When I started investing money into making content for Instagram in the spring of 2023, I set a few ground rules. I wouldn’t do trends. I wouldn’t do anything cheesy. I wouldn’t do any annoying hooks. 

Isn’t this the journey of every artist? We borrow from our favorites. We steal things that look and sound good. We imitate the techniques and styles of other people in order to learn.

We all have stupid, unfinished projects that we don’t talk about. 

Recently, a friend of mine said he doesn’t take any meetings in the mornings, so he can focus on his fitness and creative work. Must be nice…I thought to myself. I have morning meetings at least once a week. 

There’s something called the “action line.” If something is too hard, and motivation is too low, we don’t take action. But, if motivation is high enough, and the action is easy enough, we take action. 

There once was a shepherd boy who walked through a field. He had to get home for dinner. He knew if he was late for dinner, he would get in trouble. There were two ways home. One way was the long way, along a pleasant stream. The other way was the short way, through a thorny thicket.

for some reason, many people have a bad habit of racing through their new year goal-setting. They jot a few things down in a half an hour on the first page of a new notebook, and call it a day. 

2024 was my most successful year for goal achievement. I did something drastically different from previous years. 

For a long time, I felt lost. I felt like I was floating from hobby to hobby, trying to find my footing in a slippery world. I felt like I was yelling from the rooftops, just for people to tell me to “get down from there!” 

Here’s a crazy realization: that night I remember so vividly happened almost five years ago. 

For a long time I wondered how these people I admired, who did so much, also had time for their health, for their hobbies, and seemingly so much more. Then I figured it out. 

The output goals were confusing. They included things like run a marathon, generate $50k in product sales, max out your Roth IRA, write another book. I accomplished a couple of these, but most of them I didn’t. 

Even though 99% of the people I talked to about my dreams were excited and supportive, all I could think about were the two people who weren’t supportive. 

To be in business is to take a risk. In a capitalistic society, success is not guaranteed, or even likely. 

The momentum you gain from doing the wrong thing can be easily transferred into the right thing.