You Can't Buy The Finish Line (or the Skill to Reach it)

“You don’t become confident by shouting affirmations in the mirror, but by having a stack of undeniable proof that you are who you say you are”

- Alex Hormozi

People who buy expensive running shoes and don’t run? They can’t run. Architects who don’t code? Can’t build. People who only talk? Don’t create. Don’t improve. Don’t matter.

Talk is talk. It’s easy, and it feels like progress. It’s not. It’s not building, it’s not bettering, it’s not creating. It’s just talk.

I’ve worked with some of the best talkers in the world. Developers, gym tryhards and CTOs. It’s incredibly easy to talk and it gives you a mega dopamine hit. The hit is so close to what you get from doing, so it’s easy to understand why you’d just talk.

“Yeah, I’m working on a tech strategy”. “I’ll get fit when it warms up”. Same chat, different frame. Talk only gets you so far.

You’re not a builder. You’re not an athlete. You’re not as good as you say you are. You’re not unmotivated. You don’t need motivation to do things. Just do the things. Doing the thing is more than not doing the thing.

Doing something, anything, is a step up from doing nothing. It builds discipline around doing the thing. If you’ve got discipline, you don’t need motivation. Motivation is an excuse, not a tool. If you find that you build motivation while you’re doing the thing? That pushes you further.

But the doing is hard. There’s a lot of what-if. What if I can’t do it? What if it’s difficult? What if I don’t finish it? What if I’m not as good as my peers?

These are real worries. I experience them and you will encounter them. By doing, you’re getting in reps. If you’re getting in reps, you’re getting better. If you’re getting better, those what-ifs appear less often.

Just take the plunge.

Somewhere out there, there’s somebody with half your ability, but double your confidence doing what you want to do. Outwork your self-doubt.