The Gap Between “Wanting It” and Actually Doing It
I hear it every single week. “I want to scale.” “I want more to make more money.” “I want to reach that next level.”
But then I look at the actions, and the math just doesn’t add up. There is a massive, gaping hole between what people say they want and what they are actually willing to do. If you’re feeling attacked right now, good. Maybe you should be attacked when your actions don’t track to the bullshit coming out of your mouth.
The “Safe” Way to Stay Broke
I see business owners who are terrified to spend a dime on marketing, yet they wonder why their calendar is empty. They get stuck in analysis paralysis, researching the “perfect” strategy for six months instead of just launching something imperfect and adjusting in real time.
They say they want to be “thoughtful” with their time and money. But “thoughtful” has become a code word for stagnation and lack of action. Being “thoughtful” isn’t always intelligent or strategic. Sometimes it just means you’re too scared to move.
- The Reality: They don’t have a strategy for their business or a plan for their life.
- The Distraction: They spend their time and money on dumb shit. Productive avoidance is a real thing, and most entrepreneurs suffer from it. Answering emails that don’t matter. Reorganizing systems that aren’t broken. Spending money on DoorDash, Amazon, and random crap… while lead generation is flatlining.
You aren’t being “careful” with your money; you’re being reckless with your potential.
“It’s Easy for You to Say”
I get this one a lot. “Well, it’s easy for you to say that because of where you are now.”
You’re right. It is easy for me to say it now. But you’re getting the order of operations backward. I didn’t start acting this way because I because the companies started seeing success; The companies saw success because I acted this way.
I was investing in marketing when I didn’t have money to invest in marketing. I was sticking to a rigid strategy when it would have been way more fun to go out and blow money on a Friday night. I did the boring, hard, and scary stuff first. No vacations, no sitting at bars watching sports, no fake “self-care” days which, from what I can tell, seem to just be doom scrolling for 8 hours and pretending like it is helpful to your mental state. Am I “balanced”? Absolutely not. And maybe you desire more balance than I do, totally fine. But when you hit someone with “it’s easy for you to say”…you might want to get off your ass first.
The hard stuff was hard, and it is still hard. Success isn’t a destination where you suddenly get to stop being disciplined; it’s a standard you have to maintain.
You Want the Result? Do the Work.
If you look at my life or my business, or a friend that you wish to be like and say, “I want to be like that,” then you need to stop looking at your bank account and analyzing every cent, and start looking at your calendar and your habits.
- Stop Hiding Behind “Research”: Analysis paralysis is real and by the time some people have perfected the decision, others are 6 months into trying and succeeding. Pick a direction and move.
- Audit Your Spending: If you can afford dining out and DoorDash but “can’t afford” a marketing budget, you don’t have a money problem; you have a priority problem.
- Build a Strategy, Not a Wishlist: A plan is what you do when things get hard. If you don’t have one, you’re just drifting.
Stop saying you want “more” if you’re going to keep acting like “less.” The gap between where you are and where you want to be is filled with the actions you’re currently making excuses to avoid.
Listen or don’t. The world will keep moving. Markets will keep shifting. Other people will keep executing.
And you’ll stay exactly where you are.
Stop complaining about the results you didn’t get from the work you didn’t do.