The Myth of the Perfect Plan
I used to think there was a secret formula.
You know the one. The step-by-step blueprint that successful people use to build companies, launch products, and manage teams.
I spent years looking for it. I read the books. I listened to the podcasts. I bookmarked the Twitter threads.
Guess what? It’s all bullshit.
There is no formula. There is only the messy, chaotic, beautiful process of figuring it out as you go.
If you're waiting for permission to start, you're going to be waiting forever.
The Execution Bias
Here’s the thing about learning: it’s mostly procrastination in disguise.
Don't get me wrong. I love learning. I'm a voracious consumer of information. But learning without building is just entertainment.
You don't learn how to ride a bike by reading a physics textbook. You learn by getting on the damn bike, falling off, scraping your knee, and trying again.
The same applies to everything else.
- Want to learn how to code? Build an app.
- Want to learn how to design? Design a landing page.
- Want to learn how to write? Publish a blog post.
It sounds simple because it is simple. But it’s not easy. It’s terrifying to put your work out there. It’s scary to fail in public.
But that's where the growth happens. That's the only place it happens.
My First Failed Project
I remember my first real attempt at building something. I had this idea for a productivity app. It was going to change the world.
I spent three months planning it. I wrote a 50-page spec document. I designed every single screen in Figma. I optimized the database schema before I even wrote a line of code.
When I finally launched it, you know what happened? Crickets.
Nobody cared. Nobody used it.
I was devastated. But looking back, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. It taught me the most valuable lesson of my career: stop overthinking and start building.
Managing the Chaos
As I started building more things, I eventually had to start managing people.
Let me tell you, managing people is hard. It’s messy. It’s emotional.
You can't just apply an algorithm to a human being. They have good days and bad days. They get motivated by different things.
Here’s what I’ve learned about management:
- Be relentlessly honest. People can handle the truth. They can't handle being lied to.
- Give away the credit, take the blame. It's that simple.
- Fire fast. If someone is toxic to the team, you have to cut them loose. It sucks, but it’s necessary.
You have to be willing to have the hard conversations. You have to be comfortable with conflict.
Thinking Differently
We are conditioned to follow the rules. Go to school, get a degree, get a job, climb the corporate ladder, retire, die.
It’s a safe path. It’s a comfortable path.
But if you want to do extraordinary things, you can't walk the ordinary path.
You have to question everything. Why do we do things this way? Is there a better way?
You have to be a contrarian. But not just for the sake of being a contrarian. You have to be right.
And being right when everyone else is wrong is the hardest thing in the world.
The Grind
People talk a lot about burnout these days. It’s a real thing. I’ve been there.
But let’s be honest. Building something meaningful takes an obscene amount of hard work.
There are going to be late nights. There are going to be weekends working while your friends are out partying.
There are going to be moments when you want to quit. When you question why you're even doing this in the first place.
That’s when you have to remember why you started.
For me, it’s about freedom. It’s about the freedom to work on what I want, with who I want, when I want.
That freedom is expensive. It costs blood, sweat, and tears.
How I Learn Now
I don't read textbooks anymore. I don't take online courses.
When I want to learn something new, I find the hardest problem I can find, and I try to solve it.
I read the documentation. I search Stack Overflow. I ask stupid questions on forums.
I break things. I fix them. I break them again.
It’s inefficient. It’s frustrating. But it’s the only way that works for me.
The Power of Focus
The biggest enemy of success is distraction.
We live in a world of infinite options. There’s always a new framework, a new tool, a new trend to chase.
You have to learn to say no.
Say no to good opportunities so you can say yes to great ones.
Pick one thing. One project. One skill. And go deep.
Become obsessed with it. Become the best in the world at it.
Then, and only then, move on to the next thing.
Embrace the Suck
Building things is hard. It’s supposed to be hard.
If it were easy, everyone would do it.
When things get tough, don't run away. Lean into it. Embrace the suck.
That’s where you find out what you're made of.
That’s where you discover what you're truly capable of.
The End of the Beginning
I don't have all the answers. I'm still figuring this out as I go.
But I know this: the only way to fail is to stop trying.
Keep learning. Keep building. Keep crushing it.
The world needs what you have to offer.
Don't let us down.
— Go make it happen.
The Myth of the Perfect Plan
I used to think there was a secret formula.
You know the one. The step-by-step blueprint that successful people use to build companies, launch products, and manage teams.
I spent years looking for it. I read the books. I listened to the podcasts. I bookmarked the Twitter threads.
Guess what? It’s all bullshit.
There is no formula. There is only the messy, chaotic, beautiful process of figuring it out as you go.
If you're waiting for permission to start, you're going to be waiting forever.
The Execution Bias
Here’s the thing about learning: it’s mostly procrastination in disguise.
Don't get me wrong. I love learning. I'm a voracious consumer of information. But learning without building is just entertainment.
You don't learn how to ride a bike by reading a physics textbook. You learn by getting on the damn bike, falling off, scraping your knee, and trying again.
The same applies to everything else.
- Want to learn how to code? Build an app.
- Want to learn how to design? Design a landing page.
- Want to learn how to write? Publish a blog post.
It sounds simple because it is simple. But it’s not easy. It’s terrifying to put your work out there. It’s scary to fail in public.
But that's where the growth happens. That's the only place it happens.
My First Failed Project
I remember my first real attempt at building something. I had this idea for a productivity app. It was going to change the world.
I spent three months planning it. I wrote a 50-page spec document. I designed every single screen in Figma. I optimized the database schema before I even wrote a line of code.
When I finally launched it, you know what happened? Crickets.
Nobody cared. Nobody used it.
I was devastated. But looking back, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. It taught me the most valuable lesson of my career: stop overthinking and start building.
Managing the Chaos
As I started building more things, I eventually had to start managing people.
Let me tell you, managing people is hard. It’s messy. It’s emotional.
You can't just apply an algorithm to a human being. They have good days and bad days. They get motivated by different things.
Here’s what I’ve learned about management:
- Be relentlessly honest. People can handle the truth. They can't handle being lied to.
- Give away the credit, take the blame. It's that simple.
- Fire fast. If someone is toxic to the team, you have to cut them loose. It sucks, but it’s necessary.
You have to be willing to have the hard conversations. You have to be comfortable with conflict.
Thinking Differently
We are conditioned to follow the rules. Go to school, get a degree, get a job, climb the corporate ladder, retire, die.
It’s a safe path. It’s a comfortable path.
But if you want to do extraordinary things, you can't walk the ordinary path.
You have to question everything. Why do we do things this way? Is there a better way?
You have to be a contrarian. But not just for the sake of being a contrarian. You have to be right.
And being right when everyone else is wrong is the hardest thing in the world.
The Grind
People talk a lot about burnout these days. It’s a real thing. I’ve been there.
But let’s be honest. Building something meaningful takes an obscene amount of hard work.
There are going to be late nights. There are going to be weekends working while your friends are out partying.
There are going to be moments when you want to quit. When you question why you're even doing this in the first place.
That’s when you have to remember why you started.
For me, it’s about freedom. It’s about the freedom to work on what I want, with who I want, when I want.
That freedom is expensive. It costs blood, sweat, and tears.
How I Learn Now
I don't read textbooks anymore. I don't take online courses.
When I want to learn something new, I find the hardest problem I can find, and I try to solve it.
I read the documentation. I search Stack Overflow. I ask stupid questions on forums.
I break things. I fix them. I break them again.
It’s inefficient. It’s frustrating. But it’s the only way that works for me.
The Power of Focus
The biggest enemy of success is distraction.
We live in a world of infinite options. There’s always a new framework, a new tool, a new trend to chase.
You have to learn to say no.
Say no to good opportunities so you can say yes to great ones.
Pick one thing. One project. One skill. And go deep.
Become obsessed with it. Become the best in the world at it.
Then, and only then, move on to the next thing.
Embrace the Suck
Building things is hard. It’s supposed to be hard.
If it were easy, everyone would do it.
When things get tough, don't run away. Lean into it. Embrace the suck.
That’s where you find out what you're made of.
That’s where you discover what you're truly capable of.
The End of the Beginning
I don't have all the answers. I'm still figuring this out as I go.
But I know this: the only way to fail is to stop trying.
Keep learning. Keep building. Keep crushing it.
The world needs what you have to offer.
Don't let us down.
— Go make it happen.