EDIT: I turned this into a YouTube video: https://youtu.be/b0RffvCTXv8 WARNING: This post will increase your ability to make your dreams become reality. This is a belief that helped me go from a procrastinator to financially free in just four years. In exchange for this increase in power, this belief may decrease your happiness. It did for me. If this is not an exchange you're willing to make, I suggest you don't read on. You have been warned. Let me start by asking a couple questions: Over the past year, have you made some progress towards your goals? Have you improved your life in some way? Most will answer with yes. Feels good, right? You probably have this belief: "if I progress/practice/improve a little bit everyday, eventually I'll get what I want." Makes logical sense, right? But how long are you willing to wait? 5 years? 50 years? What if 60 years go by. You're on your deathbed. You sit, patiently waiting to get what you want, knowing you have spent your whole life improving. When suddenly the sickening realisation hits you... You've ran out of time. Here's the truth: Progress is a Means to an End. It is something that needs to happen in order for you to get what you want. But in a human's desperation to get what they want, when they hear "if you keep making progress, you'll get what you want", they latch onto 'Progress'. What used to be a Means to an End becomes the new End. They forget about what they truly want, so at the end of the day, if they have made Progress, they feel satisfied. But they are left without what they want. I see a few problems with this. First, you may be making progress, but are you progressing enough to get what you want? Arnold wants to become a bodybuilder. Arnold goes to the gym. Arnold does one set of bench press. He has made progress. Feeling proud of his progress, Arnold leaves the gym. Progress has been made, but has ENOUGH been made? Second, you may be making progress, but what if it's in the wrong areas? Jimmy wants to become the biggest YouTuber. He understands that better camera means better video. Jimmy spends months researching what's the best camera to use. Each day he makes progress towards figuring out the ultimate camera. He is making progress. But is he making progress in the very precise set of things he needs to be making progress on to reach his goal?