If I look back a few years, I can name several friends, colleagues, and people I know who were in a very similar position to me. They were early in their new businesses, struggling to find clients and customers. Some of them are still in that same situation today 5 years later—some good months, some bad months, and a constant cycle of stress that keeps them from fully escaping the trap. Now, I’m not going to whitewash anything. I was lucky in some ways, especially in that I sold a company, which gave me a little bit of security when starting over. (Though mentally i didnt feel secure but thats another story). But regardless years later, the difference between where I am today and where some of them are now doesn’t come down to luck. It comes down to a choice. I chose to create content. They chose to do something else. Some of them dabbled in content here and there, but they never fully committed. I took it seriously. I treated content like it was life or death. And because of that, I broke out of the cycle. I’ve done cold outreach. I’ve sent cold emails. I know that you can get customers that way. But having done both, I can tell you that content and cold outreach are not even in the same arena. They are not comparable in any way, shape, or form. Everyone needs to do what works for them. There’s no single piece of advice that applies to everyone. But if I were in the position of needing to make something work, I would do everything in my power to make content work. Even if it meant putting in more time. Even if it meant sacrificing some of my personal life for a while. I know that might go against the anti-grind, anti-hustle culture that says you can have it all, balance everything, and still grow a business. But that wasn’t my reality. I couldn’t do it that way. It was hard hearing from my daughter that she was sad I missed her soccer game. It hits you as deep as it can be. But looking back, I am so grateful that I put in the time. I have much more control now.

I had a conversation with a friend recently that's been on my mind. They're facing multiple difficulties right now. And I mean *multiple* - any one of these challenges would be a lot for a single person to handle. Some are external circumstances beyond their control, while others stem from decisions they've made over time. Either way, they've got several different hardships hitting them all at the same time. What struck me most was how this pile-up of problems creates a kind of paralysis. When you're facing so many challenges simultaneously and the situation seems impossible, that's incredibly stressful. It zaps your energy. The sheer weight of everything makes it difficult to even begin finding a way out. As we talked, I started to notice something. Beneath all these various problems, there's usually some major thing - a core belief or situation - that they've come to accept as unchangeable. Yet that's precisely what needs to change. Here's what I mean: Over time, we develop patterns and beliefs about our lives. Certain aspects become so familiar that we stop evaluating them. We accept them as fixed realities simply because they've been there so long. "This is just how my relationship is." "This is just the job I have." "This is just how I handle money." "This is just who I am." But often, it's these very things - the ones we've stopped questioning - that are actually holding everything else in place. They've become the foundation that all our other problems are built upon. The hardest choice isn't deciding which of your many problems to tackle first. The hardest choice is identifying and confronting the thing you've convinced yourself cannot change. Maybe it's a relationship that's been dragging you down for years, but you've convinced yourself you can't leave, or it can'tbe fixed. Maybe it's a job that's crushing your spirit, or that youre terrible at business, but you've told yourself you have no other options. Maybe it's a pattern of behavior you've labeled as "just who I am," when it's actually something you learned and can unlearn.

Hey Academy! Inside the No-Code Architect's Community we're doing our first in-person meet up on Saturday 4/5 starting at around 9am. Somewhere near the beach, like Newport, CA. If you've been on the fence on joining the group, want to learn more about automation, and meet up with a bunch of cool automators, here's your nudge!🫸 We're still deciding what to do, but if you're interested, let me know, or if you have questions, drop em in the comments! Would love to meet you, have some fun, and help you on your journey! If it's a right fit, looking forward to see you there. 🤝