First published March 2024. Restored in full in October 2026.
Never underestimate how complex making a change can be.
Things are rarely zero to one.
You’ll go backwards, sideways, shoot forwards and then come to a dead halt. All before change happens.
Take this graph as an example. This is Boltjobs.com website traffic over the last two years:
How about this one? My weight, tracked since June last year:
Progression is never linear.
It’s easy to forget when you’re in the trenches or stuck in the doldrums.
I love this speech from Rocky. The line that matters most:
“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”
I had the whole speech stuck on my wall for years.
Life is never easy. There are always areas of challenge, particularly if the desire to progress is baked in.
The good news is that you can get comfortable with discomfort. If you want to progress, you should seek discomfort.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither were you.
Your life is one long, tough build.
Whenever I’m grinding, I just think of my dad. He ran a plastering business as a sole trader. He often worked seven days a week.
Just before I was born, he spent over a year building our house.
Single-handedly.
Whilst running his business full-time. And he was in an exhausting physical job.
My family lived in a caravan on the front lawn until two months before I was born.
Now that’s grinding.
He did that, so I can hit keys and talk for a living.
I have it easy.
What part of your house are you building today?
Is it tough?
Good, it’s probably worth it.
P.S. He spent the next 25 years working on the house. It was never truly finished.
