25 powerful life lessons from 2025

 1. As the world becomes messier we are given the opportunity to grow stronger.

2. We were all artists before the world trained us to be adults. 

3. Success without soul is an empty victory.

4. The key to a great morning routine is a superb pre-sleep ritual. 

5. You become your conversations and your environments shape your performance, so choose them well.

6. The key to productivity is simplicity. Become a master of subtraction not addition.

7. A small team of A+ players can run circles around a large team of average ones.

8. Leadership is about what you do when no one is watching. 

9. Call your parents often, if you’re lucky enough to still have them. You’ll miss them once they are gone.

10. As the news grows more negative, read it selectively, and carefully.

11. Few things bring as much joy as a walk in nature with a faithful dog.

12. Rest isn’t a luxury but a necessity.

13. Give gifts in secret, for to give one with the expectation of a reward isn’t a gift but a trade.

14. Prayer is powerful and every single one of them is heard.

15. Fly 15 hours for a 15 minute meeting in person because the business of business is people and the greatest currency of commerce is human bonding.

16. 4 am is the new 5 am.

17. Reading is a master skill so read every book you can get your hands on. 

18. Journalling is praying on paper.

19. Your ability to love others depends completely on your capacity to love yourself.

20. The harder the project you commit to (and deliver on) the greater the payoff in terms of your personal growth, your professional mastery and your internal self-respect.

21. If you have excellent health, a happy family and work that provides purpose, you have a form of wealth that money can’t buy.

22. Most fears are liars. Most excuses are thieves. Trust them not.

23. Life is shorter than we think so make it really really deep.

24. Writing your obituary is a very wise exercise.

25. Be the nicest person you know yet always protect yourself.

If the Average Person Did This for 6 Months, They'd Be Unrecognizable to Their Friends & Family

 Being average is hell on Earth.

It’s a boring, lifeless, pandering, people-pleasing disaster that leads you to a dead end, and shortly after, off a cliff. Don’t do it, it’s a bear trap.

You can do better than average without much extra effort.

“There is no normal/average. A ‘normal person’ is what is left after society has squeezed out all unconventional opinions and aspirations out of a human being.”

– Sylvia Path

Why would you let society beat you down and leave you with scraps and food stamps?

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos goes a step further and says “The world pulls at you in an attempt to make you normal.” Your job is to fight the resistance, to stay the hell away from normal and the terrible rewards it offers.

I’m going to help you do it in the next 6 months. Here’s the blueprint below.

Being average is a sin – Zach Pogrob

Pretend rules don’t exist

The nanny police are gonna light my skinny ass on fire for this one.

I’ve been lucky to meet many ultra-successful people in my life. Everyone from Tony Robbins to Gary Vee. When I worked in banking I got to meet the founders of some of the biggest companies in the world.

One thing always stuck with me: they believed there are basically zero rules.

None of these people ever let rules get in the way. They saw rules as guidelines at best. Often, if they wanted to disrupt an industry they had to disregard the rules and even create new ones.

Average people don’t do this. They see rules as fixed roadblocks that scream “Computer says no, buddy!” Well, you can make the computer say yes to your dreams if you’re willing to.

Rules are often set by gatekeepers who want to keep the power and control for themselves. My favorite part about living in these modern times is the internet keeps giving the middle finger to the rules.

Just a few months ago banks were still trying to block Bitcoin. As of a few hours ago we’ve gone parabolic. The internet said “F*ck traditional money” and society has finally accepted it.

Whether you’re a crypto bro or not doesn’t matter. The point is the rules are being rewritten every day. Why can’t you do the same? Hint: you can.

Have conversations with strangers

Your measure of success comes down to how many uncomfortable conversations you’re willing to have. And talking to strangers is as uncomfortable as it gets.

I’ve been studying Timothy Leary lately. He’s most famous for his thoughts on LSD.

He’s a total tripper in many ways, but gee does he have some kickass, mind-bending views (must be all the magic mushrooms). He said this:

The more you try to fit in, the more you feel like an outsider, watching the ‘normal people’ as they go about their automatic existences.

This hit me hard. I’ve never fit in. I’ve always been a weirdo.

In society Timothy says we have club passwords like ‘Have a nice day’ and ‘Weather’s awful today, eh?’ But we’re dying to say forbidden things such as ‘Tell me something that makes you cry’ or ‘What do you think deja vu is for?’

I often think to myself when I meet a stranger, “Yeah but why do what you do?!”

Timothy says if you want to escape the hell of average, you must take more chances on having conversations with strangers.

Everybody carries a piece of the puzzle.

Nobody comes into your life by mere coincidence.

Trust your instincts.

Do the unexpected.

Find the others.

Inside the minds of strangers is the wisdom you could never figure out on your own. Stop drowning in loneliness and frustration and reach out to a new person every day for the next 6 months.

Watch your network explode. Watch your life change forever.

Always stick to what makes you weird, odd, strange, different. That’s your source of power – Robert Greene

Do things that remind you that you’re not average

Our identity is a powerful drug.

It determines the decisions we make and even the career we choose. Transforming your identity is crucial. Once you escape the label of average you’ve got to maintain it.

That’s why it’s crucial to do things that remind you that you’re not like everyone else.

It’s why I write online. It reminds me I’m a weirdo. It’s why I say crazy statements in front of local government such as “But what if they’re pedos?” or “Could they be a charity pretending to do good while quietly doing evil?”

I get all sorts of crazy stares when I say the quiet parts out loud. The more you do it the more addictive it gets.

Every day it’s important to take weird actions or you’ll get handcuffed by #normal and end up a boring person who follows the rules, never uses their creativity, and makes a decade feel like a year.

The two big choices in life

#1 Take risks

#2 Work for those who take risks

Average people choose option two. They can’t stomach taking any risk at all. They focus on the downsides, the risks, and the failure they feel is a guarantee.

But if you don’t take risks all you end up with are regrets that rot your mind slowly over time. It’s mental torture if you let it happen.

I prefer to take calculated risks. I do my research. I expect failure to happen. And when it does, I figure out why so I can learn from it. I also learn from other people’s failures so I don’t have to make the same mistakes.

Right now, write down all of the risks you took in the last 12 months. If you end up with a blank page then you’re in the fast lane for mediocrity.

The good news is you can escape. Start taking calculated risks.

Adopt this skill that takes seconds to learn

The average person moves at the pace of a snail.

There’s no urgency. They continuously shift goals to ‘someday, mate.’ They can’t stick to anything. Their habits list is full of heroin addictions like TikTok.

All you have to do to reverse these diabolical outcomes is adopt a sense of urgency.

• Set deadlines.

• Tell people your expectations.

• Be unreasonable in how quick you need other people to take action.

• Make your 10-year goals 6-month goals.

Going faster doesn’t require extra brains or a 4-year college degree.

It just needs you to understand you could die any day now, so hurry the f*ck up and make your dreams a reality or you’ll miss out on life (pardon my French).

There are only two kinds of issues in life

1. Skill issues

2. Will issues

Average people are overskilled. And people who think they don’t have the right skills are often just lacking will.

A lack of will is often covered up with perfectionism, complexity, overthinking, seeking out endless free mentors, or even believing you need more resources (money).

“Will” is emotional intelligence. “Skill” is intellectual intelligence.

As we move out of the over information age, intelligence and skill acquisition are becoming less relevant. What you need is the will.

The will to be bold.
The will to help others.
The will to make a change.
The will to reprogram your mind.
The will to push yourself beyond your comfort zone.
The will to live rather than be an NPC (non-player character).

Do the boring things that are often missed

The last step is to do the boring things average people think are cliche and overly simplistic. To become unrecognizable in 6 months, do this:

• Eat food that gives you energy (instead of makes you feel like sh*t)

• Keep track of everything you’re grateful for (daily)

• Replace Netflix with auto-biographical books

• Walk in nature every day

• Help those with nothing

• Write online every day

• Spend time with family

• Quit all forms of p*rn

• Sleep for 8 hours

This list makes me sound like a self-help listicle guru. Good. Doing the opposite of 99% of people and being uncool is the fastest path to your version of success.

Final Thought

If the average person did these things above, they’d be unrecognizable to their friends & family in 6 months.

Family and friends will start to say “You’ve changed.” Good. People will either accept the new you or keep trying to hold you back.

Choose wisely.

The Annual Planning Guide

 Today, I'll share my ​Annual Planning Guide​, which will arm you with the structure and tools you need to make 2026 your best year yet.

This guide covers the three components of my process:

1. Goal-Setting Framework
2. Three System Building Mental Models
3. Strategy for Tracking & Adjusting

I think of this process as my compass calibration:

Setting my overall direction for the year ahead—with an understanding that my ability to adapt along the way will be just as important (if not more so!).

I hope this guide will spark you to conduct your own annual planning process for 2026, as I know you’ll get incredible value from the exercise.

The Goal-Setting Framework

There are two primary categories to consider as you plan for 2026:

• Professional
• Personal

Note: I personally like the simplicity of two categories here, but some may prefer to split the Personal category into Health, Relationships, etc.

For each primary category, my goal-setting framework has four connected components:

1. Big Goals
2. Checkpoint Goals
3. Daily Systems
4. Anti-Goals

Here's how it works...

1. Big Goals

These are your big, year-long goals. They should be large and ambitious.

If these big goals don't scare you a little bit, I'd encourage you to think bigger.

The Big Goals are the summit of the mountain. They’re motivating on a macro scale, but too far off and intimidating to be motivating on a micro daily basis.

2. Checkpoint Goals

Work backwards from your Big Goals to formulate a set of Checkpoint Goals.

If the Big Goals are the summit of the mountain, the Checkpoint Goals are the mid-climb campsites. You can't reach the summit without reaching these points, as all paths lead directly through them.

3. Daily Systems

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” - James Clear, Atomic Habits

These are the 2-3 daily actions that you need to take to create tangible, compounding forward progress. The simplest daily actions to generate progress in a given arena.

If the Big Goals and Checkpoint Goals are your compass, establishing your direction, the Daily Systems are your feet, moving you forward on your climb.

4. Anti-Goals

“All I want to know is where I’m going to die, so I’ll never go there.” - Charlie Munger

Anti-Goals are the things we don't want to happen on our journey to achieve our Big Goals.

If the Big Goals are your summit, Anti-Goals are the things you don't want to sacrifice while executing the climb—like your life, your toes, or your sanity. You want to reach the summit, but not at the expense of these things.

For example, your Big Goal is to become CEO, but your Anti-Goals may be (1) never spending over 200 nights away from your family and (2) never allowing your health to fall apart from constant travel and stress. You want to achieve the Big Goal, but not if it means having those Anti-Goals become real.

Anti-Goals are guardrails: They allow you to win the battle and the war.

Putting It Into Action

To put the goal-setting framework into action:

1. Big Goals: Select 1-3 specific, measurable Big Goals within each primary category (Professional and Personal). Write them down.
2. Checkpoint Goals: Select 1-2 specific, measurable Checkpoint Goals for each Big Goal. Write them down below the associated Big Goal.
3. Daily Systems: Consider the simplest daily actions that would create forward progress toward your Big and Checkpoint Goals. Select 1-3 specific Daily Systems for each Checkpoint Goal. Write them down below the associated Checkpoint Goal.
4. Anti-Goals: To define your Anti-Goals, invert the problem: What are the worst outcomes that could occur from your pursuit of these Big Goals? What could lead to that worst outcome? Using your answers, select 1-2 Anti-Goals for each Big Goal. Write them down below the associated Big Goal.

To bring this to life, here's an illustrative example with my main professional goal for 2026:

Big Goal: Submit the full manuscript of my second book to my publishers.

Checkpoint Goals: Complete a thoughtful, well-constructed outline by January 2026. Submit rough draft for initial review to my editor by June 2026. Complete a penultimate draft by September 2026.

Daily Systems: 60 minutes of daily writing to make slow, steady, incremental progress. 30 minutes of daily reading and/or research to keep the idea engine fresh and flowing. 30 minutes of daily thinking to process and connect ideas in unique, non-obvious ways. Note that I’m not establishing insanely ambitious Daily Systems. I want it to build momentum and stay on track.

Anti-Goals: Never traveling for more than 10 nights out of the month (I don't want to miss this precious time with my wife and son). Never sacrificing my health and family non-negotiables to achieve the Big Goal.

System-Building Mental Models

Harsh Truth: Ideas are cheap, execution is expensive.

Even with your Big Goals to motivate you and your Daily Systems all planned out, you may fail to execute.

To guide your execution against your Daily Systems, here are three system-building mental models to support you in your journey:

ABC System (My Favorite!)

I like to establish three levels for every daily system:

• A: Most ambitious, perfect case
• B: Middle ground, base case
• C: Minimum viable level

On days when you feel great, you hit your A. On days when you feel ok, you hit your B. On days when you feel bad, just hit your C.

The ABC System removes any intimidation or guilt:

As long as you hit your C, you're making forward progress. Anything above zero compounds.

The system prevents optimal (A) from getting in the way of beneficial (C) and gives you the flexibility to make progress while allowing the inevitable chaos of life to enter.

Two-Day Rule

With whatever habit you're trying to build, never allow yourself to skip more than one day in a row.

Quoting a study in the European Journal of Social Psychology:

“Missing one opportunity to perform the behavior did not materially affect the habit formation process.”

Skipping one day won't hurt your habit building, as long as you don't skip the next one.

30-for-30 Approach

Do the thing you're trying to improve at for 30 minutes per day for 30 straight days.

30 days of effort is a real commitment. If you're half-in, you won’t want to take it on and commit to the 30 days.

30 minutes per day is short enough that you can mentally take it on. Pre-start self-intimidation is one of the biggest drivers of stagnation.

30 days of 30 minutes per day is 900 total minutes of accumulated effort. This will yield surprisingly significant results.

Strategy For Tracking & Adjusting

There's a concept in aviation called the 1-in-60 Rule:

A one degree error in heading will cause a plane to miss its target by one mile for every 60 miles flown.

In other words, tiny deviations from the optimal course are amplified by distance and time. A small miss now creates a very large miss later.

This highlights the importance of real-time course corrections and adjustments.

Conduct a three question monthly check-in on the last Friday of each month:

1. What really matters right now in my life and are my Big Goals still aligned with this? Assess the quality of your goals and ensure that they still feel appropriate.
2. Are my current Daily Systems aligned with my Big Goals? Assess the quality of your Daily Systems and whether they are creating the appropriate momentum.
3. Am I in danger of running afoul of my Anti-Goals? Assess the quality of your environment and decisions to evaluate any changes that need to be made.

Write the answers down.

The ritual takes ~30 minutes each month and creates a structure for adaptability. An opportunity for regular reflection and minor course corrections that are essential on your journey.

Your Annual Planning Guide

To summarize my ​​Annual Planning Guide​​:

1. Establish Big Goals for Professional and Personal spheres.
2. Establish Checkpoint Goals for each Big Goal.
3. Establish Daily Systems associated with each Checkpoint Goal.
4. Establish Anti-Goals for each Big Goal.
5. Execute against Daily Systems using the ABC System, Two-Day Rule, and 30-for-30 Approach.
6. Track and adjust using the three question monthly check-in.

The Special Ops Drill

 

The Special Ops Drill (3 moves, zero fluff) After listening to the podcast I immediately wanted to figure out how these tools can be applied in every day situations, not just under cover ops. So here is the revised version meant to help you develop mental fortitude to win in your career and life.   Take ten minutes for this — it’s short, but it’s the kind of reflection that gives people a breakthrough. It helps you see exactly why you might be stuck and what would truly move you forward.   1) Run the Six-Month Scenario Borrowed from the podcast adapted for corporate reality. It’s six months from now. Someone who doesn’t work as hard as you — two kids, new mortgage, a full plate — just landed the VP role you wanted.   What must have been true for them to get it? List 1–3 actions they took that you didn’t, especially the ones that make you squirm.   Examples to jog your brain: They asked a senior VP to sponsor their business case and got a yes. They ran a crisp monthly executive update that tied work to revenue, risk, and runway (not tasks). They made the ask with a clear promotion business case: scope, outcomes, impact, and why now.   If you’re thinking, “I could have done that,” exactly.   2) Name Your Success Killer High achievers don’t stall from lack of effort; they stall from comfort habits. Pick the one that’s costing you the most. Avoiding Uncertainty: You stick to “safe” execution and avoid ambiguous, political, or high-stakes rooms. Optimizing for Approval: You won’t move until everyone is happy. (Everyone is never happy.) Seeking Validation: You wait for permission or “proof” before you ship, ask, or lead.   Circle one. That’s your constraint. We’re not judging it; we’re managing it.   3) Do the Emotionally Uncomfortable Thing (This Week) Pick one move a VP would do anyway and schedule it in the next seven days.   Starter list (steal one): Sponsor Ask: “I’m building a business case for expanding X. Would you be open to advising and, if you see merit, sponsoring it for the Q1 promotion cycle?” Strategic Update: 1 slide, BLUF first: outcome → impact → decision needed. Send it before the meeting. Promotion Business Case: Draft it. Scope, metrics, org impact, timing. Put a date on the calendar to review it with your manager. Skip-Level Signal: Request 15 minutes with your skip to sanity-check priorities and surface risk. (Executives love risk mitigated.) Priority Reframe: Push back (respectfully) on a low-leverage ask with a better, business-aligned alternative.   Will this feel awkward? Yes. Is awkward the point? Also yes.   Why this works (and why “more effort” doesn’t) So many high achievers fall into the same trap — working harder to compensate for uncertainty or discomfort.   There’s a reason. Doing more gives you a sense of control. You can measure tasks. You can check boxes. You can stay busy and feel productive. But real success requires a different muscle: tolerating uncertainty while you influence outcomes.   You don’t get ahead by doing more of the same — you move up by doing what feels uncomfortable and strategic: picking bets, aligning power, making decisions, owning impact.   That’s what one of my clients discovered after ten years at the same level. Three managers came and went, and he was never considered for promotion.   When he joined my program, he already knew the playbook — be more visible, build relationships, shape direction. But knowing isn’t doing. And he wasn’t doing any of it because it was uncomfortable. It wasn’t a strategy problem. It was a courage problem.   So we started small — self-promotion in 1:1s with his manager. Then, networking with senior leaders. Eventually, direct communication with the CEO. That was the year everything shifted. The executive team finally saw his potential (including a shout-out from the CEO), and he was promoted to Senior Director.   Here’s what that story proves: Hard work scales output. Emotional courage scales opportunity. If it’s uncomfortable and business-critical, it’s probably your edge. You don’t need more proof. You need a plan — and a rep.    Anyone can execute. Few can keep showing up when it’s uncomfortable, visible, and uncertain. That’s what builds the kind of courage success demands.

Your Next Steps This week, forget perfect plans. Start with a reset to understand what might be missing right now. Then, choose one move that stretches you — the one you’ve been avoiding — and do it anyway.   It doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be brave. Because success isn’t built on certainty. It’s built on emotional courage, repeated on purpose.

Is anyone in the room vouching for you?

 

Your manager controls your next promotion more than HR ever will.   When it comes to senior-level promotions, your manager can make or break your career. They can open doors that change everything — or quietly block your name from ever coming up.   I’ve had both.   One manager put me in rooms I didn’t even know existed. They gave me exposure, coached me behind the scenes, and made sure I got credit where it mattered.   That kind of advocacy changed my entire career trajectory. And then there was the other kind… The one who couldn’t see my value, who second-guessed my decisions, who (if I’m being honest) might have felt a little intimidated.   That one stood in my way. And I see this all the time with my clients.   Brilliant, hardworking leaders who’ve built great results, but their manager isn’t championing them. Sometimes because there’s a disconnect. Sometimes because they’ve never learned how to turn their boss into their biggest advocate.   So let’s fix that. Because if you want to get promoted into executive roles, your manager needs to be your loudest cheerleader when you’re not in the room.   Here’s how to make that happen — without kissing up or playing politics.

The A.P.S. Framework: How to Turn Your Manager into Your #1 Advocate A = Align to Their Mandate Stop trying to impress your manager. Start helping them win.   Find out what they are being measured on — their top 1–3 priorities, the metrics their boss actually cares about. Then make sure your work ladders directly into those outcomes.   Say this in your next 1:1: “I want to make sure I’m focused on what matters most to you this quarter. From what I see, your top priorities are [X, Y, Z]. Here’s how I’m aligning my work to those outcomes — am I on the right track?”   When your manager sees that you “get it,” you immediately shift from employee → partner. That’s the foundation of advocacy.   P = Preempt Their Needs Executives don’t wait to be told what to do — they anticipate.   If your manager is constantly chasing you for updates, you’re not helping them sleep at night. Instead, become the person who prevents problems before they happen.   Try this: Send a BLUF update every Friday (Bottom Line Up Front). Bring decisions, not updates: “Here’s what I recommend, and here are two tradeoffs.” Operate with a no-surprises rule : If something might bite them, they hear it from you first (with your mitigation plan ready).   When your manager never has to worry about you, you earn one of the most valuable currencies in corporate life: trust.   S = Showcase Them (and You) Strategically Advocacy is a two-way street. When you make your manager look good, they’ll make sure you shine too.   Give them talking points they can reuse in rooms you’re not in: “The [initiative] cut time-to-value by 22% and freed up 2 FTEs. [Your name] identified the bottleneck, piloted a fix with Sales Ops, and shipped it in 4 weeks.”   Feed them proof points, short wins, or crisp recaps they can share with their own leaders. You’re not bragging — you’re enabling visibility. And when they look like a great leader for betting on you, they’ll keep betting on you.   When You’ve Tried Everything and It’s Still Not Working Sometimes, despite your best efforts, your manager isn’t advocating.   Maybe they don’t see your potential. Maybe they feel threatened. Maybe they’re just not the kind of leader who develops others.   Here’s the hard truth: At senior levels, your manager is usually your main sponsor. If they’re not advocating for you, you need a plan B.   You have three options: Surround Sound: Build advocacy around them — skip-levels, peers, other VPs. Create positive echo. When multiple senior voices highlight your impact, it gets harder for one person to block your path. Evidence on Record: Keep your wins documented and tied to business priorities. Use crisp BLUF summaries or quarterly recaps. That paper trail builds your internal brand and gives you leverage — whether you stay or go. Lateral Power Play: Sometimes the move is strategic. Find a leader who will invest in your growth — inside or outside your current org. Don’t let one person define your ceiling.    If, after a quarter or two of intentional effort, nothing changes — escalate the strategy, not the emotion. Move on and take your value somewhere it’s recognized.

Your Next Steps Start with a simple question: Right now, will your manager go to bat for your promotion? If the answer isn’t a clear yes you may have some work to do. To become your #1 advocate your manager needs to trust you and your judgment, see you think and act at their level, and have the proof points to convince everyone else on the leadership team.

What would you do if your success was inevitable?

 

When I applied to my dream business school, I missed the GMAT cutoff by two points.   Most people would’ve moved on. I took it again — and got in.   Years later, I faced 17 rejections before finally landing my first Director role. And when I started my business, I made less than my corporate salary for three years before crossing seven figures this year.   Every one of those moments had the same turning point: I stopped asking “What if I fail?” And started asking “What if success is inevitable?”   What Would You Do Differently If You Knew You Couldn’t Fail? It’s a simple question, but if you’re honest, the answer is a lot.   You’d finally go after that promotion you’ve been “waiting to be ready for.” You’d speak up in executive meetings instead of waiting to be asked. You’d stop editing your ideas to sound “safe” enough. And you’d stop playing small just to make other people comfortable.   But most ambitious leaders don’t do any of that because they spend more time planning for failure than preparing for success. They ask themselves: What if I say something stupid? What if they say no? What if I’m not ready yet?   So they lower the bar. They delay the ask. They water down the boldest version of themselves.   But here’s the truth: When you make decisions from fear, you don’t just play it safe — you play it small. You miss out on the stretch projects, the senior visibility, the chances to prove you can operate at the next level.   And the worst part? You start to believe the story that you’re “not ready” when really, you just haven’t taken the shot.

The Mindset That Changed Everything for Me One of the reasons I’ve been able to achieve so many of my goals is simple: I refuse to believe I can’t do it. I remember listening to a podcast and hearing Tom Bilyeu say: If it does not defy the laws of physics, you can do it.   That was my first aha moment, but I was also skeptical so I decided to put it to the test. Every time my brain said, You can’t do that, I’d ask: “Does this defy the laws of physics?”   The answer was always no.   That’s when I realized — the problem wasn’t capability. It was belief.   I might not know how to do something yet, but that’s the part I can figure out. And the moment I stopped negotiating with doubt, everything changed.   When you believe your success is inevitable: You stop wasting energy on Plan B. You get resourceful. You start acting like the person who’s already achieved it.   That’s how I walked into rooms I “wasn’t ready for,” pitched ideas that changed my career, and built a seven-figure business from zero — by refusing to quit before I began.   Why This Works (and Why It’s Not Woo-Woo) Here’s the psychology behind it: Self-Efficacy (Albert Bandura): When you believe you can succeed, you work harder, recover faster, and persist longer. Growth Mindset (Carol Dweck): Seeing skills as learnable turns challenges into opportunities to grow, not evidence you’re failing. Confirmation Bias: When you assume success is inevitable, your brain looks for proof — and starts spotting chances you’d otherwise miss.   Belief doesn’t replace effort. It amplifies it. You start to act like a winner — and your environment catches up.   The Inevitable Success Shift If you’ve been feeling stuck, stagnant or feel like you’ve compromised too much, here’s how to start operating from inevitability: Decide on the Destination Don’t hope you’ll be VP “someday.” Decide you will. Leaders don’t wait for permission — they declare direction. Speak in “when,” not “if.” It’s not about faking confidence it’s the beginning of your identity shift.   Reverse-Engineer the Win Ask: If I’d already achieved this, what would I be doing differently today? Would you delegate more? Speak more strategically? Build new relationships? Start now — before the title arrives.   Commit Like There’s No Escape Hatch Tell people your goal. Apply for the role. Invest in yourself. Burn the boats. When success is the only option, you find a way. This last one is key and the part that most people struggle with. Remind yourself that most things in life are reversible. Even if you go all in right now, you can change your mind in a year.   Your 7-Day Inevitability Plan Let’s make this real with a small challenge. Try it for one week — and watch how quickly momentum builds.   Day 1 – Declare It Write your audacious goal in one clear sentence. “I will be a VP of Marketing within 18 months.” Put it somewhere visible.   Day 2 – Audit Your Actions Notice where you’re operating from fear or safety. List two behaviors that belong to “future you” — and do them.   Day 3 – Set an If-Then Trigger “If I’m in a senior meeting, then I’ll contribute one strategic insight.” “If I’m unsure, I’ll ask one clarifying question instead of staying silent.”   Day 4 – Burn One Ship Drop a comfort habit that keeps you small: hiding your ambitions, saying yes to everything, avoiding visibility.   Day 5 – Start a Power Conversation Reach out to someone senior. Share what you’re working on. Assume they’ll want to help — because high performers attract other high performers.   Day 6 – Make a Bold Ask Request visibility, budget, or opportunity. You don’t need to be 100% ready — just brave enough to ask.   Day 7 – Reflect + Reset Celebrate what moved forward. Write down one thing you’ll do next week to keep the momentum alive.

Your Next Steps Are you any closer to believing your success is inevitable? Good. You should be. Because once you start operating like success is inevitable — people start believing you.  Opportunities start finding you. This is the kind of mindset work that drives lasting success. And the path to VP, or leadership, or building your business stops looking impossible because you’re already walking it.