You Can Have Whatever You Want—If You Fix Your Mindset First

We all dream of certain goals we would like to accomplish but then are too afraid to go through with them. Let's fix that.

I.

The biggest thing that holds us back is our doubts. We keep wondering if that big ambition of ours is really achievable.

"Can I really build a successful marketing agency?"

"Can I really make a living as a sci-fi author?"

"Can I really compete in an MMA tournament?"

"Can I really date a model or a rockstar?"

Deep down, we think these ambitious goals can only be achieved by some superhuman outlier or some lucky duck. It's not for the "average" person like you and me.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

II.

There are few things as predictable as success (provided you take action). It's as unavoidable as a law of nature.

A few examples:

If you cold-call (or cold-email) 100 clients and follow up with each of them at least three times, you will have a 2% conversion rate. You will be in business.

If you publish about 100–200 well-optimized blog posts, Google will send you traffic. You will be able to sell services or goods over the Internet.

If you talk to about 100 attractive strangers, at least a handful will go on dates with you. 1–2 will want to start a sexual relationship with you.

If you show up to MMA class 5–6 times per week for three years straight, you will most likely win half or more of your first dozen fights.

If you do what is necessary, there is no escaping success. Do not doubt it for a second.

III.

We lack role models. This throws us off like nothing else.

To believe we can do it, we need somebody relatable, someone in our vicinity, who has already done it.

The very best proof that something can be done is that someone has already done it.

— Bertrand Russell

Find that someone. If you can't find someone, pay someone like a mentor or a coach. It's what will get you over the hump.

IV.

Once you have fixed your mindset, you must combat your laziness. You must take massive action.

Ironically, the trick is to start small.

When I first started writing my blog, my daily rule was to just touch upon it. Just writing one sentence was already enough to fulfill that rule.

And you know what? Many days, that is all I did. Because that is all I could bring myself to do.

But I kept at it. And over time, my pain tolerance expanded. So I came up with a new rule — write 100 words a day.

A few weeks later, this started to feel rather easy. So I went up to 200 words.

These days, I write 500 words a day, edit another 1000, do another 2-3 hours of blog-related work, and coach my clients on top of that. And it feels doable.

To get where you want, you must go slowly, at least initially. You need to make the new behavior sustainable. Nothing is won by joining the gym in January and dropping out in March.

Alright, this is all I have for today. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. And always feel free to reach out and let me know your thoughts.

Until next week,

Niels