Dear Friend, (3 min read)

I was 24, standing in Ecuador, a month into a dream I'd chased for 7 years.

And I remember thinking: has my life peaked?

How do you top living in another country for 77 days?

Turns out… you don't top it. You build on it.

Here's the thing about accomplishing a dream. It doesn't shrink your world. It makes space for the next one. (and for others dreams to live inside of it)

Two showed up almost immediately:

Become an author by 35. Road trip through Europe.

So I went home and... started a podcast. (Which has nothing to do with writing a book, by the way.) But it was quietly doing something I didn't understand yet. Capturing the stories I'd need later.

Then life happened. I built my detailing business. The book dream went dormant.

Until it didn't.

At 27, I found a $150 writing course. And I had an honest conversation with myself:

If you're not willing to invest $150 to learn the skill — you don't want to be an author. You like the IDEA of being one.

That's a different sentence. The idea, or the sacrifice?

December 29th, 2023. I bought the course. I didn't know it yet, but that was the hinge point.

Two months later, my first newsletter took me 7 hours to write. Seven. While running a full-time detailing business.

At 28, in january I wanted to write the book. I got a gut check to wait. That almost never happens to me — where I know I'm NOT supposed to do something. So I listened.

Three months later, the no flipped into the strongest yes I'd ever felt.

I hired a consultant. Bought speed. Did in 2 months what would've taken 8-10 on my own. I had manufactured a deadline: book done before a 2-week missions trip in June.

Here's the part nobody tells you about going after a dream. There is NO perfect time.

I was running the business full time. Flying to Florida for a job interview. LA twice. Hawaii once. Kyrgyzstan next. And somewhere in there, $3K a month to a consultant to help me speed up this process which, to me, felt like a genuinely huge risk.

One night I was editing until 3:43 AM. A car needed detailing at 7 AM.

And I thought: nobody's making me do this. I built this pressure myself. But it's never going to be easier than right now. So do it now.

Weeks later: the book launched. 60 people joined the Zoom party with less than 10 days notice. It hit #1 in its category on Amazon.

But that's not the part that changed me.

The part that changed me was realizing people wanted to help.

Friends bought 10 copies for their team, 30 copies to give away at their company. And I don't naturally expect that from people. That lie (the one that says you're on your own) got shattered in real time.

This has been a theme. When I went to ecuador. People were excited for me. As I became a better drummer people created opportunities and recommended me in spaces where I wasn’t known.

Why?

Here's the thing. None of it happens without three ingredients. Remove any one, and the dream stays a dream.

1. Character — being the right person. Who you are before anyone's watching is what determines what you can carry when it gets hard.

2. Action — doing the right thing. Not someday. Not when it's convenient. The 3:43 AM edit before the 7 AM car.

3. Community — being around the right people. I didn't do this alone. I did it because people had believed in me long enough that I had to produce something worthy of that belief.

And if you're chasing something right now, run it through this filter — the 3 ingredients of a dream:

This dream that you’re chasing? it will pull people into your world. When you are building something bigger than you, it leaves space for other to join you.

If you're missing one of the three, that's not a reason to quit. It's just your next move.

Your Assignment This Week:

Pick the dream you keep almost starting. there’s a quote that I love:

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive. Because what the world needs is more people who are truly alive.”

So dream a great dream. and have the courage to pursue it.

then run it through Character, Action, Community. Be honest about which one is missing.

Then do one small, real thing toward it today. Not someday. Today.

Well, that's all for now.

P.S. — The "right time" for your dream is a myth. I had a business, a job offer, four trips, and a consultant and it still happened. It was never going to be easier. It just had to be now.