Welcome, Builders
I'm writing this as the last person to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.
It's been five days. The turkey's gone. The leftovers are finished. Tuesday after Thanksgiving is probably three days past the acceptable cutoff for holiday greetings, ha!
But here we are.
Which actually connects to what I'm learning about timing:
The perfect moment to start? Never arrives.
The perfect plan? Never materializes.
The perfect conditions? Never align.
You just build anyway.
🔥 FUEL
The gap between vision and action shrinks the moment you start
Greg Isenberg tweeted something recently that stopped me mid-scroll:
"Consistently posting on social might be the lowest risk with the highest upside activity that exists on the planet. That, and building software."
Here's why that hits: Both require the same courage. The courage to ship before you're ready.
I'm living this right now. Started this newsletter a couple months back after writing online for 17 years. Filed an LLC. I’m building for myself instead of just consulting for others.
But I'm also finding myself avoiding to start other things. Things I know I should build. Things I've planned extensively.
Why? Because I'm waiting for something. Perfect clarity. The right strategy. More time. Better conditions.
All lies we tell ourselves.
And here's what I'm realizing: These aren't strategy problems. They're self-image problems.
Maxwell Maltz wrote: "You can never outperform your own self-image."
Most people try to change behavior without changing their self-image. They add positive thinking as a patch to an old operating system. It doesn't work.
Real change happens from the inside out. Not the outside in.
The shift: Stop trying to become someone who has built something. Start building, and become that person through the act of building.
🎯 FOCUS
The High Agency Triangle
George Mack shared a framework that captures what separates builders from planners:
Three corners of high agency:
"I will figure it out"
"I can fix it if it breaks"
"I am willing to be misunderstood"
Most people get stuck because they're missing one of these.
You can't figure it out? You wait for instructions.
You can't fix it? You avoid shipping anything that might break.
You won't be misunderstood? You build what's safe instead of what matters.
High agency isn't about having all the answers. It's about trusting yourself to find them.
How to use this:
Next time you catch yourself not starting something, ask:
Which corner am I missing?
Am I waiting for certainty? (Corner 1)
Am I afraid it won't be perfect? (Corner 2)
Am I worried what people will think? (Corner 3)
Then ship anyway.
Because here's the truth about building: You don't need all three corners to start. You need one corner and the willingness to develop the others through action.
🛠️ BUILDER'S NOTES
What I'm working on: Building in public
I'm practicing what I'm writing about. Right now, that means:
Publishing this newsletter every week, even when I don't feel ready
Sharing frameworks before they're perfectly polished
Building my own consulting practice while figuring out the business model in real-time
Learning lead funnels and outreach strategies. Building business development muscles I never needed as an employee.
The biggest lesson so far? Action creates clarity. Not the other way around.
I’ve always thought that (and felt more comfortable) I needed complete clarity before taking action. Turns out, you get clarity by taking action with incomplete information.
Why I'm thinking about this now: Kevin Kelly wrote about "1,000 True Fans" back in 2008. The idea: You don't need millions of followers. You need 1,000 people who deeply value what you create.
I'm building this newsletter with that target in mind. Not chasing viral posts. Not optimizing for scale before value.
Just 1,000 people who will:
Read what you write
Buy what you build
Share what resonates
I'm not there yet. But I'm building toward it. One issue at a time. One framework at a time. One honest reflection at a time.
The alternative? Wait until I have it all figured out.
And we know how that ends.
📡 SIGNAL BOOST
Resources worth your time:
If you want to start building this week:
Read: "Just Fucking Ship" by Amy Hoy - The aggressive antidote to perfectionism. Amy breaks down why shipping incomplete work beats perfecting unshipped work. Every. Single. Time. If you're waiting for "one more thing" before launching, read this today.
Book: "The Mom Test" by Rob Fitzpatrick - Stop asking people if your idea is good. Start learning how to have conversations that reveal what they actually need. This book teaches you how to validate while building, not before. Essential for anyone building something people will pay for. [Also on Amazon]
If you want to shift your self-image:
Framework: "Identity-Based Habits" by James Clear - Most goals fail because we focus on outcomes instead of identity. James shows you how to reframe "I want to build a newsletter" into "I am a builder who shares weekly." The shift is subtle but transformative. Read this, then apply it to one project this week.
Deep Dive: "Psycho-Cybernetics" by Maxwell Maltz - The 1960 classic that introduced the concept I quoted above. Maltz was a plastic surgeon who discovered that external changes (new face) didn't create internal confidence unless the self-image changed first. I haven’t read this myself, but I’ll put it on my list after reading the concept I shared above.
P.S. - SPECIAL BONUS:
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Let’s make something happen this week.
Brian