BYx2 - Be You Times 2

"Either increase your sacrifice,
or reduce your desire."

Desire is never just appetite; it’s a claim on your life.

And every serious claim collects.

A larger aim will ask for larger tribute: hours you don’t get back, attention you can’t split, comforts you can’t keep coddling, habits that must be broken, and sometimes people who cannot walk with you.

Work smarter, refine systems, use leverage—do all of it.

Intelligence can lower the waste, but it will NEVER erase the toll; NO route absolves you of payment.

So make the inventory honest: what are you willing to surrender, repeatedly, when nothing is guaranteed and nobody is watching?

If the answer is “not much,” then let the desire shrink until it fits your ACTUAL devotion—this is integrity.

And if the answer is “enough,” then sacrifice stops feeling like loss.

It becomes initiation: the cost that calls the deeper part of you forward.

"Discipline weighs ounces, while regret weighs tons."

-Conviction

"What's the difference between a gazelle & a lion?
The gazelle is running from something.

That's a lot of you.

You will run; you'll do what you're supposed to do, as long as you're getting pushed, but as soon as that stops, you stop.

So you have to ask yourself:
What's your "why" ?
What motivates you?
What pushes you?
What drives you?

Every opportunity is the last opportunity!
Every opportunity I have to reprove myself again!
Every opportunity I'm still nervous!

Because the day you become content, the day you stop evaluating yourself, the day you stop growing, the day you stop getting better...
Is the day you day you die, is the day the person who's trying to catch you, will get you"

-Eric D. Thomas

Mental health giving you issues and you're tired of it?
Go to therapy—heal yourself. Stop running from the problems that are in your control.
Find a psychiatrist. Get on meds if you need to.

Not happy with your body?
Eat better.
Move more.
Get up and DO something.

Hate your job?
LEARN something new.
Pick up a TRADE, a SKILL, a BOOK.
Go to SCHOOL.
Watch tutorials.
Use your time outside of work to get BETTER.

Feeling lost?
Try new things.
Mess up. Learn. Repeat.
Failure is NOT final—it’s FORMATIVE.

Stop giving yourself excuses.
Quit sitting in the dark like the light won’t turn on unless the world feels bad for you.

It won’t.
Nobody is coming to rescue you.

It’s YOUR ass. YOU move it.
You are your own knight in shining armor.

Your goals are only dreams unless you put in the work.

You’re not getting any closer by sitting around thinking about it.
Five years from now, you’ll still be wishing—unless you start doing.

The longer you wait, the longer you wait.
Start NOW.

No more pity parties.
No more empty promises.

Don’t be mad at the results you didn’t get from the work you didn’t do.

So do the work.

-Conviction

"Weakness.

Do I have weakness?

I am nothing but weakness;
I am not naturally strong, or fast, or flexible.

I am certainly not the smartest person in the world.
I get emotional over stupid things.
I eat the wrong foods.
I don’t sleep enough.
I procrastinate & I waste time.

I care too much about meaningless things & not enough about important things.
My ego is too big.
My mind is too small, often trapped inside itself.

Now all that being said, I have a saying: A person’s strength is often their biggest weakness. But, their weaknesses can become strengths.

I don’t accept that I am what I am & that “that” is what I am doomed to be.

I’m fighting.
I’m always fighting.
I’m struggling & I’m scraping & kicking & clawing at those weaknesses—to change them.
To stop them.

Some days I win.
But some days I don’t.
But each & every day: I get back up & I move forward.
With my fists clenched.
Toward the battle,
Toward the struggle,
& I fight with everything I’ve got:

To overcome those weaknesses & those shortfalls & those flaws as I strive to be just a little bit better today than I was yesterday...(cont.)"

-Jocko Willink

Don't confuse movement with progress.

You could run in place all day and still not get anything accomplished.

-Conviction

As easy as this sounds... I want you to do this:

Keep a grateful heart - it's your best tool you have for navigating challenges and expanding blessings!

What are you grateful for right now?

-Conviction

LOCK IN and STAY TRUE to your VISION!

It does not matter if it's a job, a relationship, a book, an app, a fitness goal, overcoming trauma, financial freedom, starting a business, etc... whatever it may be:

If it MATTERS to you AT ALL, if you WANT it, you WILL put in the EFFORT and ENERGY to make it a REALITY, NO MATTER WHAT!

NO MORE EXCUSES!

I neither care what is in front of you nor what is behind you.

You set out for a goal and the universe will test your desire, bend your will and ask, "do you really want this? How badly do YOU want this?"

It is up to you NOT to break, NOT to give up.

STOP LYING to yourself about why YOUR LIFE is the way it is.
STOP BLAMING others.
STOP TWISTING THE STORY to fit your narrative so you can avoid ACCOUNTABILITY, or so you can live in COMFORT.

Be HONEST with yourself.
Be HONEST with those who SUPPORT and CARE ABOUT YOU, and who YOU CARE ABOUT.

And EVEN IF there is NOBODY in your corner, YOU are in your corner!

It's time to step your f*cking game up!

-----

"Why are you always working so hard while everyone else is resting?"

"Because I'm trying to get it."

"Why are you always studying while we're out partying and having fun?"

"Because I'm trying to get it"

"Why do you only keep a small amount of people in your circle and shut out anyone that isn't in alignment with your goals and supporting your journey?"

"Because I'm trying to get it."

-Conviction

A fresh start is NEITHER a new PLACE, a new PERSON, or a new JOB.

It's a new MINDSET.

Start there and the fresh start will happen naturally.

HAPPINESS grows as you begin to CULTIVATE POSITIVITY.

-Conviction

The way you do anything is the way you do everything.

Show up and do the work

-Conviction

“If you always put limits on everything you do, physical, mental, or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life.
There are no limits. There are only obstacles, and you must not stop, you must go beyond them. You must exceed your level.” -Bruce Lee

~Conviction

The best move you can make right now is to outgrow the version of you who let others decide what you were worth and grow into the version of who you came to this planet to be.

-Conviction