It’s a story we’ve all been sold. From magazines and TV to the highlight reels on social media, we’re constantly fed the idea that success is something that just —a sudden, overnight event that arrives with minimal effort or resistance. This myth is everywhere, shaping how we think about our own ambitions.
Every single day, you arrive at a crossroads. It’s not a dramatic intersection with flashing lights, but a quiet, subtle choice point you might miss if you’re not paying attention. Yet, what you decide right there profoundly shapes the satisfaction and happiness you find in life. It’s the difference between thriving and just getting by.
We’ve all heard it a thousand times: success is all about being in the right place at the right time. It’s a comforting thought, suggesting that big breaks are a matter of luck or circumstance. But this idea is also incredibly dangerous. It teaches us to wait for success to come knocking instead of building it ourselves. It makes us believe that our situation matters more than our substance.
Ever watch someone truly gifted at their craft and think, “They were just born with it”? Whether it’s seeing Warren Buffett explain the market, Eric Clapton play a guitar solo, or Simone Biles perform a flawless routine, the gap between their ability and ours can feel impossibly wide. It’s easy to convince ourselves they have some secret ingredient, some innate talent that we simply don’t.
We’ve already talked about getting to know our true selves and realigning our mental operating system around the core beliefs we were born with, like our limitless ability to learn. It’s impossible to reboot our minds if those fundamental programs aren’t in the right place. Most of us understand that panicky feeling when a phone or laptop gives us the "screen of death" and won't start. We worry that everything is lost. But what many people don't realize is that the most important technology they own—their mind—has been compromised for most of their lives.
It’s a simple question: can you learn? Most of us would say yes without a second thought. But how deep does that belief go? Sure, we can learn simple things. But what about the really hard stuff? Could you learn to play the piano, understand monetary policy, or wrap your head around quantum mechanics? Could you become an expert, speaking on conference stages about it?
Think back to when you were a toddler. At that point in your life, the way your mind was wired was pretty much perfect. It didn't come loaded with flawed programming that held you back or warped your sense of self. Nobody had taught you about limiting beliefs yet. For most of us, that was the last time we were truly set up to build the life we wanted, free from all the negative conditioning that came later.
There are two things that really set humans apart. One is our opposable thumbs, a neat trick we share with a few other species like koalas and some tree frogs. But the second one? That’s all ours. It’s our ability to take in information and consciously make choices based on it. This power of choice is our single greatest asset.
Before you can successfully start a side hustle, there's often a crucial mental shift that needs to happen first. Think of it as a reboot for your perspective. The framework I'm about to share is anything but accidental; it’s built on over 3,000 hours of deep research into neuroscience and cognitive psychology, designed to give you the mental tools needed when starting a side hustle while working full time.