Everyone thinks about their but. I bet you didn't know how much it's costing you: the trip, the business, the promotion, the life you keep saying you'll get to. The but is omnipresent, and it's a dream killer.
Here's the trick: a but feels like responsible, grounded thinking. You're not being impulsive. You're being realistic. But what it's really doing is disguising inaction as wisdom.
Wife eight months pregnant, a second company just off the ground. Stuck in traffic, I decided we should move. Thirty days later we were in a U-Haul. We raised our kids in Fort Wayne. It was perfect.
The buts: I can't move, my wife is pregnant, I just started a business, where will we even live…
Making $100k selling software when friends pitched me an idea over lunch. Thirty days later I quit and started my first company, which led to my second, sold to a public German company.
The buts: I can't quit, it's too risky, I don't know how to run a company…
Running a 40-person company as CEO, kids 7 and 4. Over dinner we admitted we'd regret never traveling. Ninety days later we'd sold it all, bought an RV, and saw 33 states in a year. One of the best years of our lives.
The buts: I have small kids, how do I run my company, I can't drive a 40-foot bus…
You want to go to Europe. You can't afford it today. But Europe will still be there in 18 months. Set aside $150 a month and you're on a plane. The money isn't the problem. The plan is.
The but isn't a wall. It's a cruel waiting room you choose to sit in.
Who's in control, you or your but? Buts can be bossy.
Most started with less than you think. An MVP is a few hundred dollars and some nights and weekends.
Twenty minutes a day. You need a decision and a pair of shoes, not a gym membership.
The average U.S. grad student is 33. A degree can take two years. You've got that.
Every great writer was once a bad writer who kept going. The first draft is supposed to be terrible.
It's never the right time. The right time is a myth your but invented.
Start with $100 a month. Invested over 40 years, it grows to roughly $650,000.
YouTube, Coursera, a library card, a search. The beginning is one click away.
Nobody did. That's how you get to know people. The connection comes after the start.
The sneakiest but of all. Happiness isn't a destination; it's a practice you start now.
It's order of operations. Pay yourself $25 a week before the money disappears.
Write down "I want X, but Y." Ask: is Y a real wall, or an unstarted step? Most buts are money (a savings plan), time (a prioritization problem), or fear (a confidence problem). You can't solve a vague but. You can solve a specific one.
Overwhelm is the but's weapon. Want Europe? Open a savings account today, put in $5, name it "Europe." Tomorrow, set a $50/month transfer. Now it's a timeline, not a wish. You can't be overwhelmed by a five-minute step.
"Someday" is the but's natural habitat. Decide: by [date], I'll have taken [first step]. Write it down, tell someone, put it on the calendar. The plan doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to exist.
Ready isn't a feeling you wait for. It's a state you create by starting.
