You know Reader, life can be pretty fucking remarkable sometimes.
I had a moment just last weekend.
I was out on my long Saturday morning ride.
And there's this one stretch of road that is just... perfect.
And, like every other time I ride this road, I decided to have a crack.
My lungs burned.
My vision narrowed.
I could taste metal on my tongue.
The winter air was cold, but the sun was warm.
I had the coastline on my left, vast stretches of beach with crystal clear water and perfect surf.
This particular morning was remarkably calm; the waves rolled into the beach in neatly organized rows.
And I had the countryside on my right.
One of the more picturesque scenes you'll find on the surf coast in Victoria.
And there I was.
On this long stretch of road, pushing myself to the limit.
When I finally slowed, a wave of emotion hit me all at once.
"How the fuck did I end up here." - I thought to myself.
I was out cycling on this stunning stretch of road just kilometres from the house I own with my beautiful fiancé.
My business is doing better than it's ever done.
My work feels more fulfilling than it's ever felt.
I have more money than I ever thought I'd see in my lifetime.
My relationships are better than they've ever been.
And I have more freedom than I ever thought I'd have.
It's as if everything I've achieved was dropped in my lap in that single moment.
I almost broke into tears.
But not because of what I've achieved.
But because of where I came from.
Four years earlier, in March 2020, just one week after my 23rd birthday, my long-term girlfriend broke up with me because my deteriorating mental health had driven our relationship to breaking point.
My business was failing for the same reason.
Subsequently, this forced me to move back in with my parents.
I was falling out of love with the work that had become my entire identity.
And I was unfit, unhealthy, and I had no idea where to go, or what I was going to do with my life.
But that breaking point has since become the single most significant moment of my entire life.
Because it was in that moment that I finally turned the blame on myself.
There's nowhere left to hide when you're the entire reason you're not where you want to be.
So I decided to change.
And those changes have echoed into everything I have today.
But the remarkable thing is, they weren't extraordinary.
I started running, first with a 1.8km lap around the block and a sad & sorry walk home when I realized how unfit I really was.
I started reading;
Anything and everything I thought would improve my life.
I read books on marketing, writing, content, sales, relationships, and self-improvement.
I became obsessed with improving my life.
I ran, and I read, and I worked.
And little by little my life began to improve.
Now, I've had my fair share of absolute stinkers since then.
In fact, I almost quit everything just two years later, in 2022.
For much of 2020 to 2022, I felt like I was moving backwards.
But I chose to stick with it.
I had a vision for the life I wanted, and I was going to stop at nothing to achieve it.
And now I get to be here because of those small incremental changes that have compounded into something extraordinary.
...
Look Reader, I don't know what stage of this journey you're at.
Whether you're where I was two years ago, four years ago, or eight years ago.
But I hope this lights a fire under your ass.
Because a lot can change, way fucking faster than you think.
One minute, you can be cleaning your stuff out of a studio apartment before your now ex-girlfriend gets back from work.
And the next, you can be sitting on the couch in the living room of the house you own, writing an email to your audience (meta, I know...)
All of this to say that you are capable of creating the life you want.
It won't be easy.
You'll want to quit dozens of times.
But the beautiful and painful thing about time is that it passes quickly.
So if you stay the course, in an instant, you'll find yourself on your own ride, along a beautiful stretch of coastline, sitting with the realization of how incredible your life has become.
And you'll remember this email and think:
"Damn, that Aussie bloke was right."
I hope you found this valuable.
Tom
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