We’ve built a culture around waiting for the perfect moment.
The right time to start the business.
The right headspace to go to the gym.
The right inspiration to write that book, fix that relationship, clean that garage.

Here’s the hard truth — you’re never going to feel like it.

And if you do, that moment will pass in about six minutes (or 6 seconds!).

Motivation is overrated.

It’s like that flaky mate who swears they’ll help you move, but somehow always “forgets” on the day. It shows up when things are easy, disappears when they get hard.

Discipline, on the other hand, is the quiet friend who never cancels.

The Stoics knew this centuries before “motivation” became a buzzword.

Epictetus said, “If you wish to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.” Translation: stop waiting to feel ready, and start doing the thing — even if you look like an idiot while you do it (I look like an idiot at least once a day, if not more).

Because readiness is an illusion. You’re never ready to start something worthwhile. You just start, stumble, learn, repeat.

People sometimes assume I’m some disciplined machine — that I wake up before sunrise, meditate, journal, drink herbal tea, and greet the day like Marcus Aurelius himself.

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Nope.

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Most mornings, I’m arguing with my kids about who’s stolen whose socks, tripping over the cat, and making coffee like it’s a medical emergency. There’s nothing peaceful about it.

But I still write.
Still show up to work.
Still do the thing — not because I feel like it, but because it matters.

And that’s the difference. The people who build meaningful lives don’t rely on feeling motivated. They rely on doing it anyway.

Marcus Aurelius didn’t leap out of bed ready to rule the Roman Empire every morning. In Meditations, he literally argues with himself: “At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: I have to go to work — as a human being.”
He didn’t say, “Wait until you’re inspired.”
He said, “Get up and do your duty.”

That’s the whole game — duty over dopamine.

How many people do you know who are “waiting for the right time”?
They’ll start when the kids are older. When work slows down. When they’ve saved a bit more. Then they blink, and five years have gone by.

The right time is a myth.
There’s only now, and the decision to do something with it.

I’ve learned this the hard way — in business, writing, family, everything. Every time I waited for the stars to align, they didn’t. Every time I started before I was ready, things figured themselves out. Action breeds clarity. Inaction breeds anxiety.

And here’s the thing — starting doesn’t have to be dramatic. It’s usually small.
Don’t think about writing a book. Write a sentence.
Don’t think about running a marathon. Put on your shoes.
Don’t think about overhauling your business. Send one email.
The mind resists “big.” It accepts “small.”

You don’t have to crush it every day. You just have to show up.
Consistency is sexier than intensity.

Most of what I’ve written started out terrible. Most of what I’ve built in business started as chaos. But nothing can be improved until it exists.

Stop waiting to feel like it. Stop waiting to be ready.
Show up tired, show up grumpy, show up uninspired. Just show up.

You’ll never regret doing the thing — only the days you didn’t.

Reflection​
Where in your life are you waiting to “feel like it”?
Start there.

Until next time,
​Broden Johnson