Day 0 - The Brutal Wake-Up Call I Needed
It’s a shock to your soul when you stop for a moment and realise your life isn’t what you want it to be.
Don’t get me wrong — I have an incredible life. But I want more. I know I’m not proud of myself right now. I’m hungry. I’m frustrated. Yet I’m hiding.
I’ve identified a habit I hate: I talk and ideate far more than I execute. And as I get older, more familiar with life, and more comfortable in my surroundings, I feel this habit worsening. I’m great at my day job — no question. But when it comes to building my own ideas, I’ve regressed.
For me, this is a harsh wake-up call. I used to pride myself on doing things differently, diving headfirst into business ideas and unknown territory. But now? I’ve fallen into the trap.
It’s the trap we all know:
- Ship the product — it’ll never be perfect.
- Give the idea a shot — you’ve got nothing to lose.
- Live within your means — don’t put financial stress on yourself.
All extremely fucking logical. Apparently much harder to live by.
I’m lucky in that I genuinely love what I do. I love solving problems. I love building products. But I also know that our industry is evolving faster than ever — weekly. New AI tools, new workflows, new norms. And more importantly, I know this:
I want to be my own boss. I want financial freedom.
I want to sit on the floor with my future kids without the weight of financial pressure looming over me. I want to know that my family will be okay if I need a year off work. I want to live the kind of life that parallel universe me — the version who stayed safe and complacent — would only read about.
I’m 30. Wealth and success are supposed to compound with age. But I’ve plateaued. In many ways, I’ve deteriorated. I’ve fallen behind. And I only have myself to blame.
I’m not financially secure enough to bring children into this world. (Obviously, that’s personal — respect to anyone who does. But I want more security for my future family.)
I’ve realised that past wins have made me more cautious, more concerned with what people might think. I now feel like every new idea needs to be “worth it” — superior to the last. That’s bullshit. And ironically, that mindset is what’s held me back.
I care too fucking much — about the idea being right, the market being perfect, the tech stack being elegant. I worry about what people will think. I obsess about putting my name on something. It’s all noise.
As Steve said:
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.”
So here’s Day 0.
I’m going to be accountable.
Every day, I’m going to build something. I’m going to document where I’m at. I don’t know where this is going — I just know I have a whiteboard of half-baked ideas and no products to show for them.
Maybe I’ll share beliefs. Maybe I’ll talk shit. Maybe I’ll ship something cool.
As long as I’m building — and moving forward — every day.
This post was originally posted on medium: Adam Love Day 0 — The Brutal Wake-Up Call I Needed