Hot take: Your backup plan is killing you.

"If this doesn't work, I can always go back to my old job." "I'm keeping my options open." "I'll give it six months and reassess."

You think this is smart. Strategic. Responsible.

It's not.

It's a pre-written suicide note for your dreams.

Here's what a backup plan really says: "I expect to fail."

And when you expect to fail, you will. Because you were never really in it. Part of your brain is already planning the exit. Already rehearsing the explanation you'll give. Already picking out which lifeboat to jump into.

You can't go all-in with one foot on the escape hatch.

The most successful people I know didn't have backup plans. They had one option: make it work or die trying.

That's not reckless. That's committed.

Burn the boats. Delete the backup plan. Make success the only option.

Is it scary? Yes.

Is it the only thing that actually works? Also yes.

Done negotiating.

-Joel