Just do the work. It’s that simple.

My vision board for 2025 hangs directly above my desk. This placement is intentional.

I spend a significant amount of time at my desk, and while I’m there, my eyes often wander in search of inspiration or solutions to the challenges I’m facing. In these moments, I catch sight of my laid-out vision, which fuels my determination to keep going, sometimes subconsciously.

A few days ago, I sat down to craft this week’s newsletter, but I struggled to piece it together. It wasn’t that I lacked ideas –I have a growing list of topics to explore. I had chosen a topic for the newsletter, but it seemed to call for more research. However, I was feeling a bit unmotivated about diving into the work needed to bring it all together.

As I contemplated my next action, I glanced at my vision board and noticed a small card in the corner. The card has five paragraphs emphasizing the importance of hard work for success in anything.

Reading the card, I instantly repented of my momentary laziness. I also decided to share those words with you. For brevity, I’ll insert the image of the card here:

I was in the process of replacing my fixed mindset with a growth mindset when I stumbled upon the above write-up on social media late last year. It wasn’t attributed to anyone, but those words stuck with me.

“We naturally want easy. But, it’s hard. If you want to paint like Picasso, paint a lot. If you want to program like Carmack, program a lot. If you want to shoot a basketball like Curry, shoot a basketball a lot. It’s literally the only way… You have to do the work. Great things don’t come instantly.”

Stop looking for shortcuts; there are none on the path to greatness. Delaying the real work and seeking quick fixes or a magic system to get things done can only get you so far.

“Just show up every day and do the work. If you do that for a very long period of time, magic happens.”

What work have you been avoiding?