Sincerely, Inner Mentor
April 12, 2026
A Note Before You Read
Inner Mentor is a collection of letters to my former self, exploring the balance of productivity, grace, and meaning.
After a couple years at a startup, the path narrowed until it disappeared. At the beginning of 2025 I said goodbye to a full-time job. I had some freelance work lined up, a few ideas, but more unlearned lessons ahead of me than anything else.
What followed was a year of creative discipline. Terrified, I started writing regularly with the intent to publish before it was perfect. First a publication called Field Notes – loose, exploratory, arriving at the trailhead without a map. Over time, I struggled to ship consistently. So I gave myself a constraint: a letter, written to my former self, on a regular basis. That became Inner Mentor. These were dispatches from slightly further down the road, even if only a couple months, addressed to the person who had just left the familiarity and comfort of structure and routine, trying to make sense of the day-to-day.
What you'll find here is that early work. The topics are those of a young professional trying to think clearly: morning routines and their discontents, the anatomy of an idea, the difference between striving and becoming, what it means to show up when no one is watching and nothing is working. Almost in spite of my attempts to systematize my creative discipline, I kept returning to themes of grace and the unavoidable facts that we are irrational, relational, and finite.
I may deviate from some of these ideas today. Isn't the work of writing the work of becoming someone new? Not better, necessarily, but truer to the things we behold? I have grown to behold things more beautiful than my own thoughts.
However, I leave this here as an artifact: not polished, not complete, but true to the process of becoming. And that, as I argued more than once in these pages, is not nothing.
On Beginning
Discipline and Morning Routines
Before the world wakes up, there you are.
Intuitively you know this time is valuable, from experience you know it's scarce.
How do you participate in the universal rhythm of beginning again? What do you make of this scarce, valuable resource?
Optimization is the narrative of our time. Things like the measured-self movement, the quest for peak productivity, and the idea of biohacking can inject sky-high expectations into your life, perhaps even into how you start your day.
Have you ever doubted the delight of a simple cup of coffee in morning? Have you let metrics on your smartphone gain access to your emotions? Is anxiety the first feeling when you wake up?
Left unchecked, performative expectations influence how we relate to ourselves. Expectations for our mornings are no different than the ones made throughout the day, but mornings are a universal beginning worthy of consideration.
The Case for Beginning with Difficulty
Maybe you've heard some of these mantras:
- When you do something difficult in the morning, everything else in the day feels easy.
- When you start with a small victory, it sets the course for the rest of your day.
- Discipline = Freedom.
These are all attractive pieces of advice. Not only because they promise you ease, victory, and freedom, but because of who says them. The original voices who preach this gospel are seemingly successful in their field. Influencers, if you will. Some may be annoying, some may be phony, but some are objectively high-functioning human beings that have excelled from certain disciplines.
In an isolated environment, it's good to strive for these things. Ideas are often located in an isolated environment. But most of us do not live in an isolated environment. Most of us live with relationship with other people, and that alone is enough to throw a wrench in any routine. If that weren't enough, we are irrational, emotional, and limited beings – sometimes you do the thing you know you shouldn't, take something personally and react out of fear, just need a little extra sleep, or all of the above.
It is my conviction that relationships are more important than progress, humans are limited and irrational, and we can rarely predict the future with accuracy. So, in the face of a lifestyle that contradicts these convictions of what it means to be human, do you push through? Make adjustments? Or throw everything out the window?
The Case for Grace
The case for difficulty and the case for grace are not mutually exclusive. The paths to achieving a goal are many, but narrow. It's not as much about the things you do, it's more about how you do them, and if you are consistent. My argument is to engage discipline, with grace.
First you must understand that you are always becoming something, even if you're focused on something else.
What I call "good hard work" is not the same as striving. Striving, fueled by sheer willpower, is fixed on a certain result. Good-hard-work, inspired by fidelity, seeks to become a different person through the work.
The caterpillar is fixated on eating as much as possible, unknowingly preparing itself for metamorphosis. One caterpillar is disappointed it didn't become the biggest caterpillar in the world. The other is delighted that it transformed into something new entirely.
Good hard work does not always result in what you originally had in mind.
Good hard work always changes something.
Good hard work leaves room for the unexpected, because it does not take the results personally.
In practice, what does engaging discipline with grace look like?
- Trust: The ability to stop working at a predetermined time regardless of the work being done
- Reflection: Regularly reading old journal entries with an open mind
- Grace: Not trying to force creativity through sheer willpower
- Optimism: Willingness to start completely over with a positive attitude
- Commitment: Focusing on one thing at a time
- Curiosity: Leaning into discomfort instead of overcorrecting
Whether you are writing, reading, praying, or training, move through your morning with discipline and grace. You are becoming something new – might as well have a hand in it.
Sincerely, Inner Mentor
Constrained Creativity
The idea of a thing and the thing itself are never the same.
You constantly have good ideas, if only you had enough time to sit down and work on them. To some extent, I'm sure you blame yourself: "If I could just manage my time better," or, "I need a better system." So you block out time for creativity in advance. But when that time finally comes, the ceaseless chirping of voices inside your head are suddenly silent.
You paid a price to get there, alone, where you can flesh out your ideas. You lost sleep to wake up early or you decided to stay up late and work into the night. You had to communicate to others that this is really important and that you need to be left alone. But the price you paid seems to be for nothing. The expectation has been snowballing, and you feel it about to crash down on top of you.
Pause.
First, your showing up is not in vain. As long as you didn't burn any bridges to get here, and as long as you don't bite anyone's hand off when they interrupted your time block, your choice to show up is pregnant with energy. We have an opportunity to direct that energy.
Regardless of the amount of "work" you do, the amount of "progress" you make, the fact that you exercised your will to show up at a certain time, in a certain place, is a step in the direction of becoming the "type of person" that you want to be.
It's not the thing that matters, it's the becoming. Your presence, right here and right now, is a signal to the rest of your Self that you are becoming something new.
Do the same thing tomorrow. If something comes up and you miss tomorrow? That's okay, you got knocked down. Get up and try again the next day.
Resistance is inevitable. Showing up is the first step. Consistency is the next. The road does not necessarily lead to success, productivity, and progress, but becoming. That is the most important thing we can focus on – and perhaps the only thing that really exists.
Sincerely, Inner Mentor
On Ideas
The Idea Phase
Can you count the number of new business ideas you've had lately?
If you can on one hand, you're probably like me. If you have too many to keep track of, we might be different.
Some people are wired to see how anything could be monetized. Some people are wired to envision new inventions, quickly moving to launch and scale.
Some are conditioned, some are trained, some are gifted.
Some roll their eyes.
But they too, have ideas. They just may not be in the same shape. Some ideas are about monetization and scale, some are about optimization and efficiency. Some are about communication, some about impact.
Ideas are possibilities of a future that does not yet exist. They are inherently creative. To the extent that humans recognize that something is not as it should be and can be made better, they are trafficking in ideas.
Steward this personality trait – creativity is a way of being. It is an openness. A receptivity. It shows up differently for different people, but all humans possess this trait.
And when you do encounter an idea, which you will, what you do next deeply matters.
Ideas, left by themselves, are volatile. Imagining a future without God is the definition of anxiety. Imagining a future without risk is fantasy.
Make your idea workable by writing it down or sharing with someone. Turn it around in your hands and ask the following questions:
- What change are you trying to make?
- Who's it for?
- How will you know if it's working?
- What does it look like to show up every day?
- Do you desire to do the work regardless of outcome?
- Are you willing to pivot?
Indeed, ask God these very same questions. Be willing to listen, be open, be receptive. It's a way of being.
Ground yourself in a reality that entails risk and limitation. Embrace possibility with God. Step into a future that does not yet exist with your ideas in hand, seeking to make it better.
Sincerely, Inner Mentor
The Idea Phase, Part 2
Expo markers before Figma. Questions before answers. Conversations before presentations.
You have your idea. Now what?
I'm not proposing a step-by-step process to take your idea from seed to reality. It may be different for each idea. Ideas are delicate, they need nurturing, inquiring, and engaging – not expediting. Ideas tend to carry a decision, sometimes a sacrifice. What's next is between you and the idea (or the muse, or God), but how you proceed can become a way of being.
Nurture Your Idea
Thinking about building something? Discover a new approach? Inspired to create?
It's easy to run your idea through all of the scenarios – thoughts moving at the speed of light, bouncing back and forth like a pinball machine – this is good. Don't lose momentum.
Momentum begins in the morning like the slow trickle of a stream. The water ebbs and flows throughout the day, and you have the choice to enter and exit as you will. You may receive new ideas through conversations, time alone, or deeply focused work – you choose to stay in the river by nurturing your ideas. Momentum transcends your time blocks, ride the current throughout the day.
How do you nurture? Same as everything else – nurture with your will. Take action according to the idea. If someone comes to mind, write their name down. Maybe even shoot them a text. Think of a new approach to a problem? Sketch it out. Inspired to write something? Take a voice memo. Remember, ideas are delicate. Steward with care as they come.
Practically speaking, if you have to figure out how to use the tool before you use the tool, choose a different tool. Expo markers before Figma. Voice memo before Substack. Yellow pad before Notion.
Be careful not to dismiss the still, small voice by saying that you'll come back to it later. If your idea is not worth nurturing now, it's not worth doing later.
Be open, nurture with your will, continue to flow down the river.
Sincerely, Inner Mentor
Your Research is Actually Fear
When you have an idea, it's teeming with energy. Perhaps you think through the implications, you calculate risk, you indulge in scenarios if it were to succeed. The location is your imagination.
For an idea to become something generative, it needs to move out of the imagination. Part of that process is research. You might be inclined to turn to the internet, more likely an LLM. More information floods in. You encounter both encouraging and discouraging emotions – comparison, opportunity, risk again, and maybe even hope.
At this point, you've progressed to the next stage, but your location is a sort of fabricated reality. Not the reality where you and I live, but the illusive reality that makes you feel like you can find all the answers, like you can mitigate 100% of the risk. In order to escape this distortion, you need to close the data gate. Including ChatGPT. Especially ChatGPT.
It's easy to get stuck in the imagination or information stage. Despite what others may think, getting stuck is not a personality flaw, and it's not a time management issue.
It's fear.
Call fear what it is, and it loses some power.
Your goal is to make a meaningful contribution, but fear tells you that it needs to be perfect before you share it with the world. Fear is not concerned with your neighbor or whatever you're working on, it wants you. Its goal is to hold you, turn you inward on yourself. Its best trick is to convince you that you know what other people think, that you know the future, that you have a lofty purpose and must not fail…
But, you don't have to agree.
Everything you share with the world is an act of defiance against the lies of perfectionism. It's an exercise in humility.
By creating and sharing your imperfect work, you are saying that it's actually not about you.
If needed, you are willing to change.
If you fail, that's okay.
When you share, your generous contribution is not an idea anymore, it's not found in the dataverse, it's tangible and has the potential to impact someone else.
Once you go tangible, you are accountable. Accountability is a force-multiplier. The accountability of being tangible keeps the ball rolling, and that starts the process of iteration and continuous improvement.
Research your idea intentionally, but share it before it's ready. Do so in spite of the fear that wants to keep you captive within yourself, not in spite of yourself.
Sincerely, Inner Mentor
On Progress
The Ingredients of Good Progress
The ingredients of good progress. They are all necessary, but each are different. Each taps into a different part of your brain, each speaks to a different part of your heart. Address each aspect, sprinkle in some temperance, and move forward as a unified whole.
Goals
Goals are strategic, visionary, idealistic. You are dreaming of a future that is not yet – thinking about possibility and opportunity and all the good things that could be true some day. In my experience, this type of thinking is intoxicating. Goals are like imagination, they are the only thing that can create out of the New.
Fantasy is thinking about the future with no risk. So if you have a dream, what is being asked of you? What do you have to give up? What's at risk?
Then, be curious – Who's it for? How will you know you succeed? How long will it take? What does it look like to show up every day? Your answers will turn your dream into something you can point to – a goal.
Thinking strategically about your goals is a healthy exercise, but goals must be paired with action. Part of reality is asking, how will it happen?
Systems
Systems are functional, predictable, sustainable. If goals ask, "What is it?" and "Why do you do it?" Systems answer, "How does it happen?"
Systems have the luxury of being the "good guy," the "fun uncle." Rarely critiquing, always encouraging (they let the Task Master crack the whip). The defining trait of your systematic brain is curiosity. Systems are not concerned with what you do in a day, they want to know how to set you up for success.
Knowing that you have both a "Human Brain" and "Lizard Brain," Systems empower you to be productive through routines, rewards, and deadlines.
Have an off-day? Queue the questions: "What happened? What were the variables? How can we improve? Does something need to change?"
Systems, at their best, try to anticipate distraction, anticipate over-work, anticipate off-days.
Systems bridge the gap between the ideals of your inner CEO and the operations of the Task Master.
Tasks
Tasks don't ask much – they just do. The system has rolled out the red carpet: Your time blocks are scheduled. Your calendar is booked. Your tasks are prioritized. Your reminders are set.
Let it rip.
Tenacity and focus make things happen. When tasks operate within the system that aligns with your goal, over time, you will make good progress.
The most common fault of the Task Master is being reactionary. When skies are blue – you are in a flow state, making good progress – it's easy to overwork and disrespect boundaries. This seems harmless at first, maybe even opportunistic, but it can cause more problems than you realize.
When skies are grey – you can't seem to string two thoughts together, you keep getting distracted, your day feels like a waste – it's easy to bring down the hammer. Draw out the time. Push too hard.
The Task Master can singlehandedly derail the entire System, frustrate the CEO's goals, and create a vicious cycle of reactions and overcorrections. At the same time, tasks are the engine that keep this vehicle moving. Harmony across your goals, systems, and tasks is key.
Learning to Dance
Discipline is a fantastic dance partner. She dances with creativity, she dances with productivity, she dances with freedom.
Often associated with the latter category, task-oriented work, discipline is actually found across the entire spectrum. Another word for discipline is temperance.
- Temperance shows up in your goals when you let the visionary part dialogue with the practical and set a thoughtful, ambitious, and mission-driven goal.
- Temperance shows up in your systems through grace – you are human, not a machine – so account for margin and be patient when things don't go as planned.
- Temperance shows up in your tasks when you are locked in, checking things off the list, but you promised your wife that you'd be done with work by 5:30 PM – so you call it.
Temperance begins with commitment, is empowered by trust, and sustained by grace. Pray about your goals, trust your systems, and commit to your tasks and let temperance bind them together. That is how you pursue good progress.
Sincerely, Inner Mentor
Strategy is How
Similar to the Goals, Systems, and Tasks that comprise an individual's productivity, Mission, Strategy, and Operations are the core components of any organization.
Mission is the through-line that transcends all departments, all strategies, and all operations. It is why you exist. Tying that back to your Goal, it is the inspiration that has been tested and acted upon.
Operations carry out the goal. They are the hands and feet of the mission. The people, their talent, their gifts, their labor – the actual work done in a given day.
Strategy is "how" you do things. Strategy is in service to the "why" and informs the "what" but distinctly different from both Mission and Operations. Strategy is inevitable, but it is often the most illusive component of the equation.
Maybe things are not working and you want them to change – it's easy to doubt the why and tweak the what. Maybe things are working and you don't want anything to change – it's easy to assume the why and scale the what. No matter where you are, the key question when it comes to strategy is that of opportunity cost.
Opportunity cost is an economics term, and economics is fundamentally based on scarcity: there are a limited amount of resources, decisions must be made about those resources, and there are consequences that result from those decisions. Enter, opportunity cost. The consequences of your decisions.
How often do you consider the opportunity cost of how you're pursuing your goal? Have you considered the time it takes to complete one task? Have you counted the cost? Have you gained or lost enjoyment over time? These types of questions improve your operations and sustain your mission. Without Strategy, Operations can burn out and the Mission can degrade, regardless of how inspiring or relevant it is.
The best Strategies are reflective – you can't improve what you haven't tried. Any new strategy is either in response to a failed attempt or based on something that has worked for someone else. As time goes on, a fresh perspective helps spot opportunities and strengths, weaknesses and bottlenecks.
Take time to reflect, get out of your ruts, invite others in. As always, how you do things matters – whether it's you or the vehicle that is carrying out your why.
Sincerely, Inner Mentor
Unhitch the Crazy Train
Working alone? Do yourself the favor and create an internal accountability system. Inevitably, you will get frustrated with yourself for one reason or another. Maybe it's about the progress you're not making, maybe it's in the wake of comparing yourself to peers and competitors. Remember: our fleeting thoughts are surface-level. They require excavating. That is not to say they should be dismissed, but they are not all there is, and they are not always honest. It's important to have a benchmark of truth that exists outside of yourself. When you feel yourself getting caught in a loop, here are a few ways to unhitch the crazy train:
1. Interview Yourself
Ask yourself a question, and let yourself answer. It takes a little bit of imagination, focus, and a lot of patience, but this is an exercise that never fails when I take it seriously. The first question is often casual, something you'd hear at a cocktail party, but it takes any person time to get comfortable so be patient. It's important to answer genuinely and coherently, don't short-change yourself. This sparks an internal dialogue, often spoken aloud, that spirals down past the surface-level emotions and to the root – often something entirely different.
2. Write it Out
This is one of my favorite tools. When I've been in my head all day or bouncing between apps on my computer, writing slows me down. I don't make a mark until I know what I'm going to write… so I'm intentional. Writing is inherently linear… so I'm coherent. Even if I'm drawing a diagram or sketching a picture, I'm deliberate and sequential about it. It's not uncommon for analog pen and paper to be meditative and simply blissful.
Bonus: If you journal consistently, read over old entries periodically. It will unlock another dimension (literally).
Disclaimer: This is not always the right tool. When it comes to knowledge work, your body is stationary while your mind runs a marathon. Sometimes, the last thing I want to do is sit down and hunch over a piece of paper – I need to get outside and walk.
3. Start Over
Whenever I'm working on something I want to come across a certain way, I can work myself into a rut. This especially comes up when writing to someone. I know that my wheels are stuck spinning when I have deleted and retyped a message more than 5 times. If you are nit-picking certain aspects and you just can't make it work, scrap the whole thing. Go work on something else or go take a break, but the "tool" here is to delete and start completely over.
Tobias Lütke described his team's methodology when solving a coding problem: If they couldn't figure it out in a day, they scrapped the entire thing and tried again the next day. Day after day, progress didn't carry over. Why? According to Lütke, efficiency should be baked in the process as much as the end result.
I would like to think that the same thing is true for us: You are more likely to feel better about something that came out of a flow state than something you toiled over. Trust that the good ideas will stick around, and the ones that didn't matter will be offloaded. Don't be afraid of scrapping the whole thing – trust that you have what it takes in the present moment.
4. Revisit in the Morning
Sometimes taking a break and coming back in a single day isn't enough. And that's okay. Consider writing down your thoughts and giving yourself the gift of revisiting it the next day. Rarely is the problem so urgent that it needs to be solved by the end of the day, although the feeling of being behind is real. (You can use step 1 to try and figure out what's really urgent.)
There's something mysterious about a good night's rest and the clarity that it brings. Set yourself up for success by giving lots of detail in your note to review the next day – even if it's about how frustrated you are. Your future self will appreciate the honesty, understand, and be encouraged by the difference they are about to make.
5. Stop Short
In search of high-quality work, it's easy to get caught on the last 10% of a project. The end is in sight, morale is high, and the wind is at your back. That 10% looks easy! Except – you are just as susceptible to rabbit trails that draw out the project. You are just as likely to over-work a minor feature when it was ready in the first place.
When you reach the proverbial 90%, try step 4, make necessary changes in one time-bound session, and ship the work.
90% and done is better than 100% and not done.
Consider the Goal of Consistency
Identity inspires action, and actions done consistently contribute to your goals. If you are upset about the progress you're making today, ask yourself if you've been consistent over many days. If you have, odds are, you've made progress in becoming someone new. And that is something, if not everything. External accountability helps anchor you in truth when you are your worst critic.
Sincerely, Inner Mentor
On Identity
The 4 Types of People
There are four types of people in this world: Implementors, Visionaries, Implementors who think they are Visionaries, and Visionaries who think they are Implementors. It's okay, you're allowed to laugh.
Titles like this are inherently reductive. Your entire personality cannot be summed up in "Implementor" or "Visionary," but the holistic picture of what these words convey about work style and worldview matter. The end of this road does not primarily enlighten the individual for their own sake, but for the sake of others.
Definitions
According to the book Rocket Fuel, Visionaries have an entrepreneurial spark and generate new ideas, deal with big relationships, inspire others, and create the company vision. They're future-focused and get bored with details and process but excel at seeing the big picture. Implementors are the steady force that integrate the major functions of the business, run the organization, and manage day-to-day issues. They're execution-focused, excel at leading and managing people, and love creating repeatability, consistency, and scalability in the business.
You can also find traces of these opposite poles in personality tests:
- Myers-Briggs: Measures personality preferences across four dimensions – Visionaries might score as ENxP types; Integrators as xSTJ types
- Kolbe A Index: Measures conative action modes – Visionaries score high as Quick Start; Integrators as Follow Thru or Fact Finder
- CliftonStrengths: Measures 34 talent themes – Visionaries might show Strategic, Ideation, Futuristic; Integrators show Achiever, Arranger, Discipline
- xPlore: Measures ten core motivators – Visionaries driven by Independence and Creativity; Integrators by Structure and Tradition
- Enneagram: Measures nine personality types – Visionaries often Type 7 (Enthusiast) or 8 (Challenger); Integrators Type 1 (Perfectionist) or 6 (Loyalist)
And of course, you can look to culture for real-world examples. Most entrepreneurs are Visionaries. Most technical co-founders are Implementors. Here are just a few examples:
- Walt Disney and Roy Disney
- Steve Jobs and Tim Cook
- Henry Ford and James Couzens
- Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg
- Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer
The relationship between the two types of people can be highly synergistic, hence the name and thesis of Wickman and Winters' book: Rocket Fuel. But this theory assumes that the individuals have enough self-awareness to know their limitations, humility to admit their limitations, and even more humility to ask for help and depend on someone else.
Self-awareness, admitting limitations, and asking for help are not things we see an overabundance of. The cultural narrative of radical individualism says otherwise. The cultural narrative is not balanced either – it favors the Visionaries like Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, and Henry Ford (did you know those other people existed? Most would say no). Depending on your cocktail of cultural and institutional conditioning, you might be a Visionary who thinks they can also be an Implementor, or an Implementor trying to be a Visionary.
After reading this, you may have an inclination toward one side of the spectrum. You may be able to distinguish your desires from your nature. You might be interested in this idea, but not know where you fall. I'm not here to tell you the answer nor how to figure it out, that's a journey only you can take.
However,
I am here to tell you that you cannot be all things to all people, and you do have limitations.
That you will enjoy operating in your limitations, and you will enjoy depending on others' strengths, but it might not come naturally.
That you are better off being curious than deterministic – no matter how perceptive you think you are.
There's not a "right answer" for you to figure out.
Whatever you do, go all in, and be willing to stop on a dime and make a full-turn pivot, and do it again.
Sincerely, Inner Mentor
Find Meaning Where You're Found
We are made of origin stories. It's the stuff of cocktail parties and the stuff of the big screen.
All of your past decisions, not just where you were born, is part of your origin story, but vocation has a unique role in shaping our future.
When a person devotes their life to a craft, they are shaping the person they will become.
A blacksmith apprentice, the student of a painter, a tradesman, a college student.
The relationship between your devotion and your destiny is not about money or recognition, but the type of person you will become. The things we devote our heart, mind, and strength to change how we see the world. The place that we find ourselves in time and space affect how we see the world. Jesus said the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, not like a molecule.
The Academic Discipline of Business
I have devoted much of my heart, mind, and strength to a degree I chose at 18 years old. Was there always passion and assurance behind that devotion? No. Were there questions and hesitations? Yes. Nevertheless, I find myself betrothed by choice over passion, and over time, fidelity gave way to wonder. Hear me out. Business as an applied discipline exists at the intersection of the best of human thought and understanding:
Consider the humanities that seek to understand culture and meaning:
- Theology
- Philosophy
- History
Consider the social sciences that seek to understand people and societies:
- Political Science
- Economics
- Psychology
- Sociology
Consider the formal sciences that seek to understand patterns and logic:
- Mathematics
- Computer Science
- Statistics
Even academic disciplines have an origin! Business, as an applied discipline, owes everything to the core disciplines that continue to shape it. This makes the application of business extremely dynamic and creative. While you sit at the feet of philosophers and economists, pulling the best of what they have to offer in ways that apply to your context, you are also responsible for applying that knowledge and cultivating it into the new.
Many fields, even core disciplines, can be "applied," and I believe that is partly what we are called to do as humans. Whether you apply your knowledge directly to the world through your work, or let it shape your thinking about the world outside of work, there is meaning to be found.
Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
— Psalm 19:3
Find meaning where you are found.
Sincerely, Inner Mentor
On Uncertainty
It's Okay to Fly Blind
You will encounter periods of blindness. Lately I have written a great deal about goals, systems, and tasks, and mission, strategy, and operations – primarily in terms of your personal productivity. It would be unfair for me to say that those things remain consistent across time. No, in fact they can change quite frequently, especially in a small organization, a startup, or your own business. Being in the dark can feel intimidating. You must understand what is hiding in the dark to know how to get through the night.
Doubt
Resistance is inevitable, and it will take many forms. Look around you – is there doubt present? Procrastination? Fear? Yes, those things are always present. If you can spot them, name them, and counter them, you are headed in the right direction.
Discomfort
Periods of transition always entail mystery. This is natural and cannot be avoided. In fact, your attempt to control the unknown will be in vain and a waste of energy. Despite the discomfort, transition is often good. Patience and endurance lead to good progress. Transition can happen on a small scale too – every morning that you beat Resistance, you are becoming a new type of person. The trick is to lean forward, into the darkness, not backward. Leaning backward may feel comfortable, but you are headed away from the New.
Comparison
When you start to lose sight of something, you immediately look for things nearby to reference. You make one final attempt for spatial awareness. This is natural, but in our case, not always ideal. Nearby things might include peers, competition, hypothetical scenarios, fantasies. Relativity can lead to comparison, and comparison is simply not your friend on the journey of becoming.
If you feel like you are in a period of darkness, seek external encouragement, remind yourself of where you've been, and keep taking steps forward. But at the end of the day, the person left staring at the horizon is you. There is no tool or advice other than to lean forward, lean on others, and remain consistent.
Sincerely, Inner Mentor
Inner Mentor ran on Substack in 2025. These pieces are preserved here as written.