John Ballen

Well, I think that part of the reason, or I should say this is more of a general statement that kind of answers this, I, in a way, was fortunate because when I hit rock bottom, I am a person that does not have, what is it called, paralysis by analysis. I'm sort of an impulsive person, for better or worse. And so for me, it's like once I hit that rock bottom,

Well, I think that part of the reason, or I should say this is more of a general statement that kind of answers this, I, in a way, was fortunate because when I hit rock bottom, I am a person that does not have, what is it called, paralysis by analysis. I'm sort of an impulsive person, for better or worse. And so for me, it's like once I hit that rock bottom,

it wasn't hard for me to sort of quickly find a good North Star, which the first one was college. I'm going to do college, right? And then when I was nearing the end of college, by this point, I've sort of righted the ship at this point, but I wanted a new goal. It was like, oh, SEAL training. That checks some boxes. It's like, I want to serve. Check. Like, it's a super hard goal. Check.

it wasn't hard for me to sort of quickly find a good North Star, which the first one was college. I'm going to do college, right? And then when I was nearing the end of college, by this point, I've sort of righted the ship at this point, but I wanted a new goal. It was like, oh, SEAL training. That checks some boxes. It's like, I want to serve. Check. Like, it's a super hard goal. Check.

I'll have to work for it. Like, it offers me a chance at reinvention and rebirth. Check. Okay, good. Like, I jumped to that. That's what I do. I think there are plenty of people, and this is my guess, I don't know if it's true, who maybe have already hit rock bottom and they want to make a change. They know it's their fault or whatever situation that they know they've contributed to it.

I'll have to work for it. Like, it offers me a chance at reinvention and rebirth. Check. Okay, good. Like, I jumped to that. That's what I do. I think there are plenty of people, and this is my guess, I don't know if it's true, who maybe have already hit rock bottom and they want to make a change. They know it's their fault or whatever situation that they know they've contributed to it.

But they don't know what to do next. And there's so many choices. Think about it. If you're at rock bottom, in some ways, you have every choice in the world to make. And I think that one of the things that I certainly preach when I talk about this at all, which I guess is in situations like this, is you don't need like a perfect idea.

But they don't know what to do next. And there's so many choices. Think about it. If you're at rock bottom, in some ways, you have every choice in the world to make. And I think that one of the things that I certainly preach when I talk about this at all, which I guess is in situations like this, is you don't need like a perfect idea.

You just need something that checks enough boxes for you to be worth doing. So for me, it was like, okay, I'm in my mom's basement. I've done this to myself. I am the reason I'm not at school. I'm the reason that like my parents are embarrassed about their son. It's my fault. What do I need to do? Okay, well, I should graduate school because that demonstrates that what happened at UMass is fixable.

You just need something that checks enough boxes for you to be worth doing. So for me, it was like, okay, I'm in my mom's basement. I've done this to myself. I am the reason I'm not at school. I'm the reason that like my parents are embarrassed about their son. It's my fault. What do I need to do? Okay, well, I should graduate school because that demonstrates that what happened at UMass is fixable.

I can graduate school. I can do it. I'm not dumb. I can do that. Okay, fine. Gotta go to school. That was it. It's like, it checks a box, so do it.

I can graduate school. I can do it. I'm not dumb. I can do that. Okay, fine. Gotta go to school. That was it. It's like, it checks a box, so do it.

What if it's the wrong decision or something?

What if it's the wrong decision or something?

Yeah. I mean, and also you gotta figure it's sort of like a self-perpetuating problem too, where if you, let's say you've hit rock bottom, even if you don't know it and you're like, oh, I want to fix my life. I want to do something with my life. Let's say the kind of generic rock bottom.

Yeah. I mean, and also you gotta figure it's sort of like a self-perpetuating problem too, where if you, let's say you've hit rock bottom, even if you don't know it and you're like, oh, I want to fix my life. I want to do something with my life. Let's say the kind of generic rock bottom.

Well, let's say you get paralysis by analysis and you're not able to sort of like pick a path and you go nowhere. That only reinforces the idea that you screwed up again. But you haven't. There's just too many choices and you're allowing too many factors to be at play here. Jocko, however he said it, is dead on.

Well, let's say you get paralysis by analysis and you're not able to sort of like pick a path and you go nowhere. That only reinforces the idea that you screwed up again. But you haven't. There's just too many choices and you're allowing too many factors to be at play here. Jocko, however he said it, is dead on.

And there's another way that's talked about in the military, which is an 80% solution now is oftentimes better than a 100% solution tomorrow. And it's all about like speed over certainty. In the military, it applies a lot of times. But that's the way I think people should generally, not always, but generally look at their lives if they haven't quite built anything yet.

And there's another way that's talked about in the military, which is an 80% solution now is oftentimes better than a 100% solution tomorrow. And it's all about like speed over certainty. In the military, it applies a lot of times. But that's the way I think people should generally, not always, but generally look at their lives if they haven't quite built anything yet.