3 Things I Wish I Knew 10 Years Ago (And Can't Un-Know Now)

Ten years ago I thought hustle was the whole game.

I chased more hours, more platforms, more hacks.

I know differently now.

Three lessons taught me more than any framework or workshop ever did.

Lesson #1: Consistency Adds Up Faster Than Intensity

I used to work in sprints.

Days of nonstop output, then days of nothing.

That rhythm burned me out more than it ever built.

Small actions, done every day, beat any single burst of effort over time.

A short prayer every morning shapes your soul more than one retreat a year.

Reach out to someone before you need anything from them. That's when it does the most, for the relationship, and for putting your gifts, your resources, and your network to work in someone else's life.

Show up small and show up often. That's the whole lesson.

Lesson #2: Ask Before You Assume

I spent years guessing what people needed. I built programs nobody asked for and wrote content nobody was searching for.

A five-minute conversation would have saved me months of wasted work.

Ask the donor what worries them, and ask the volunteer what drains them. Then ask the customer why they haven't bought yet.

One good question up front saves months of wrong work down the road.

Lesson #3: Manage Your Energy Level

For years I scheduled my day by the clock: meetings at nine, deep work at eleven, rest on Saturday.

I followed the schedule and still ran on empty by Thursday.

A calendar tracks hours. Energy tells you what you actually have to give that day.

Some days call for intensity, the kind that chases a deadline or pushes through a launch. Other days need real rest, phone in another room, nothing on the calendar. And some days just need fun with no goal attached to it at all, which might be the one most people skip.

Build a week where work, rest, fun, and intensity move together, shaped around how you actually run.

No two people run that rhythm the same way. Yours might mean mornings of deep focus and afternoons wide open. Mine looks different.

Ask yourself this before you open your calendar tomorrow. What do you actually have the energy to give?

Which one of these three is costing you the most right now?

Thoughts?