1058. Q&AF: The Guilt Of Taking Time Off, Too Good For Promotion? & Feeling Behind
37m 1s
The show addresses three key questions from entrepreneurs and creators. First, a 24-year-old clothing brand founder struggles with guilt over taking time off, but Andy emphasizes that obsessive dedication to a vision is essential for building something great—those who create are built differently, and taking breaks is not a failure but a necessary reset. Second, a 33-year-old shop foreman is repeatedly passed over for management because he hasn’t developed talent behind him; Andy argues that true leadership lies in replicating one’s skills, not in personal output, and that the real problem is not capability but lack of team development. Third, a business owner feels behind despite solid progress, and Andy clarifies that such feelings are normal and healthy indicators of ambition—entrepreneurs always feel like they’re falling behind because they’re pushing against difficulty. He stresses that doubt, stress, and frustration are signs of progress, not failure, and that most advice online comes from people who haven’t built anything. Andy warns against external narratives that claim to offer wisdom without real experience, urging listeners to focus on their own journey, embrace struggle, and recognize that success is built through pain, not ease. The core message is that success requires mindset shifts, self-awareness, and the courage to develop others—especially when success seems out of reach.
[Music] What is up guys? It's Andy Vickseller and you are listening to the show for the realest say goodbye to lies, the fitness and delusions of our society and welcome to Motherfucking Reality. Guys, today we have Q and A F. That's where you submit the questions and we give you the answers. You can submit your questions in a few different ways, DJ I'll tell you how. Yeah, guys, you can email your questions in to ask Andy at Andy forseller.com. You can also click the links in the description below and submit them there for a chance to be answered. We'll just simply drop them in the comments of the Q and A F videos right here on YouTube. This is your first time listening. There are shows within the show. Tomorrow you're going to get CTI that stands for Cruise the Internet. Today we're going to answer your, how to get better questions tomorrow. We're going to talk about what's going on in the world, right? We got Real Talk. We got 75 Hard Verses. If you're unfamiliar with 75 Hard, it is the initial phase of the Live Hard program which you can get in its entirety for free at episode 208 on the audio feed. Again, that's 208 on the audio feed. There's also a book available on Andy forseller.com called the book on mental toughness. It is not free, it's more complete than just the podcast. If you're unfamiliar with 75 Hard, it is the world's most famous mental transformation program. There is not a program that's ever existed that has transformed more people mentally and helped them get their shit together. And I highly suggest that you do it. Now, one of the things that we do have here is we have a fee for the show. The fee is very simple. We don't run ads on the show, okay? So we ask very simply that you just help us share the show out. That makes you think, if it makes you laugh, it gives you a new perspective. Do us a favor, don't be a hoe. Share the show. Alright, what's up? Yeah. Yeah. What's going on, Doc? Nothing, man. Yeah, how you doing? Good. Yeah, you looking good. Yeah. Thanks, man. I know I said this point, but you're getting dark. Yeah. By you're getting. Two darks. Oh, two darks. I'm gonna say two darks. Two darks. Two darks, huh? Yeah, man. No, you looking good, though, Doc. That sounds a little racist. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. No, man. No, it's good. Guys, it says Friday when we're recording this Monday, when you guys are hearing it, but we got a trip to go hit. Yeah. Let's be fucking sick. Yeah. We're going down to Atlanta for the form cars and caffeine event. Should be pretty good. I'm excited to get down there and things we hot down there, too. Oh, yeah. Fuck. Yeah. Damn. Yeah, I'm so over this fucking. Yeah. It's hot, dude. That's a good one. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They were right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm over here fucking roasted. Yeah. It's hot, man. Dude, it's super hot, man, but it's not going to be hotter than the answers you're about to drop on these questions. Oh, yeah. We got some, you like that? Oh, yeah. That's a good one. Yeah, you like that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Guys, and we got three good ones for you, man. We got some, we got some videos. So let's get started with the clip, very nice. And you want to go. My name is Chris. I'm 24 years old. I'm just asking, how do you deal with the guilt of taking time off days off? So I've been working on this brand for like two or three months. I'm trying to develop this clothing brand. Even though people say that our clothing is exaggerated and all, but it's just like any business. I believe there's competition everywhere, there's nothing wrong with competition. It's like my fourth business, unfortunately, failed like three or four businesses. I was aching, but it just refused to give up. And during that time, I developed an obsession with just working and working and working. And any time I take it off, or some time off like one day, two days, it's just mentally training. I don't like to take days off. And I'm just obsessed with my vision and goals. And I purposefully tried to make myself be like mediocre, coming home, having to be here. For example, it's just not for me. I tried to force myself, but this obsession will never go away. And I know it might sound ridiculous, like as if it's a mental issue, but that's what my struggle is taking time off. So is there anything that you did that you know that thank you or made you like get tired of it? Because I don't want to be tired of it. And I don't want that to affect relationships as well. So he's, hmm, all right, fuck dude. First of all, so let me get this straight. So you're trying to break the obsession that you have with being more, doing more, becoming better, creating this amazing company. So that you feel normal when you're around other people, is that, that's just, is that what I'm getting here? You are not programmed like everybody else, okay? And you are someone who has a vision in their mind and in their heart of something that they're trying to build and create and become. You are not going to think about life the same way that everybody else thinks of it. When everybody else goes to work in the morning and they are counting down the minutes to go home and sit around and do nothing, you are looking at the clock saying, man, it's already five o'clock. It's already eight o'clock. It's already 1230. It got to get the bed. That is the product of the mindset that is required to actually build something great. So what I think you're actually struggling with is that you've never been around someone who's built anything and you are trying to reconcile the difference between everybody you've ever known in your entire life and what it is that you are now. And you have to understand that people who build things, create things, become things. All the people who have developed all of the things that you and I and everybody else uses on a daily basis is a matter of our lives, the products, the businesses, the services. These people were fucking obsessed. These are people who did not want to take a day off. They did not think about the thing. They did not think about Call of Duty or drinking beer or hanging out with their friends. They only thought about that thing regardless of everything else. So the mindset that you have here, dude, is actually the mindset that's required to do something like build a clothing line in a market where there are tons of clothing lines. And by the way, people are always going to need clothes. So people can say, oh, well, it's oversaturated. Yeah, it is. It's saturated with a bunch of mediocre shit. Don't be mediocre and you'll stand out. But yeah, dude, you got to realize that you are built for something that everybody else isn't built for and the quicker that you realize that the less mental anguish that you're going to deal with along the journey of doing this thing. So there's no tips and tricks and any of these things I could tell you other than you just have to realize that being obsessed with a vision, especially in the early days, like you are, is a requirement and it's a blessing that you are that way. And it's probably the thing that's going to guarantee that this doesn't become your fifth or sixth failed business. Okay, the fact that you've already failed four different businesses and you're continuing to move, that would cause most people to quit. So like, dude, you have all the things that you need. You have all the mentalities correct. You need to let go of the idea that you're going to live like everybody else and still build this amazing thing because it's not going to happen. On this topic of the session, right, and I was over here trying to remember who we were talking to, dude, but you said something about, you know, that you, you, you hate busy people. Yeah. You always say they're fucking, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. I think it's important too because like, people are going to confuse obsession with, you know, just staying busy, but you don't look at busy as busy like you're either busy or you're productive. There are two different things. Yeah. Right. Can we, can we talk a little bit about that? Well, yeah, man. I mean, a lot of people, you know, they think that there's some sort of an award for being busy. Yeah. There's no award for being busy. There's no medal that you get. You don't get paid for being how busy you are. You get paid for what you fucking produce. And so a lot of people confuse the two. They think that, you know, there's some sort of badge of honor for talking about how busy they are. When in reality, no one cares. No one cares how busy you are, bro. In fact, if you're that busy, it means you're ineffective. So, you know, and then we get into the idea of, you know, using the technology that we built an operator standard, you know, where you define the win for the day. You execute to the point where that win is accomplished and then you have the rest of
day to do whatever you want. You know, obsessed people are gonna still do the thing past those five wins. That's what they're gonna do. But you know, this idea that you have to like force yourself into some sort of routine that looks like what everybody else is doing just because everybody else is doing it. It's just not that's not how you should be looking at it, dude. You know, you're different than them. You're on a different path than them. I feel like even his language just on like taking the, you know, these days off these break days, like that's not. That's not thing when you're trying to build something. Well, I mean, dude, you might take a day off. You might take two days off, but like, yeah, you're gonna probably feel guilty for it. You know what I'm saying? You're gonna probably want to get back into it. And you know, you got shit you got to do. Yeah, but isn't that a, doesn't that serve a purpose then? Like, doesn't it serve a purpose to take a day or two off so that your hungry is fuck to come back? That's the point of the time off. Yeah, so like, you know, dude, I just think this is a young man struggling with something that he's not have very much exposure to. But I can tell you, dude, all the high achievers, all the builders, all the creators, they don't really try to fit themselves into the acceptable behavior models of everybody else. They understand that everybody else is everybody else, and they understand that they are the way they are. And they, the sooner they accept that that's the truth, the less agony and pain and frustration they face along the way. Because when you're on the journey of building something great, you're going to have all these people that are going to say, bro, you're working too hard. You know, you just got to take some time off. You got to do this. You got to do that. But yet, none of those people have done anything. They haven't done anything. So you got to be careful who you're trying to fit in with. Right. You know what I mean? Yeah, you've taken plenty of time off. You're life still looks like shit. Yeah. That's what most people do, bro. And you know, they'll justify, they'll justify that position because that's the position that they've taken as some sort of, you know, moral, high ground position or whatever, not realizing that, you know, there's certain people that are built to work on puzzles, bro. They're built to work on things. They're built to build and create and become. And without those things, they're miserable. And that everybody can relate to that. In fact, very few people can relate to that, which is why it's ostracized in terms of, you know, oh, you're working too much. Right. Exactly. So it's like you're, you're, it's like, it's like, it's like you're a fucking unicorn. And you go around the horses and all the horses are like, bro, take the fucking horn off your head. Right. How am I stepping up there? I fucking dead. I can't take it off my head. What do you want me to do? Hey, you know, well, you, you're fucking out here flying around, you're fucking cute wings and you think you're fucking somebody, bro, I can't help it. I was built this way. Yeah. You see what I'm saying? That's what it's like, dude. Yeah. And so you're trying to explain yourself to a bunch of people that are never going to fucking understand it. So you can't worry about that. You know, I love it, dude. I love it, man. Guys, Andy, question number two, Andy, I'm 33 and I've spent my years grinding across multiple trades. Every time I apply for an inside management position, I get hit with the same exact line. You're too valuable on the shop floor to move into the office. It just happened again. I applied for the manager position at the shop where I'm currently a foreman. My leadership and trade knowledge are proven management explicitly tells me both are great. Yet once again, I was passed over simply because they do not want to lose my output on the floor. My question, how do I break out of being too good at the execution to actually earn the management role? And how do I maintain my drive in South Worth when my own capability is being used as the ceiling holding me back? You're not being held back by your own capabilities. You don't understand what it means to solve a fucking problem. If you've been told three or four times that the problem is that if we lose you off the floor, we're going to lose productivity and you've been told that three or four times, then what the fuck is the problem? What is the ownership telling you the problem is? What are they telling us? Not enough of you. There's not enough of you. So what's the problem that needs to be solved? Oh, I've got to fucking replicate myself and I have to solve this problem before I go ask for the new position. So you would think after four fucking times that this would occur to you. Okay, but I'll point it out for you. Here's the problem. You're not you're not hearing the ownership tell you what you need to do. Here's what you need to do. You need to go out of the fucking shop. You need to take a little protege. You need to make him the fucking guy that you teach everything to and you need to you need to work that guy into the position of running the fucking shop floor and then after you've solved that problem and you've solved all the little cancers and all the little butt hurts and the politics and the bitch in and the crying about this guy now fucking being in charge. Now you go to the ownership and you say, hey, I've solved that problem for you. This guy here can do it. I'm ready for this. Okay, that's what's holding you back. It's not your capabilities. It's not that you're doing great on the floor and you're so good on the floor. Bro, you're not leading. Okay, because part of leadership is developing the talent behind you. Okay, so if you are being held in a position because your output is, you know, you're the leader form in of the fucking shop and your output is being pointed out to you as the thing that's holding you back, then it should occur to you that you have to figure out how to create output without you having to do it. That that's part of leadership is replicating your skill set across the team. If you can't replicate your skill set across the team, you're not a fucking leader, your manager's different thing. Okay, you are applying what do you say for a leadership role? Yeah, I know you're like upper management. Okay, so if you, so if you worked for me and you weren't able to fucking replicate yourself in the back and I had to depend on you, there's no fucking chance I'm giving you the other job. Yeah. Not because you can't, we can't get along without you, it's because you haven't proven yourself to have one of the main skills that a upper leader needs to have, which is replicating skill set. So, you know, the problem's pretty clear, dude. If you want the job, you got to figure out a way to fucking replicate yourself on the shop floor so that the shop floor runs and you've solved the problem that ownership had. That's the objection. You're not hearing the objection properly. I imagine that happens a lot, like, you know, the, the, it does happen a lot, but here's what happens with, here's what usually happens when it happens. It does happen a lot, but what usually happens is people don't, what I just said, people do not hear it. And then they they continue to believe the story they've told themselves, oh, they're just cat me here or they just don't want me to succeed or they don't, this is all lip service shit. No, you don't understand the fundamental realities of operating a fucking team. Okay. I cannot pull this guy out of the fucking program unless he's able that part of the program is able to sustain itself. If I can, and here's the other problem, a lot of people build in their own restraints. Okay. Because they take their little role as the shop foreman and they say, nothing's going to happen without me. I ever, I need to sign off on everything. I'm the man. I'm in charge. I'm the boss. And they ride that into the dirt and none of their fucking people ever develop. And then they're confused as to why the fuck they can't go anywhere. Your job is a leader is to develop and empower your team to take your mother fucking job. Okay. And then when they can do it, guess what happens to you? You become more valuable, not less. So there's a lot of scarcity abundance, the mindset that happens here with people too. Because people think that once they get a powerful title, you know, shop foreman that they have to fucking, you know, that's their domain. And then they don't develop people. They, they sink themselves into it so hard that they can't be replaced. You're holding you back. Yes. You're, you're, you're fucking ego. So that happens a lot too. But like dude, you know, at the end of the day, it's real simple. You're fucking superiors are telling you that they can't pull you out because you don't have someone that can do your fucking job. And if you had half a fucking brain of intelligence, you'd go to went back there the first fucking time and started crafting that out. It shouldn't take me pointing that out to you, which tells me that you're probably one of these dudes who is the guy I just described. You're probably that guy who's in the back, who's on the man. Nobody could do it as good as me. And now you've realized that it's created the fucking jail for you. So one pro today or she's trying to, I mean, fuck, I mean, bro, usually it doesn't, look, it depends. Yeah. If you're starting from scratch, everybody has the opportunity. Usually you've got one or two people that are far more developed than the rest of the team. And your chances are higher to move faster with those people and bringing them in tight and helping them learn quickly. Yeah. It just depends on where you're at. Yeah. Good. I love it. Yeah. I mean, look dude, this is, that's a fucking obvious, that's obvious. Yeah. Yeah. You're not listening. That's what I'm saying.
They are telling you exactly what the problem is. - Yes. - You're just not listening to it. Fuck, man. - Well, I mean, dude, they could be shitty leaders, you know, they could be saying, here's what a good leader in that position would say, hey, Bob. - Fuck, man. - You're now fucking listening to what I'm saying. - Right. - Right. - How the fuck am I supposed to pull you out if I don't have anybody that could fuckin' run that? - Who you gonna be managing? - Okay. And then he's gonna say this. He's gonna say, "Well, I don't know." And I'm gonna say, "What do you think I should do?" Well, fuck, I don't know. I guess like, you know, we can hire someone, no, not hiring anybody. 'Cause then we got a higher double payroll for the same fucking job. What do you think should happen? Well, you know, maybe one of these younger, exactly. That's how the fuck it works. So like, dude, this is basic shit. I can't believe we're even asking this shit to be completely fucking honest. - You know, another piece on this too, man, that's important. It's like, you're not gonna get the leadership title first. - No. You leave first and then you get the title. - Then you'll get the fuck a title, man. - Yeah, that's a whole 'nother conversation. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Fuck me, I love it, man. - Dude, I mean, look, man. A lot of it just comes down to that scarcity mindset. You know, these guys don't want anybody else to be good because they're afraid it makes them look bad. When in reality, if you're a leader and you've got seven guys on your team that are all great, the fucking ownership, if they're not stupid as fuck, says, damn, dude, Bob understands how to develop people. Let's get him in a position where he can develop a lot more people. You get it? - Yeah. - Dude, how'd you get so fucking good? Oh, Bob told me everything. - Exactly. - Yeah. Yeah, I love it, man. We got another video submission here. Check this out. - Hey, what's going on, Andy? So, yeah, I'm a business owner. I run my own online house companies. We're basically, we help people get out of back pain. And so, my question is-- - My question is back pain. - You know, sometimes I feel like I should be further ahead right now because I had quite a few, I wouldn't say fail partnership, but you know, didn't really work out. So, we're all the way to multiple six figures a month. And now I have to part away with them because they're not really aligned with my visions. And now I'm back home to do this myself. And, you know, the progress has been pretty, pretty slow. And all of my friends, they're progressing super, super fast. And just the feeling of falling behind and the feeling of, you know, I should be further ahead right now. So, how do you deal with that? This, I guess, tap a stay or tap a emotions because I've been having a really hard time dealing with this, but I know, you know, input, decide, output. But just still, you know, having a really hard time, dealing with this emotion that's falling behind. And, you know, in my mind, I should be way far ahead right now, but feels like I kind of feel like get cake and ass a little bit. So, yeah, appreciate you, Angie. - I mean, dude, that's the game, you know? Anybody with ambitions and drive and hunger and the will to win, you're always gonna feel behind. You always feel like you're not doing enough. You always feel like things aren't going the way that you want. Even when they are, you're always looking at things and you're saying, well, I could have done this better, I could have done that better. That's the mentality of someone who has the ability to win. You know, a lot of these indicators that a lot of you guys bring up, you bring them up as if they are indicators as to like a bad thing, okay? Like, like all these people that you see win, what do you think that they don't have doubt? They have doubt, okay? Doubt is a good thing, you know why? Because it means that you're actually aware and you're questioning and you're saying, well, what if I do this? And this doesn't work, if I do that and this works. And what about this and this and this? Most people aren't even that aware, bro. They aren't even aware enough to doubt themselves, okay? If you're in a position where it's really fucking hard. All right, what does that tell you? Does that tell you that it's bad or does that tell you that you're pushing against the thing that it is you're trying to accomplish and you're feeling some resistance? That's normal. That's an indicator of positive action, okay? These things that you guys see as symptoms that are seen to be as a negative or often and most of the time, there are signals to say you're doing the right fucking things, okay? The fact that you feel behind is a good thing. It says, dude, this guy's getting ambition. He's got drive, he's got, he's got these dreams that he wants to achieve. That's a good thing, okay? Are you actually behind? I don't fucking know. I don't know. I don't think so because there's guys in history that became billionaires after the age of 60. What are you in your 20s, okay? If that, like, fuck, dude, I don't know. He's Asian. He's Asian. I can't tell how old you are. Okay, you could be a thousand. If you're a thousand, you're behind. All right, I'll just say that. But you look pretty fucking young to me. And to have us to struggle is normal. To struggle with those feelings is normal, dude. We all want it to be fast. We all want it to be quick. We all want it to be easier than it actually is, but it just isn't. It just isn't, okay? And we live in a time and age where the technology is so good that you guys have the ability to move so much fucking faster than the generations that came before you. And you don't know that. And it's not your fault. But like, dude, to me, when I see people kind of like get discouraged, I'm just like, "God, dude, you don't know how good you have it." You know what I mean? So, dude, yeah, man. This is a normal part of being an entrepreneur. I'll say this to you. You had to part ways with this person and this and that. I don't know the intricacy of that, but here's what I will tell you. And I see this a lot in people that are younger, okay? You will throw things in the trash that are really good for reasons that are not really good. You know, you'll get an argument with a business partner. You'll something will happen. You don't realize or remember how hard it was to get to a couple hundred thousand dollars a month. And then you come in one day and someone forgot to bring you a sandwich and all of a sudden, they don't value you and all of a sudden the partnership's over. - Fuck you, yeah. - And when you're young, people don't think long-term. They don't think it's because they don't have the perspective of being alive that long. They can't think long-term. But like, you guys got to be careful, man. Like when you got good shit going, you know, it's not easy to just throw the shit away and start to fuck over it. Like you have to like, have a very solid, you know, objective internal conversation of like, hey, okay, well, how hard was this to get here? And how big of a deal is this? And can we work through it? And part of working through those things actually develops the skill set of becoming a much bigger operator, okay? Because dude, you know how many times there's been, you know, arguments between me and Chris or me and my brother where we've been like, dude, fuck you, no, fuck you. And to a point where we've got a physical fucking fight soldier in a fight, okay? Have we stopped the company over one of those things? Where the fuck will we be? Okay, so what do we do? We learned how to fucking overcome. We learned how to communicate better. We learned ourselves better. We learned the dynamic better. And those skill sets that come from pushing through the hard times that you have with business partners and, you know, relationships. And we could apply this to just being a human. Those are what give you the skill set to get to that next level, okay? So like to this young man, you know, you're not, you're probably going to start over and you're going to run into that same problem again with some partner or some this or some that. And then the third thing I'll say to this is you need to make sure that you're not the fucking problem. Okay, a lot of people that leave these partnerships or these, you know, they think, oh man, they're fucking guys. And then those fucking guys continue to win. Okay, well, if those guys continue to win, and you're over here to the side, and that happens over and over again, there's a pretty good chance that you're the fucking problem. Okay, so why is that? What's causing that? I'm not saying that's the case here, but it could be the case. So, but no, dude, to answer your question, man, you know, I'm sure you feel way more anxious after that answer. But, you know, to answer your question, dude, the truth of matter is, is that's a normal feeling that you're going to have throughout your life and entrepreneurship. I feel behind. I feel like I should be much further. And I'm doing pretty fucking good, okay? And I think the minute you don't feel like you should be doing better is the minute you should probably get the fuck out of the game. Because it means you've lost that edge to compete and you've lost that hunger and drive to get better. And, you know, yeah, I don't know anybody, I don't know anybody that operates, that doesn't like think, like the biggest companies in the world.
know that we're on some of the biggest companies in the world. They don't sit. They don't going back to the first question. They're not going home and playing fucking games, dude. Like, you look at their shit. Like, like, you look at UFC, right? And everybody looks at UFC and they think, fuck, dude, UFC's got a billion fucking people that watch their shit. One of the biggest companies in the fucking world, one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world, holy shit, blah, blah, blah. Dude, you know what, you know what Dana talks about when he's, when he's fucking not working the event at UFC, you know what he talks about? Fucking UFC and how to get better and how to improve and how to be, that's how that's why he is the who the fuck he is. So this whole idea that there's something wrong with you because you feel like you should be doing better is, that's not even a real thing, dude. And you're going to listen to all these fucking pussies on the internet, try and tell you how, oh, well, it's okay. And this is not a single one of those people's wired to build great shit. They haven't done it. But they'll get on the internet and they'll fucking fill everybody's minds full of fucking bullshit and pseudo psychology about what the proper way to live their life is. Bro, I have a thing that I say all the time. If you listen to them, you'll be like them. You should only listen to people that you want to be like. Okay, in that area, right? You might find someone who's really good at business, maybe not so good at the life part. Okay, but you can listen to their business shit. Absolutely, dude. But the point in the matter is it's like, dude, like the reason that these young people, like, for example, the first question and this last question, the reason that these guys feel that they're doing something wrong is because they're being told by people who've never done anything that they're doing something wrong. Oh, you work too much. You take two days off. Oh, you fucking blah, blah, blah. You know, you don't like dude. This is all pseudo fucking dime store bullshit clickbait dumb fuck advice that comes from people having the ability to have a fucking voice on the internet. And you should qualify who's saying what? I could tell you this, dude. The minute I hear somebody say like this this fucking soft ass. Oh, you need to fucking blow up. You know what I think you're fucking broke. In fact, I don't even think it. I fucking know they are. I know they are. I don't even have to fucking guess. I know that that person's fucking broke. They have their financial situation is on a poor state. Yeah, tell me tell me your brother without telling me your brother. Yeah, that's it. Yeah. And if they're not broke, it's because they're selling all the other fucking victims of story about how they should be a victim. Yeah, let me actually this because you know, dude, do you see this is what I'm talking about on the show. We just saw two young men who are fucking ambitious, who are hungry, who want to win, who are getting their minds infected from people who have never done a mother fucking thing. Now, do you understand why I hate to shift so much? Here's two guys that want to go out and build great shit, but they're being discouraged because the normal events that occur during the process of being an entrepreneur are happening to them and they are being told by people who have never built anything that those are wrong things to feel. You need to start looking at the symptoms that you're feeling, the stress, the anxiety, the doubt, the uncertainty, as an indicator that you are on the right fucking track, not that you are on the wrong track. There's never been a single person that's ever built anything in the history of fucking humankind who's ever done it without feeling doubt and anxiousness and uncertainty and frustration and anger and pain and fucking monotony and boredom. There's never ever been someone that's done it ever. So do you think you're going to be the first person that builds this incredible thing while feeling fucking amazing all the fucking time while you're doing it? The fuck out of here, dude. That's total bullshit. Okay, and it's it's coming from the internet. It comes from all these people who are pretending to have done shit, who are telling people who are trying to really do shit that they're doing it wrong when they don't even know that they don't even know the right or wrong way to do it. Yeah. You think anybody ever crossed the desert without being fucking hot? Right. You think anybody swam the ocean without being fucking tired? Anybody ever climb them out without being fucking cold? Yeah, you shouldn't do the ocean, you shouldn't do the lake. The fuck, man. These are things that happen because you pick the hard path. The fact that you feel them is a good indicator that you're on the right path. If you know, if you're not feeling that shit, you ain't got a chance. Yeah, that's right. Let me actually do this because I'm on this on this same topic, bro. How do you look in business, I guess, and how do you look at steps taking a metaphorical step back? Do those occur? Is that a real thing? I guess you would probably call them pivots, right? You got to make a pivot, right? Most people say step back, right? I mean, sometimes you don't have a choice. Yeah, you know, because I hear it like his partnership losses, you know, he's that might be a step back. But is it a step back? And it's if it's a bad word, you know, I don't know. Yeah. Is it him or no, right? How we won't know if it's a step back until 20 years from now. Where is he going to be in 20 years? Then we can look back and we can say, okay, that was a step back or a step forward. We don't fucking know. You don't know. All you can do is what you think you can do. You do the best that you can. You make the best decisions. You surround yourself and put information you had from people who've done the thing before. And you make your decisions accordingly, the best that you can. And sometimes you're going to make mistakes. That's the reality. So, you know, I don't know if it's a step back. If it's a, if the other guy goes on and builds fucking Microsoft and you, you didn't, it's probably not a step back. If the other guy's gone and build Microsoft and then you build, you know, a $10 million your company where you're happy. You don't have to deal with two ship bags. But you don't like that's a win. Okay, we don't, we don't know. That's real. Well, guys, Andy, that was a hot three. Yep. Nice and quick. Yep. All right, guys, we'll see you tomorrow for CTI. Don't be a hoe. Share the show. (upbeat music)
Podcast Summary
Key Points:
The guilt from taking time off work stems from an obsession with constant productivity, which is actually a hallmark of successful creators and builders—those who build great things are not "normal" in their mindset and are often misunderstood as being "too busy."
To break out of being "too good at execution" for a management role, one must develop and replicate their skills in others, proving leadership by empowering a team member to take over, not by staying in the role themselves.
Feeling behind or falling behind in business is a normal, even positive, sign of ambition and drive; it reflects struggle against the resistance of progress and indicates you're pushing through real growth, not just complacency.
Summary:
The show addresses three key questions from entrepreneurs and creators. First, a 24-year-old clothing brand founder struggles with guilt over taking time off, but Andy emphasizes that obsessive dedication to a vision is essential for building something great—those who create are built differently, and taking breaks is not a failure but a necessary reset. Second, a 33-year-old shop foreman is repeatedly passed over for management because he hasn’t developed talent behind him; Andy argues that true leadership lies in replicating one’s skills, not in personal output, and that the real problem is not capability but lack of team development.
Third, a business owner feels behind despite solid progress, and Andy clarifies that such feelings are normal and healthy indicators of ambition—entrepreneurs always feel like they’re falling behind because they’re pushing against difficulty. He stresses that doubt, stress, and frustration are signs of progress, not failure, and that most advice online comes from people who haven’t built anything. Andy warns against external narratives that claim to offer wisdom without real experience, urging listeners to focus on their own journey, embrace struggle, and recognize that success is built through pain, not ease.
The core message is that success requires mindset shifts, self-awareness, and the courage to develop others—especially when success seems out of reach.
FAQs
Taking time off is not a sign of failure but a necessary reset. True builders are obsessed with their vision and will work past five wins, not just stay busy. You're not broken — you're built for a different path. Let go of the need to be like everyone else and embrace your unique mindset.
Leadership isn't about doing everything yourself. It's about developing others to replicate your skills. If your team can't perform your job without you, you're not a leader. You need to train someone to take over, prove that you can scale, and then ask for the role.
Feeling behind is normal and a sign of ambition. It shows you're pushing hard. Success rarely comes quickly — setbacks and doubts are part of the journey. Focus on progress, not speed, and remember that every challenge builds your resilience.
Being busy doesn't mean you're productive. You're paid for what you produce, not how many hours you work. True productivity is defined by results and outcomes, not just time spent working.
Setbacks are not failures. They build skills in communication, problem-solving, and emotional resilience. Ask if you're the problem, and use those experiences to grow stronger, not to quit.
Yes, absolutely. Every successful builder has felt doubt and frustration. These emotions are signs of awareness and drive, not weakness. They mean you're pushing against the hard path — which is where real growth happens.
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