An Excellent Wknd [25.45]
Some thoughts on safety & bravery
Hello, hi, 👋
Happy Sunday, my friends.
Before we jump in, one quick note for Chase Club members:
If you head here (or wherever you listen to our usual ad-free episodes), you’ll notice that on Friday, we published our first mini episode Q&A.
We’ll be doing this every Friday, answering one of our Chase Club members’ questions, so keep an eye out and let me know what you think!
Okay, let’s get into it.
SAFE OR BRAVE?
You stay in the corporate job because it’s certain. Guaranteed paycheck. Clear path to promotion. Predictable trajectory for the next decade.
Except it’s not certain at all.
Here’s what actually happens: you trade one form of uncertainty for another. The corporate path eliminates financial uncertainty but creates existential uncertainty. You know what next year looks like, but you have no idea if you’ll still recognize yourself in five years.
The entrepreneurial path works the opposite way. Massive financial uncertainty in exchange for existential certainty - you know exactly who you’re becoming because you chose the direction.
Studies show uncertainty triggers more stress than predictable pain. People prefer knowing they’ll receive an electric shock over maybe receiving one. We’d rather wait nine minutes for a ride, knowing it’s nine minutes, rather than stand waiting 90 seconds not knowing.
But here’s the trap: chasing certainty is chasing a mirage.
Even wildly successful people - retired at 36 with tens of millions - still feel uncertainty. They’re just worried about different things. The anxiety doesn’t disappear at any income level, any achievement, any milestone. It just changes masks.
So when you say “it’s not the right time” or “I need more planning” or “maybe when things settle down,” what you’re actually saying is: I’m afraid.
That’s not a judgment. It’s just what’s true. And until you name it as fear, you can’t work with it. You’ll keep thinking it’s a logistics problem when it’s a courage problem.
The musician Neil Young said something once: “Holding back is so close to stealing.” When you don’t pursue what sets your heart on fire, you’re stealing from the rest of us. We don’t get to see what you’d become. We don’t get the benefit of your fully expressed self.
You can be safe or you can be brave, but you can’t be both.
Being brave is risky. But the payoff for being brave vastly exceeds the false security of staying small.
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🎧 The Learner vs. The Knower: Which Identity is Holding You Back?
Discovering how to unlock your capacity to learn anything and break free from limiting beliefs by combining a growth mindset with the right approach to stress. (Alongside Trevor Ragan.)
🎧 Chase Club Q&A: Am I too sensitive about my husband’s workout comments?
Answering a question about navigating fitness expectations during pregnancy and learning to communicate needs effectively with your partner.
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#133: The Voice in Your Head
#134: Safe or Brave?
Ben and I are exploring a new framework for raising awareness of our complaints by categorizing them by severity, like storm categories.
We talk about how to stop treating every problem like a hurricane and build resilience by recognizing what actually deserves your attention.
Until then, keep on chasing.
🤙🏼 Patrick
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