All the media entrepreneurs I followed were flexing their perfect discipline and healthy lifestyles. I thought it was an integral part of success. So for half a year, I maintained perfect sleep, worked out 6-7 days a week, ate clean, and completely quit alcohol.

Have I succeeded yet?

Not yet. I substituted the hard work - building and getting customers - with something easier that felt like progress - endless preparation.

It sounds like complete nonsense now, but I genuinely believed that if I got good enough, entrepreneurship would just happen on its own. I was still working full time and trying different projects, partnerships, but I was definitely not realizing that it's me who is responsible for making it happen. And I see so many friends falling into the same trap. Self-improvement feels like progress without the risk of actually failing.

Since summer, I've significantly deprioritized self-improvement. I allow myself junk food when I want it, beers with friends, and skipping gym when I don't feel like it. But now I focus all my effort on one thing - building and getting customers.

Here's what I've built so far:

embedex.io - Turns out bloggers don't want it. Spent around 8 weeks but learned a hard lesson: don't build in isolation.

lenzy.ai - This looks promising. Already found a few early adopters, making sure I make them happy.

I don't mean that living healthy or improving your habits doesn't matter. But it's not the work itself - it's just making the work easier.