You’re Working Hard on the Wrong Things—And You Know It

The Productivity Trap: Busy, Exhausted, and Going Nowhere

You know that moment when you look up from your desk at 9pm, exhausted, and realize you’ve been productive all day but can’t name a single thing that actually mattered?

You crushed your to-do list.

• Answered 47 emails
• Attended three meetings
• Posted on social media
• Checked off tasks

But you’re not closer to anything that matters.

You’re busy. You’re tired. You’re stalled.

And the worst part? You know it.

This is the single biggest reason people struggle in life:

They confuse motion with progress.

They work hard on noise and wonder why they never get the signal.

The Real Problem (Not What You Think)

You tell yourself:

“I just need better time management.”

“I need to be more disciplined.”

“I need to work harder.”

Wrong.

You don’t have a productivity problem.

You don’t have a discipline problem.

You don’t have a work ethic problem.

You have a clarity problem.

You’re working hard on things that seem important but aren’t.

And after all that time, effort, and energy, you don’t like where you are.

Because you never asked the most important question:

“What do I actually want?”

Not what sounds good.

Not what looks impressive.

Not what other people want for you.

What do YOU want?

Most people never answer this question honestly.

So they spend their lives climbing ladders leaned against the wrong walls.

The Signal vs. Noise Distinction

Noise:

• Urgent but not important
• Reactive
• Other people’s priorities
• Looks productive
• Feels busy
• Leads nowhere

Signal:

• Important but rarely urgent
• Proactive
• Your priorities
• Looks simple
• Feels focused
• Leads somewhere specific

Examples:

Noise: Answering every email within 5 minutes
​Signal: Writing the proposal that will land your next client

Noise: Attending networking events to “be seen”
​Signal: Having three deep conversations with people who can actually help you

Noise: Posting daily on social media because “you should”
​Signal: Creating one piece of content that makes your ideal client say “That’s me”

Noise: Reading another book on productivity
​Signal: Implementing one system from the last book you read

Noise: Reorganizing your workspace for the third time this month
​Signal: Doing the hard conversation you’ve been avoiding

Most people spend 80% of their time on noise and wonder why they’re exhausted with nothing to show for it.

The Cost of Never Choosing

Here’s what happens when you don’t get clear on what you want:

Year 1:

• You’re busy
• You’re trying everything
• You’re “keeping your options open”
• You tell yourself you’re building momentum

Year 3:

• You’re still busy
• You’re spread thin
• You’re good at nothing because you’re dabbling in everything
• You’re starting to feel the fatigue

Year 5:

• You’re exhausted
• You’re resentful
• You look around and realize you’ve been working hard for years
• And you don’t like where you are

Year 10:

• You’re bitter
• You blame external factors
• “The market changed”
• “I didn’t have the right opportunities”
• “Other people got lucky”

But the truth is simpler and harder:

You never decided what you wanted, so you got everything except that.

The Question You’ve Been Avoiding

“What do you want?”

Not:

What do your parents want?

What does your spouse want?

What does society expect?

What looks good on paper?

What sounds impressive at dinner parties?

What do YOU want to be, do, and have?

This is your Zeta.

Your Alpha is where you are now.

Your Zeta is where you’re going.

And you can’t navigate from Alpha to Zeta if you don’t know where Zeta is.

Most people never define Zeta.

So they wander.

They react.

They optimize for the wrong things.

They work hard and end up somewhere they never wanted to be.

The Hard Work You’ve Been Postponing

Here’s why you haven’t answered this question:

1. It requires honesty

You have to admit what you actually want, not what you think you should want.

That’s uncomfortable.

2. It requires trade-offs

Choosing one thing means not choosing other things.

That’s scary.

3. It requires responsibility

Once you know what you want, you can’t blame anyone else for not having it.

That’s heavy.

4. It requires clarity

You have to cut through the noise of what everyone else wants for you.

That’s hard.

So you avoid it.

You stay busy.

You keep your options open.

You tell yourself you’ll figure it out later.

But later never comes.

My Answer (And Why It Matters)

Let me tell you what I want.

Not to tell you what to want.

But to show you what clarity looks like.

What I want:

• Freedom to move
• Freedom to choose
• Freedom from stuff that weighs me down
• Deep relationships with a small number of people
• Mastery in a few areas, not competence in many
• Impact through teaching, not scale through empire-building
• Enough money to not suffer needlessly, not so much it becomes a burden

What I don’t want:

• A primary residence that ties me to one place
• A car to sit in LA traffic
• So much stuff I need safe deposit boxes and safes
• Status symbols that impress people I don’t respect
• A business that requires me to manage a large team

The result:

I don’t own a home.

I don’t own a car.

I don’t have a lot of stuff.

And I’m free.

Free to travel.

Free to teach.

Free to focus on what matters.

This isn’t the right answer for you. But it’s the right answer for me.

And I only got here by asking the question and paying the price of admission.

Are You Willing to Pay the Price of Admission?

Everything you want has a price.

Not just money.

Time. Energy. Opportunity cost. Trade-offs.​

You want freedom?

The price is saying no to security.

You want wealth?

The price is saying no to free time for years.

You want deep relationships?

The price is saying no to shallow ones.

You want mastery?

The price is saying no to dabbling.

You want impact?

The price is saying no to comfort.

Most people want the outcome without paying the price.

• They want freedom but won’t give up security.
• They want wealth but won’t sacrifice their evenings.
• They want deep relationships but won’t cut off shallow ones.
• They want mastery but keep dabbling.

So they get nothing.

Because the universe doesn’t negotiate.

You pay the price, or you don’t get the thing.

The Three Objections (And Why They’re Lies)

Objection 1: “I can’t predict the future”

True.

You can’t predict the future.

But you can decide what you’re building toward.

You don’t need to know every step.

You need to know the direction.

Objection 2: “I just don’t know what I want”

False.

You know.

You’re just afraid to admit it.

Because admitting it means you have to do something about it.

Or admit you’re not willing to pay the price.

Objection 3: “There are too many choices and opportunities to just choose one”

This is the lie that keeps you stuck.

You don’t have too many choices.

You have too much fear of choosing wrong.

So you choose nothing.

And choosing nothing is choosing to stay where you are.

Here’s the truth:

Choosing one thing and going deep beats choosing everything and going nowhere.

Every time.

The Framework: Define Your Zeta

Almost every week somebody at Meraki tells me how lucky I am to be able to train 5-6 days a week, take the time to recover AND get 7-8 hours of sleep every day.

I agree with them, I tell them I am lucky.

I also tell them that I put this in my "life blueprint" 20 years ago and built towards it.

You make your luck.

So, here’s how to do the work you’ve been avoiding.

Step 1: List what you want to BE

Not what you want to seem like.

What you want to actually become.

Examples:

• A leader people trust
• A craftsman who’s mastered their skill
• A parent who’s present
• A person who’s free

Step 2: List what you want to DO

Not what looks impressive.

What you actually want to spend your time doing.

Examples:

• Teach
• Build
• Create
• Travel
• Train

Step 3: List what you want to HAVE

Not what you think you should want.

What you actually want.

Examples:

• Financial security
• A small, tight community
• Freedom from stuff
• A skill that can’t be taken away

Step 4: Identify the price of admission

For each thing you listed, ask:

• What do I have to give up to get this?
• What do I have to say no to?
• What trade-offs am I willing to make?

Step 5: Choose

Look at your list.

Look at the prices.

Choose what you’re willing to pay for.

Cross off everything else.

This is your Zeta.

The Stuff Trap (Why Less Is More)

Here’s what I learned:

"Stuff" has never been important to me.

Just enough to not suffer needlessly.

Not so much it bogs me down.

Because stuff creates obligations:

A house you have to maintain

A car you have to insure and park

Possessions you have to protect

Status symbols you have to defend

And obligations kill freedom.

The more stuff you own, the more the stuff owns you.

So I chose:

Enough, not excess.

Freedom, not status.

Mobility, not accumulation.

This isn’t minimalism for the aesthetic.

This is strategic elimination of everything that doesn’t serve my Zeta.

And it’s made everything easier.

The Navigation System: Alpha to Zeta

Once you know your Zeta, everything becomes a filter.

Every opportunity:

Does this move me toward Zeta? → Yes or No

Every commitment:

Does this serve Zeta? → Yes or No

Every purchase:

Does this support Zeta? → Yes or No

Every relationship:

Does this align with Zeta? → Yes or No

No more:

“I should probably do this”

“This might be good”

“I don’t want to miss out”

Only:

“Does this move me toward what I want?”

This is how you stop working hard on the wrong things.

The Derailers: What Pulls You Off Course

Even with clarity, you’ll get pulled off course.

The three derailers:

1. Distraction

• Shiny objects
• New opportunities
• Other people’s priorities

The fix: Return to Zeta. Does this serve it? No? Move on.

2. Demoralization

• Slow progress
• Setbacks
• Comparison to others

The fix: Zoom out. Are you closer to Zeta than you were last year? Yes? Keep going.

3. Derailment

• Life happens
• Crises emerge
• Priorities shift

The fix: Reassess Zeta. Has it changed? If yes, update it. If no, get back on course.

The key: Clarity doesn’t prevent challenges. It helps you navigate them.

The Real Work (What Most People Won’t Do)

Here’s what separates people who get what they want from people who don’t:

People who get what they want:

• Define Zeta clearly
• Pay the price willingly
• Say no to everything else
• Stay on course for years

People who don’t:

• Never define Zeta
• Want the outcome without the price
• Say yes to everything
• Change course constantly

The difference isn’t talent.

The difference isn’t luck.

The difference is clarity and commitment.

The 48-Hour Challenge

Here’s what you’re going to do:

Within the next 48 hours:

Block 2 hours on your calendar

No distractions

No interruptions

Just you and a blank page

Do the work:

List what you want to BE, DO, and HAVE

Identify the price of admission for each

Choose what you’re willing to pay for

Cross off everything else

Define your Zeta

Then:

Look at your calendar for the next week

Identify everything that doesn’t move you toward Zeta

Cancel it, delegate it, or eliminate it

This is the hard work you’ve been postponing.

Not because it’s complicated.

Because it’s honest.

And honesty is hard.

The CTA: Put It On the Mat & Report Back

Here’s what I want you to do:

Reply with:

The one thing you’ve been avoiding that would move you toward your Zeta

When you’re going to do it (specific date and time)

Examples:

“I’ve been avoiding the conversation with my business partner about our direction. I’m doing it Thursday at 2pm.”

“I’ve been avoiding writing down what I actually want because I’m afraid it’s not impressive enough. I’m doing it tonight at 8pm.”

“I’ve been avoiding cutting off the clients who drain me. I’m sending the emails Friday morning.”

No explanations.

No justifications.

Just the rep you avoided and when you’ll do it.

Conclusion: Signal Over Noise

You’re not struggling because you’re not working hard enough.

You’re struggling because you’re working hard on the wrong things.

The fix isn’t more productivity.

The fix is more clarity.

Define your Zeta.

Pay the price.

Say no to everything else.

Navigate from Alpha to Zeta with every decision.

Stop optimizing for busy.

Start optimizing for signal.

The noise will always be there.

Urgent emails.

Other people’s priorities.

Shiny objects.

Distractions.

Your job is to ignore it.

And focus on the one question that matters:

“What do I want?”

Answer it honestly.

Pay the price willingly.

Stay on course relentlessly.

That’s how you stop working hard on the wrong things.

That’s how you get what you actually want.

Now go do the work.

You have 48 hours.