the scholar in the brothel

Let me see if I get this straight. You aren't going to be happy unless you get that girl, that boy, that job, that new videogame, the Nobel Prize, that amount of money in the bank, an Oscar, a stamped passport, that new home, enlightenment, 3 kids and maybe not before you go on an ayahuasca trip in the middle of the jungle.

Did I get everyone with that?

If I didn't get you, then you either are stranger than most people and have more unique needs, or you have reached true maturity.

While most keep trying to create a fantasy in their head that is more beautiful than reality, you learned it's best to let go. But letting go of everything is for losers, and you aren't a loser. You learned to let go of expectations while still focused clearly on the process.

The alternative is that you are the overthinker.

The thing that keeps people away from their destiny isn't a lack of potential. It's the endless hedging, the endless thinking about thinking about thinking.

The overthinker spends more time killing opportunities than acting on them.

If you are the overthinker, I want you to know this: You’re not lazy, but you jerk off your potential with doubt.

You overthink like a scholar in a brothel, analyzing the moans instead of having sex. You use your head to avoid getting down to business.

If that's you, it's time to wake up, learn something useful, create something new in the world, be a little better than yesterday, even if it means you start calling your friends more, or if it means digging yourself out of your rut one shovel at a time.

Maybe you need to wake up earlier and get on top of your day, maybe you need to quit a vice, maybe you need to get your family life in order.

Whatever it is, it won't get fixed by thinking, but you might have a chance to fix it by acting.

It's time to mature and realize you need to take responsibility for your life, that you will need to put in the work even if the result is not guaranteed.

You have the potential, don't waste it.