The past is over, the future is unclear, and not knowing sucks. How’s that for daily motivational thinking? That’s it—that’s the raw truth, and it’s how I got unstuck. In my last article, I promised to share how I sailed from the doldrums’ placid seas to the trade winds’ white caps. My mantra, repeated daily, was simple: the past is over, the future is unclear, and not knowing sucks.

If you want to move forward, you can’t linger in the past, tangled in self-criticism or dissecting every action and decision. That’ll grind you down. There’s a billion-dollar industry pushing positive thinking and motivation, but let’s be real—it doesn’t hold up long-term. To stick with my sailing analogies, positive thinking and motivation collapse in rough seas, allowing fear and doubt to steer the ship. The past doesn’t dictate the future; the present shapes the present.

In your personal life and business, you can only make a difference right now, in this moment. The trick is to keep it clinical—no beating yourself up over what’s done, no daydreaming about what’s ahead, just the facts. Here’s what’s happened, where we stand, and where we’re headed. Then, figure out what to start doing and what to stop.

I’m betting most of you have a long-term vision—a north star to guide you. That’s great, but it’s so far off that progress can feel invisible, plus, as my mantra says, the future’s unclear. Things shift; the world’s always in flux. That’s why I focus on the near term, using 90-day cycles. It keeps progress tangible. Making progress doing meaningful work? That’s the secret to fulfillment and grit.

My process is straightforward. First, I define the outcomes I want by year’s end. Then, for each 90-day cycle, I set milestones to track progress and list actions to edge closer to those outcomes.

Outcomes:

• Doing meaningful work—and less of it.
• The TIG Collective is a thriving peer-to-peer mastermind community.
• EBITDA of $XX.

Milestones:

• First ten mastermind groups established.
• 50% of my Fridays are free for ideation, creation, and restoration.
• Daily self-check-ins leave me excited about work.
• I spend 75% of my time as a high-performance coach for entrepreneurial leaders and their teams.
• Newsletter subscribers grow by 1,000.
• Cash balance hits $X.

• In talks for one new board role.

Actions (shortened list):

• Create a freemium email flow to drive subscribers.
• Develop a code of conduct for entrepreneurs and advisors in the Collective.
• Generate buzz around the Collective.
• Schedule the first in-person retreat.
• Host a bi-monthly virtual open house.
• Launch my peer-to-peer mastermind group.
• Restart the podcast.
• Develop new collateral material.
• Clean up the CRM and build email sequences.
• Explore AI to boost efficiency.

Each week, I pick one to three actions from that list and jot them in my journal. That’s my focus. Below those, I write “commit” and list the steps to make them happen.

Weekly Actions:

• Create a freemium email flow to drive subscribers.
• Develop a code of conduct for entrepreneurs and advisors in the Collective.

Commit:

• I’ll block two hours on Tuesday and Thursday for “freemium development.”
• I’ll reserve an hour on Wednesday for “code of conduct research.”
• I’ll block Friday afternoon as “action or option”—time to finish an action item or use however I want once it’s done.
• I’ll ask Charity (my EA) to check my progress daily.

This approach is simple but keeps me taking focused steps every day. Transformation isn’t about giant leaps; it’s the small, steady moves that add up. I hope this helps you take yours. Remember: the past is over, the future’s unclear, and not knowing sucks—but the present determines the present.