You Can’t Find Purpose Playing It Safe

As a Builder, I crave a clear path.A career guide.A checklist.A guarantee my family and I are taken care of — forever.

But that kind of path doesn’t exist for people like us.

The reason many of us start companies, work for ourselves, or chase wild fitness goals is simple:We’re not wired to follow prescriptions.

We were never going to stay on the safe road.And we’re not alone.

History Is Full of Builders Who Went Off-Script

* Phil Knight’s dad was disappointed in him for messing around with shoes. That “messing around” made him $30 billion.

* Michael Dell left the pre-med track his parents supported to build computers in his dorm room.

* Todd Graves (Raisin Canes) got laughed at for devoting his life to chicken fingers.

* Cody Gingerich — this week’s guest — drove DoorDash after earning his doctorate so he could build a practice on his own terms.

* Tom Rowland walked away from a booked-solid guiding business to take a swing at TV production.

These aren’t reckless people.They just weren’t interested in someone else’s definition of “making it.”

“Do What You Love” Is Cringe… Until It Works

I get it.

“Love your work” sounds like a Steve Jobs poster quote.Too soft. Too delusional. Too main character.

We’ve been told to make money now and do what we love after hours.Be logical. Be efficient. Be practical.

But here’s the part that doesn’t get talked about:

Caring deeply about what you’re building creates a real edge.It keeps you in the game longer.It gets you out of bed when it’s not fun.And it makes you harder to compete with.

Would you rather go up against someone chasing a quota…or someone chasing something that actually matters to them?

I’ll bet on the obsessed Builder every time.

Build Toward What You *Actually* Want

Ken Griffin — one of the greatest capitalists and investors ever — said:

“Don’t do something boring. Take risks. Pursue what you’re passionate about. Lean into the impact you can have on the world.”

You won’t accidentally end up somewhere meaningful. You have to build in that direction on purpose.

And yeah — it’ll probably cost you.Money. Time. Traction.

But not nearly as much as waking up ten years from now, wondering how you got here.

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Always here if you need help building your thing or thinking through it. Reply to this email and I’ll respond.

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