The step-by-step formula to overcome ANY obstacle

Hardwire this into your subconscious

I am frustrated right now.

I am frustrated because my Notes (in other words, Substack’s version of “X” or “Threads”) have been receiving practically no engagement for the past however many weeks or months, and I feel helpless.

Okay, I'm being a little dramatic. I don’t feel, like, existentially helpless. Regardless, no matter how often I post and no matter how high-quality I believe my Notes are, nothing seems to be working . . . I’ve done, with the knowledge I have, all I can do to increase exposure. And it still feels like I’m posting into the void.

I’ve had periods of “success” before. Just before this, there was a period in which my Notes received steadily increasing engagement. But then I backed off for a bit. Life got chaotic, I made adjustments to my brand, and consequently wasn’t growing as much.

While I’ve managed to resume the climb (just past the red circle)—an indication that I have been doing some things correctly—my Notes are still not gaining traction.

At the end of the day, what matters to me is the quantity and quality of subscribers (I mean, I love my dog and my family too), not how many likes I’m getting. But I am still frustrated by this conundrum.

Because (1) Notes are a powerful medium for growth and (2) I feel like a bum when I keep posting things and nobody interacts (I mean, I am a bum—but I don’t want to feel like a bum, you know?).

And so, I want to figure out what I’m doing wrong because I’m missing out on an opportunity to move forward.

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When I look at this objectively, the fact that none of my Notes are catching traction is a problem to be solved . . . But when I look at it subjectively, it’s a sign that I’m simply not good enough and that things are never going to work out and that my life is meaningless and that I ought to be hopeless.

Of course, this isn’t true, but it’s how my body viscerally feels. It’s how many of us feel when small things don’t go our way—when there lies before us an obstacle we feel incapable of overcoming. Indeed, we often throw ourselves subtly into these hopeless states by failing to recognize that we have mistakenly accepted and adopted limiting thoughts and beliefs.

I can’t tell you how many times, especially when I was younger, that I fell into a state of despair by letting myself be consumed by the most subtly discouraging stimuli . . . A negative tone from a friend or loved one, losing the ball while playing soccer, a less-than-ideal grade on a homework assignment, and so forth.

This is normal for children, of course, but for some reason, many of us fail as we get older to recognize the fact that these obstacles are not indications we ought to capitulate altogether, but that we must do something—make an adjustment, keep trying, acquire new information, etc.

What’s often so especially discouraging about certain obstacles (and what’s so especially discouraging to me with this particular situation) is that they involve factors that are, or seem, out of our control. I can’t control Substack’s algorithm!

So, what am I going to do here to overcome this situation? What can you do to overcome any obstacle life throws your way? How can you prove to yourself time and time again that there is no need to be hopeless, that you are always capable of finding a way forward?

Let’s get started.

📌 The primary principle

I know it’s cliché, so bear with me—but the first thing you must do, the precondition to the steps I’ll proceed to list out, is believe. You must believe that there is a way forward. Always. Because there is. And even if there isn’t, you can make one.

But you can’t make one if you don’t believe it’s possible in the first place.

Whatever seemingly hopeless situation you’re facing—be it bills, depression, a problem in your business, tension with your loved one, etc.—you can overcome it.

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While it may be the case that some people stumble upon success (success being, in this instance, the achievement of a goal by overcoming an obstacle), the fact of the matter is that the vast majority of success was an intentional, premeditated effort, planned out years before, when all hope seemed lost.

That’s right: people who succeed—people who overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles—all sat at one point on the other side of that obstacle, looking up at whatever cliff face it was they were about to scale, and wondered to themselves, “How in the hell am I gonna do that??” Not to mention, everyone else around them likely took a look at what they were about to attempt and thought to themselves, “There’s no friggin' way!”

For various reasons, we’ve come to live in (or perhaps have always lived in) a demoralizing world. Things that were once obstacles to be overcome are now impassable walls to be avoided at all costs. For this reason, the vast majority of people around you are simply not going to be the light you need . . . While they might offer you encouragement, most simply do not seethe from their soul this energy—that any mountain, no matter how steep, can be scaled.

You must be the one to believe. And really, how are you gonna do something if you don’t believe in your ability to do it more than anyone else?

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Okay, great, so you believe in yourself. Obviously, this inner trust takes time to cultivate. Because rubber eventually has to meet the road. But right now, you’ve accepted the fact—or at least opened your mind—to the possibility that whatever it is you think is impossible (be it losing weight, beating a disease, paying down your debt, or starting a business) isn’t.

What’s next?