I picked running so nobody would be watching.

I was an awkward kid who sweated through everything, and the smallest, most nervous one on the football team. I never got good, and I never clicked with the guys. I couldn't even train with them on weekends, because they weren't really my friends. I felt beneath them, so I quit.

I still wanted to get fit, so I went where nobody was keeping score: the gym, the road, the bag. With nobody watching, I found out I could actually get good.

At 17 my reputation got destroyed, and the whole town turned on me. That story gets told properly somewhere else. What matters here is what came next: I found personal development books, read for days, and took responsibility for the parts that were mine.

Since then: 120 to 160 pounds, a 31-mile ultra, a degree in social media, and a move south to start over. I've built websites, content and email funnels for real businesses. And I did the thing I'd avoided my whole life. I started letting people watch.

What I believe

It's not your fault. It's your responsibility. You don't need a team to get great. You need reps nobody sees. But doing it alone isn't the finish line. At some point, you have to let them watch.

You're not lazy. You're working hard on the wrong things. And everything is marketing: learn it, or be sold to.

What I'm still working on

I still hear the sideline sometimes, a second of doubt before I hit post. I still slip into ruts and have to dig myself out. Group settings can still feel awkward. The difference now is that I post anyway, and that's the exact rep I'll teach you.