The Difference Between Winners And Losers

Slowly, then all at once

How long can you work with no reward?

How long can you put in effort with nobody noticing?

How much blood sweat and tears can you shed for absolutely nothing in return?

These last few years have been a wild ride for me. I’ve put in a ton of effort growing an audience and building products without a ton of rewards.

Finally this year, after years of learning coding, creating content, and building a name for myself, I’ve started to see some rewards. But it took years and years and years to get here.

The biggest difference between winners and losers is this: losers need a reward for every little thing they do.

The moment they stop getting rewards they quit. The moment they stop getting X ad revenue checks they quit. The moment their engagement drops they quit.

Their weak mind demands rewards for everything they do. If they don’t get rewards, they resort to actions that give them guaranteed rewards instead. The resort to drinking and drugs and video games and permiscuous sex. Things that absolutely guarnatee them rewards.

The idea of putting in effort with 0 reward for weeks or even months or God forbid years is horrifying to them. You expect me to spend every single night learning to use AI for a year then learning to code for another year then building an app for another year and I don’t make a single penny from any of that? Fuck no.

That’s what goes through the mind of a loser.

The mind of a winner doesn’t even think about the reward. It’s not even a part of the equation. They know if they put blinders on and do the right thing. They learn that new skill. They start building that project they have no idea how to execute on. They start that Youtube channel and film their first shitty awkward video, that eventually, somewhere down the line, things will eventually just work out. But even if it doesn’t, fuck it who cares. At least you spent your time challenging yourself. Putting yourself through strategic controlled pain. Because you know that strategic controlled pain might not make you money, but it will definitely make you a stronger, better person.

So here’s my challenge to you this weekend:

Do 1 thing that makes you uncomfortable for 5 minutes. That’s it. Talk to an AI about how to learn a skill. Download Cursor and build the prototype of an app. Just read a couple pages in a new book about entrepreneurship.

Push the ball forward a bit.

Then next week do it again. Then again.

I promise with enough tiny steps, you’ll get somewhere incredible.

-Alex

PS. This is my first newsletter being sent out from Substack in 2 years. I was on Beehiiv for the last 2 years. I like the community on Substack more. I hope Substack delivers my email alright to you. If you somehow didn’t get moved over to Beehiiv after I originally left Substack then hello again. It’s been a couple years.