You Know What to Do. So Why Aren’t You Doing It?
It’s not motivation you lack. It’s clarity. And until you have a mission, hard work will always feel like a burden...This will change that.
▶️ PRESS PLAY - Read along or look around.
We already know what to do. Always have.
The moment you start thinking about outsourcing or resourcing, that’s a Gremlin in disguise — a tactic to avoid the real work.
Step one is always the same: do the thing you don’t want to do.
Do it again.
And again.
Until your eyes bleed.
Then rest.
Then repeat.
Okay… a little bit extreme — but you get the point.
Most of what holds us back is avoidance wrapped in fear-based beliefs.
I was chatting with a guy that works at Villawood, late 20s.
He told me,
“I don’t want to work hard.”
(me in that moment — dramatic pause)
I said — to be honest,
“I’ve never met a single successful person who didn’t.”
Not one actually.
The internet has warped a generation’s relationship with effort.
People think going viral or gaining followers is the shortcut to a Lambo lifestyle.
Sure — that happens.
But the exception only proves the rule:
success demands sweat.
Like Gary Vee tells it…
“Sweat Equity” – Gary Vaynerchuk
Now to be fair, he wasn’t just being lazy and to give context,
He added,
“I don’t want to work so hard I mess up my body and can’t pick up my grandkids one day.”
That’s fair. That’s meaningful. That’s reasoned.
So I asked him:
“Ever heard of the ‘Old Man Behind the Wall’ Study?”
He said no.
And I shared with him:
A group was asked to describe a 65-year-old man standing behind a wall.
They couldn’t see him, only imagine.
They were asked:
What does he look like?
What’s his Posture? Hair? Energy?
How’s his Breathing? Fitness level? How does he walk and move?
The reveal?
Behind the wall was a tall mirror.
The man they described… was actually themselves.
Quick spoiler — no such study exists… (I know right but stay with me)
There are two real experiments that are linked to well-supported effects of this image you hold for yourself.
So please hang in there — I’ll tell you more about the actual science that fully supports this at the end Or Just scroll down to it.
Back to the story…
That exercise exposes the default belief you hold about aging, about yourself, about what’s possible.
You’ve been conditioned for whatever reason to believe that 65 means frail, hunched, slow, worn out.
But what if someone else answered:
“Leaner than ever. Runs 21km a week. Lifts weights. Trains jiu-jitsu. Has a sharp haircut, smooth nasal breathing, VO2 max in the top 5%, great skin, classic tailored style. Chooses his own hours, alive with energy, walks tall shoulders back, good muscle mass.”
Same age. Different belief.
The image you carry is yours. No one forced it on you.
What’s the made-up image that you hold for yourself?
If you’re going to make something up anyway, why not…
Make up something that serves you — Food for thought.
Life’s a Buffet. Get Up and Eat.
Sitting at the table of life means you’ve already paid your entry — your time, your breath, your years.
But it’s not table service.Yet.
You want fine dining? You better hustle.
You want the steak? Get off your ass and get in line.
Buffet’s open — but it won’t spoon-feed you.
Not `A La Carte just yet lad.
A man without a vision… has no mission.
And when we don’t have a mission we have no purpose.
That’s why we seek distractions.
And why frustration builds up.
But it’s not life’s fault. Life’s just doing its thing.
The buffet doesn’t care if you sit there starving while others go back for their third plate.
No vision? No mission.
No mission? No right movement.
No fulfilment.
“Get busy putting in the work. Try everything — especially if you’re not sure of anything. Something over nothing. Action over inaction.”
Dreams Need Funding
Back to the young guy working at Villawood.
I asked,
“So what do you want to do?”
He said,
“Own a fight gym.”
Cool.
“Have you run the numbers — do they add up?”
“No.”
That’s okay — dreams don’t start with spreadsheets.
But they do need fuel.
So I said to him:
“Start a cashflow business that funds the dream.
The gym can be passion-driven. But bills don’t care about your passion — they care about payments.”
He also mentioned investing, buying properties.
I said,
“Sweet. But first?
Cash cow. No cash, no splash. No income, no leverage.”
My good mate of 35 years said:
“Johnny — if ya want meat — ya go to the butcher.”
So if ya need a cash cow… get to work. Build a business.
I wasn’t discouraging him — I was just challenging him to think like a man on a mission.
To start creating a vision he can walk towards.
That’s the first virtue of Mentoro: Clarity.
The Right Wall
I said,
“But what do you really want to do — above all?”
He eventually said,
“I don’t know what I want.”
Best answer he could’ve given.
Real Awareness just kicked in.
Because if you don’t know what you want —
You better be damn sure not to lean your ladder against the wrong wall.
Climb to the top of the wrong dream, and the fall is steep.
Like 10 years at Villawood — that’s a fast-approaching reality if its not your dream.
And yeah, falling is part of it.
You’ll make mistakes.
You’re meant to.
You’ll work your face off, then realise you want to do something else.
Along the way we call that
skill acquisition
That’s the game. That’s the point.
Fail forward. Learn. Adjust. Go again.
Time’s passing anyway.
Might as well be failing forward
instead of doomscrolling someone else’s highlight reel.
From The Stoics:
“No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig.
If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time.
Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.”
— Epictetus, Discourses, Book I, Chapter 15
Clarity → Mission → Action
Out there right now?
There’s a guy half your skill, half your IQ, kicking goals — because he started.
He’s failing, learning, gaining lived experience, converting it into wisdom.
There’s no cheat code.
Only a Mission with Systems and Hard Work.
Hard work = easy life.
Floyd Money Mayweather. By the way
Was not gifted his record.
The Rock.Kevin Hart.
Goggins.
They all outwork the average man by miles.
“Be uncommon among uncommon men.” — David Goggins
If you say — you don’t want to work hard…
It just means you haven’t found what lights your fire yet.
Once you do, it’s no longer “hard work.”
It’s just what needs to be done.
Oh yeah and Hard Work is just what needs to be done — its just now worth it.
For the “Work Smarter, Not Harder” Crowd
Pump ya brakes on ya Lambo…
and don’t spill your Latte.
Yep. We know.
Smart systems.
Scale.
Strategy.Cool.
But don’t skip step one:
Do. The. Work.
Build. the. character.
Stack the days. Like Stacking Gold Coins.
Earn the clarity.
Then go build smart systems on a strong foundation.
I can’t speak from the “bought crypto early”
Bitcoins been good to me life.
But I can speak from real reps.
Bricks and mortar.
Ground up. Business Builds.
Hard work. Clarity. Focus.
I’m rebuilding now from zero.
On my way back up.
And that, my brothers, is a life worth living.
Warning its a longer newsletter than normal but its got gold in it if you want more than just to listen or read….Lets GO!
CALL TO ACTION
You won’t find what you’re looking for in distraction.
You won’t find it in your shorts and reels dopamine-Thumb Scroll.
You won’t find it in curated IG wisdom or another podcast you don’t act on.
You’ll find it in the work.
The old-school, gritty, uncomfortable work.
That’s where clarity is forged and confidence gets built.
And yes — the online world is absolutely a rocketship for a man with a vision.
Never before has this kind of leverage existed.
But without clarity?
That rocket just flies you in circles.
Or explodes and burns out.
Final Word.. or is it?
Frustration is a gift.
It’s your body and mind screaming:
“Yo! Time to level up.”
You want the life?
The mission?
The vision?
The body?
The business?
Cool.
Get jacked.
Make money.
Live with purpose.
(Shoutout Bedros.)
Now, time for the real step:
Build your system.
Attack daily.
Earn it.
Let’s get it.
Oh about that supporting science — Bonus
Anecdotal Point
The story I use — that the image you hold of a 65-year-old man is likely to be the way you end up — is not a documented experiment, but it has strong merit.
It illustrates the power of vision and belief: the mental picture you create can guide your actions, attitudes, and ultimately your aging process.
Groundbreaking Studies on Aging & Mindset
Study/Author: Ellen Langer (1979, “Counterclockwise” Study)
Method: Elderly men lived for a week in a retreat recreated to resemble 1959, acting as if they were 20 years younger.
Key Finding: Participants showed significant improvements in physical health, posture, memory, vision, and appeared younger; mindset and environment influenced aging outcomes.
Study/Author: Pagnini et al. (2019, “Ageing as a mindset” Study)
Method: Replicated Langer’s experiment with a randomized controlled trial; older adults lived for a week in an environment designed to evoke their younger selves, compared to control groups.
Key Finding: Aimed to test if changing mindset through immersive experience can rejuvenate physical and cognitive health; broader measures and rigorous design to confirm mind-body connection in aging.
Study/Author: Levy et al. (2002, Self-Perceptions of Aging)
Method: Longitudinal study measuring individuals’ beliefs about aging and tracking health and longevity outcomes over decades.
Key Finding: Positive self-perceptions of aging were associated with living, on average, 7.5 years longer than those with negative perceptions.
beliefs about aging predict real-life health and lifespan.
Your Move
You’re not just aging — you’re programming your future.
The stories you tell yourself about getting older?
They’re either fuel or poison.
Science proves it:
Believe you’re declining, and you will.
Believe you’re still rising, and your body follows.
Do this today — Langer-tested, proven powerful:
Invest 5 minutes acting like the strongest version of yourself — stand taller, speak slower, move with purpose, shoulders back, breath deep and hold that posture.
You’re not faking it.
You’re reminding your body who you really are.
Then ask:
What would that 65-year-old powerhouse do next?
And seriously — if you’re in your 20s, what’s the vision you’ve got for the 30-year old version of you?
Think about that…
Because what you’re doing now may be a shock to how you end up in less than 10 years from now, Heads Up young gun.
Try this exercise…
Let’s do the work.
Journal This:
“What if the way I move today becomes my medicine for tomorrow?”
Describe what that version of you looks like.
What does he say no to?
What does he make time for?
Get Clarity.
What about the version of you in 2 years — think about it.
If time’s moving fast and you will arrive at the future — with you —
how’s he looking, feeling, thinking… be honest.
Do you like this version?
3 Factors.
Clarity — Strength — Purpose.
That’s the trident of Mentoro.
Thanks for getting this far your awesome.
Subscribe its free — stay in the loop to know when I launch Mentoro Tactical Lifestyles Systems that will help you give you systems you need to get jacked build mental mindset to face adversity and crush it.
Johnny Trayes
Voice to Inspire | Mentoro | Tactical Lifestyle Systems | Caged501