I had just quit my corporate job, owned nothing but a laptop, and figured I had exactly zero reputation to lose by thinking out loud on the internet. 

Ten years, hundreds of articles, ten books, and millions of readers later, that single decision has paid the kind of compound interest no spreadsheet can capture. It taught me that mastery is less about talent and more about what you choose to do repeatedly.

A decade of doing one thing has burned certain truths into my muscle memory. Truths that matter whether you’re coding apps, raising kids, or trying to keep a side hustle alive after your 9-5.

What follows are the ten lessons that actually moved the needle for me. They’re simple enough to remember on your own journey. I hope this is helpful.

1. Pick a Career, Not a Job

This was advice that I read about for the first time ten years ago. And I decided to take it to heart.

The thing about a job is that you only have it to pay the bills. No matter how much you slice it and dice it, that’s what it comes down to. Sure, you might like your co-workers and being part of a group, but would you be there if you didn’t get paid?

When you set out to pick a career, something that you can do for the rest of your life, you force yourself to look at other factors than money.

In short, it comes down to meaning and value. What’s a career that will give you a sense of inner satisfaction but also aligns with your strengths? Something that you love doing and are also good at doing.

So pick a career, start at the bottom, and work yourself up. No matter how hard it gets, at least you’ll love the work.

2. Enjoy Small Things

Our lives are the sum of all the mundane, small things we do daily.

All those little things like having coffee, going for a walk, or simply writing a few words may feel boring at the moment. But the truth is, they make up 99% of your life. Not the big milestones you see on social media.

When you learn to truly appreciate the small moments, your daily grind turns into daily joy. Gratitude isn’t fluffy self-help; it’s practical. It makes your work better, your mood brighter, and your progress steady.

3. Focus on Building Reputation

When my dad and I started a business, I noticed how easily he got meetings. Everyone in the laundry industry knew him. Later, when I worked at the leading IT research firm Gartner, doors opened effortlessly. I just had to mention their name.

Reputation is leverage. It’s trust. It’s Warren Buffett versus social media grifters. Buffett built his reputation over decades. The scammers chase quick gains and burn trust immediately.

Building reputation takes patience and consistent quality work. But once you have it, it becomes your greatest asset.

4. Systems > Goals

Early on, I committed to publishing articles every Monday and Thursday. This simple system removed the need to constantly decide and plan.

Goals are great, but systems get you there. Goals alone can feel overwhelming, vague, or too distant. Systems are actionable, clear, and automatic.

Create simple routines. Automate decisions. Show up consistently. That’s how progress compounds.

5. Saying “No” Boosts Creativity

Early in your career, saying yes can be helpful because it gives you experiences. But if you want mastery, it’s about saying no more often.

Say no to distractions, to tasks that don’t move the needle, and to anything that doesn’t align with your main goal. Saying no creates focus. And focus drives creativity and progress.

The most creative and productive people know exactly what they don’t do.

6. Health Powers Everything

If your health collapses, nothing else matters.

Over the past decade, I’ve faced a few health challenges. And every time I did, my priorities became crystal clear. No amount of success, money, or followers can make up for bad health.

Prioritize your health relentlessly. But more importantly, appreciate it deeply when you’re well. Use your energy wisely, work hard when you can, and respect the body that keeps you moving.

7. Don’t Take Yourself So Seriously

We’re basically here trying to distract ourselves from wondering too much about life, death, and meaning. So, why take yourself so seriously?

Laugh at your mistakes. Shake off criticism. It’s fine if people don’t get you or mock you. They’re not thinking about you nearly as much as you think.

Be serious about your work, but never about yourself. Life’s short. Lighten up.

8. Money Follows Skills

Forget chasing money. Instead, chase skills.

Becoming obsessed with skills—getting really, undeniably good at something—is how you attract money. Not by looking at bank balances or dreaming about fancy stuff.

Money is simply a result. Get good, stay good, and keep improving. Everything else follows naturally.

9. Action Beats Perfection Every Time

You don’t need another book, course, or “perfect” moment. You need action.

Overthinking and perfectionism are enemies of progress. The best performers act first, then improve on the fly.

Don’t wait. Act. You’ll figure things out faster by doing rather than endlessly preparing. Imperfect action always beats perfect inaction.

10. There Is No Finish Line

If you’re looking for a clear finish line, you’re missing the point.

There’s always more to learn, another level to reach, another skill to refine. The absence of a finish line isn’t exhausting; it’s motivating.

A decade into doing one thing, and I feel I’m just warming up. The deeper you go, the better it gets. So keep moving. You’re never done, and that’s exactly why it matters

You’re never really finished. So whether it’s one year into something or 10, you’re just getting started.

The post 10 Things I Learned From a Decade of Doing 1 Thing appeared first on Darius Foroux.

Hitting 50,000 points is almost impossible. To put that in context, Michael Jordan—widely considered the greatest by many—finished his career with 32,292 points.

In the post-game interview, Lebron was asked, “How are you doing this at such a high level, at this stage of your career?”

Lebron is 40. And he still plays the game with the enthusiasm of an 18-year-old.

LeBron’s answer made me realize something very important. He said:

“I just take care of my body, put the work in, and stay true to the game. I’ve had the opportunity to play the game I love, and I’ve always been true to it. So I want to always give back.”

Stay true to the game

That made me stop and think about it. LeBron understands that he was given a unique opportunity to play the game at his level. 

Now, does he love the game because he’s good at it or did his love for the game make him good?

I think it’s the latter.

It made me think about my own life. 

I’m so grateful for the fact that I have the opportunity to write. And I’m not even talking about making a living as a writer.

Just this opportunity to share my thoughts with you. And that you’re reading it.

That’s my game. My opportunity. My calling.

I get to write for a living. That’s a privilege. 

Hearing LeBron talk about staying true to the game made me realize that’s my job too. Stay true to writing.

What’s your game?

But this isn’t just about me. This is about you too.

What’s your game? What’s the thing you’d do for free, just because you love it?

That’s your purpose.

It doesn’t have to be flashy. It doesn’t have to impress anyone. It just has to matter to you.

Maybe it’s teaching. Maybe it’s building a business. Maybe it’s painting, investing, coaching, creating, learning, or raising your kids.

The problem? Most of us don’t stay true to our game.

We get distracted. We compare ourselves to others. We chase opportunities that look good on the outside but feel empty inside.

We forget what really matters.

There is no “something better”

Here’s the truth: there’s no magical “better thing” waiting for you. The grass isn’t greener somewhere else.

There’s only your game; the thing that lights you up, even when it’s hard.

LeBron found his game. And after 22 seasons, 50,000 points, and 41 Player of the Month awards, he’s still true to it.

That’s the real secret to his success. Talent matters. Work ethic matters. But purpose? That’s what keeps you going.

Don’t know your purpose? Try this.

For most of my life, I also didn’t know what my purpose was. I think I started realizing it after 5 or 6 years of writing. I’ve been doing this a decade now.

It takes time. No matter how smart you are, there are often things about your life that are hiding in plain sight. 

Try the following to help figure things out for yourself.

• Identify your game. Write it down. Get clear. What’s the thing you can’t stop thinking about?
• Make a commitment. Decide right now to stay true to it — even when it’s boring, hard, or inconvenient.
• Act today. Spend at least 30 minutes today moving your game forward.

Don’t make it complicated. What’s the first thing that came up? Maybe something you’re afraid to admit because it might seem impossible. Just say it!

That’s how you build a life that actually means something.

LeBron’s legacy isn’t just stats. It’s his commitment to the game.

Do the same with your life.

Stay true to your game. And you’ll stay true to yourself.

The post A Lesson on Purpose from LeBron James appeared first on Darius Foroux.

I stalled last year. I got comfortable. I stuck to what I knew. And guess what? My energy dropped. My motivation faded. Everything started feeling a little… stale.

It was a familiar feeling.

After graduating from university, I also drifted for a few years, not really pushing myself, just going through the motions.

Then in 2015, I snapped out of it and got serious—writing, publishing, teaching, copywriting, investing. I was all in. Every day, I was developing new skills, improving, sharpening my mind.

But last year?

After my book came out and my finances were in great shape, I got complacent. Without even realizing it, I stopped learning. And I felt it.

No challenge, no progress—just a routine that looked good from the outside but felt stagnant on the inside.

Then AI got better. It wasn’t just a silly tool anymore; it was something real, something powerful, something that could change the way I work and think.

And suddenly, I was excited again. I wanted to learn how to use it, not just as a shortcut, but as a skill. I wanted to understand its capabilities, push its limits, and make it work for me.

Just like that, I was back.

Learning is supposed to be hard

Most people avoid learning because it makes them feel stupid. Nobody likes struggling. Nobody likes being a beginner. It’s easier to stick with what you know and keep doing things the way you’ve always done them. But that’s how you get stuck.

Marcus Aurelius put it perfectly:

“Practice even what seems impossible. The left hand is useless at almost everything, for lack of practice. But it guides the reins better than the right. From practice.”

That’s how all skills work. At first, you’re terrible. You fumble, you hesitate, and nothing feels natural. But if you keep showing up, if you keep putting in the reps, eventually, what once felt impossible becomes second nature.

The problem is, most people never make it that far. They quit as soon as it gets uncomfortable.

You always need a new challenge

Growth doesn’t happen by accident. If you don’t actively push yourself into new territory, you’ll stay exactly where you are.

So what’s your next challenge?

• Master persuasion—learn how to make people feel something with your words.
• Improve your thinking—train your mind to be sharper, faster, and more strategic.
• Learn AI—figure out how to work with it instead of fearing it.
• Become a better decision-maker—stop second-guessing and start acting with confidence.
• Build something real—start a business, create a product, or turn an idea into reality.

It doesn’t matter what you choose, as long as you’re learning something. Because once you stop learning, you stop growing. And once you stop growing, you start dying.

So—what new skill are you learning right now?

The post What New Skill Are You Learning Right Now? appeared first on Darius Foroux.

Think about it. How does a man like Darwin come up with such a theory?

In fact, how do YOU come up with an idea, service, or product that would make such a significant impact in other people’s lives? Because that’s the key to career success – making other people’s lives better.

1. It takes longer than you think

Unless you’re extremely lucky and you achieve it on your first few tries, career success really takes a long time to happen.

Darwin wasn’t chilling at home, studying fossils, or taking a shower when the idea of natural selection suddenly hit him.

The truth is even more boring: Darwin researched thousands of plant and animal species on various continents for many years. He observed, sketched, traveled, and consulted with locals and fellow scientists, recording his findings in his journal.

He came up with the theory of natural selection little by little over many years of quiet study.

Even after developing his theory, he took time to reflect on it. Darwin discussed it with other scientists for feedback. Then, he dedicated many years to writing his renowned work, On the Origin of Species.

In all, Darwin spent decades of his life coming up with natural selection.

As expected, people eventually attributed Darwin’s success to his “genius,” which irritated him. After all, Darwin had spent his life gathering data and forming his theory, not pulling it from thin air. He stressed the hard work behind his theory.

In his other book, The Descent of Man, which came out 12 years after Origin, Darwin said:

“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert.”

Similarly, many successful folks, like Stephen King, have a consistent work routine. As King wrote in On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft:

“I like to get ten pages a day, which amounts to 2,000 words. That’s 180,000 words over a three-month span, a goodish length for a book… only under dire circumstances do I allow myself to shut down before I get my 2,000 words.”

King said that on good days, the ten pages come to him easily and he can be out and doing errands before noon. Most times, he would eat lunch at his desk and finish the day’s work at around one-thirty in the afternoon. When the “words come hard,” he’d spend more of the day on his desk “fiddling around at teatime.”

Either way, King gets his work done, and he does it every single day without excuse.

2. The key is not to miss but to attempt more shots than your peers

Before they hit it big, The Beatles played four to five-hour gig marathons, non-stop, per night and almost every night for two years as an unknown band in German bars and nightclubs.¹

Lennon and McCartney later attributed their meteoric rise to fame to this marathon of practice and performance. The Beatles would go on to release twelve original UK studio albums in a seven-year span (1963 to 1970), with many of these albums reaching multi-platinum status.

This trend of consistently creating high quality work is something consistent with many individuals who achieved lasting career success.

• Mozart and Beethoven each wrote over 600 pieces of music, far surpassing the output of most of their contemporaries, who often composed less than 100 pieces in their entire careers.²
• Picasso was incredibly prolific, creating an estimated 13,500 paintings, 100,000 graphic prints or engravings, 34,000 book illustrations, 300 sculptures and ceramics. His output far surpassed that of most other professional artists.³
• Research indicates that Nobel prize winners generally produce almost twice as much work as their peers in the same fields. ⁴

The idea that success happens due to a “big moment” or a “hit of inspiration” is a myth. Inspiration and success happen by doing the work.

Successful people don’t “find the time” to do what they need to do: They make the time.

Much like in basketball, these folks achieved success not because they never missed, but because they attempted the most shots.

What you do today dictates your career success tomorrow

History and human memory tend to highlight greatness while overlooking the work it took to achieve it. Famous figures like Mark Twain or Picasso may seem like they just effortlessly created masterpieces.

But the truth is, they worked hard at their craft for years to produce the few classics we admire today.

What you do today determines tomorrow. Every choice you make, every task you complete, every goal you set and reach: All of these contribute to your career success.

And while small actions – like doom scrolling social media – may seem insignificant at the time, these add up. And they eventually affect your life’s trajectory.

So start executing today. No more excuses.

Order The Stoic Path to Wealth

My new book, The Stoic Path to Wealth (Portfolio / Penguin), is out now.

Learn more here: stoicpathtowealth.com

The post 2 Harsh Truths on Career Success That People Hate to Admit appeared first on Darius Foroux.

Their advice is usually the same: Start blogging, get freelance writing clients, and use ChatGPT to write articles while you make money in your sleep. We get it. And none of that stuff works.

Look, many people who try to monetize their writing struggle.

This applies not just to “professional writers,” but to everyone who uses the written word to make a living: Marketers who write effective pitch emails to score a sale or VIP interview, designers who need to communicate their ideas effectively, entrepreneurs who are trying to make better sense of their business model.

The first step to making money with your words is to get the right mindset.

Here are five mindset shifts that will help you to monetize your writing.

1. Treat writing like a business

You must view your career as a business. You are a writer and an entrepreneur. Sure, you’re an artist too. But never forget that your career is also a business.

The late singer and billionaire Jimmy Buffett said it best:

“If you’re an artist, if you want to have control of your life . . . then you gotta be a businessman, like it or not. So the businessman evolved out of being an artist.”

Many writers don’t like this idea. They want to focus on the craft and let the work speak for itself.

Now, you definitely need to develop the craft of writing to ensure you’re communicating yourself well. Even with all the marketing in the world, bad writing won’t make you rich.

But you also can’t just focus on craft. You also need to market and promote your work.

If you don’t sell your work, you can’t continue creating work.

The other day, a reader emailed me about the pop-up on my website. It was more of a complaint. “Can you remove it?” Well, I can. But if I stop marketing, I need to quit writing because it’s just not sustainable to write for fun.

The internet today is full of noise. So you need to stand out as a writer, no matter what you write.

There are three steps to execute this:

1. Think about your audience: Who are you writing for? What problems are you solving for them? Why are you the best person your audience should listen to?
2. Consider how you can package your writing: Would you create an e-book, a course, or a series of blog posts on a specific topic?
3. Don’t be afraid to pitch your work to publications, clients, or businesses. If you’re just starting out, it’s important to create multiple opportunities. So put yourself out there as much as you can.

2. Stick to a writing routine the same way you’d stick to a job

Think about your current job. Whether or not you feel like it, you go for it and do it anyway, right?

If you’re serious about writing, then you need to exhibit the same dedication and consistency.

A lot of people don’t successfully monetize their writing because they lack the discipline. Too many folks fall into the trap of waiting for inspiration. They tell themselves they’ll start writing when they get into “the zone.”

They need to have the perfect setup. Or better yet, they need to move to a warm place and have a view of the ocean—otherwise, they can’t write!

Of course. If a nice view made you creative, every single person who lives on the beach would be a millionaire.

The truth is, if you want to earn from your writing, you need to treat it like a job. That means showing up every day, whether you feel inspired or not.

You know what? I work best in a small room without a view, just looking at a concrete wall. That forces me to focus on the task at hand, which is to do great writing.

Consistency builds trust with your audience. It shows them you’re serious about your craft, and it keeps your work at the top of their minds. Plus, the more consistently you write, the better you get and the more opportunities you create for yourself.

Create a writing routine and stick to it. Whether it’s 500 words a day or two hours every morning, find what works for you and make it a non-negotiable part of your day.

3. Focus on value, not perfection

Writers often get caught up in the pursuit of perfection. They spend hours refining every sentence, trying to make their work flawless. This obsession with perfection is also the reason why many writers get stuck.

While attention to detail is important, it’s not what’s going to make you money.

What matters is the value you provide.

All of the stuff I’m talking about in this article will NOT work if you don’t have something valuable to offer to your reader. And that doesn’t mean you need to give your readers mind-bending insights.

No, if you can entertain your reader, it’s also valuable.

Or, can you help your readers solve a problem? Can you teach them something new? People don’t pay for perfection; they pay for value.

Instead of obsessing over every word, ask yourself:

• What does my audience need right now?
• How can I serve them better than anyone else?

Once you shift your focus to delivering value, you’ll be able to create content more efficiently and with greater impact.

4. Work towards multiple income streams

Many beginner writers think they’ll make all their money from one source—like publishing a bestselling book or landing a big freelance client.

Relying on a single income stream is risky. If that source dries up, you’ll be left empty-handed.

This is what happens when writers go all in on a single platform, whether that’s Substack, Medium, WordPress, freelancing, ghostwriting, or Amazon KDP.

You should always have multiple income streams. The internet moves in cycles. No single income source is stable.

The most successful writers diversify their income streams. They don’t just rely on one book, blog, or client. Instead, they:

• Offer freelance writing services
• Self-publish e-books
• Create online courses or workshops
• Create a paid newsletter or monetize their blog

Multiple income streams give you more stability and flexibility. Plus, it opens up new opportunities you might not have considered before.

5. Think long-term

Finally, you need to adopt a long-term mindset. Monetizing your writing takes time. You won’t see significant income overnight, and there will be setbacks along the way.

You must keep your eye on the prize, which is long-term financial success.

The writing teacher, William Zinsser, said it best:

“Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is hard.”

Just like working out, any activity that improves your mind and body is difficult.

Many writers give up too soon because they expect instant results. But writing is a marathon, not a sprint. If you’re consistent, provide value, and build multiple income streams, you’ll eventually see the payoff.

If you’re looking for ways to make money as a writer, watch my video:

Think about where you want to be a year from now or five years from now. What steps can you take today to move closer to that goal? Focus on the process, not the immediate results.

The post 5 Mindset Shifts That Help You to Monetize Your Writing appeared first on Darius Foroux.