Scott Clary
@scottdclary.bsky.social
Host of http://successstorypodcast.com (Top 10 Business Podcast) & write a weekly newsletter to 321k people @ http://newsletter.scottdclary.com
There's no growth hack more powerful than simply outlasting everyone else. Most people quit. Most markets get abandoned. Most relationships get neglected. Just staying when others leave gives you advantages no tactic can replicate.
December 26, 2025 at 8:48 PM
There's no growth hack more powerful than simply outlasting everyone else. Most people quit. Most markets get abandoned. Most relationships get neglected. Just staying when others leave gives you advantages no tactic can replicate.
Your sense of self-worth was probably calibrated by people who were in no position to assess it accurately. Teachers with bad days, parents with their own wounds, peers with their own insecurities—all voting on your value before you could object. Time to recount the votes.
December 26, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Your sense of self-worth was probably calibrated by people who were in no position to assess it accurately. Teachers with bad days, parents with their own wounds, peers with their own insecurities—all voting on your value before you could object. Time to recount the votes.
The older I get, the more I realize that the best filter for how to spend your time is imagining yourself at the end of your life looking back. Will you remember this? Will it matter? Most of what feels urgent won't pass that test. Act accordingly.
December 26, 2025 at 3:36 PM
The older I get, the more I realize that the best filter for how to spend your time is imagining yourself at the end of your life looking back. Will you remember this? Will it matter? Most of what feels urgent won't pass that test. Act accordingly.
The conversation most people never have: What do I actually want? Not what your family wants for you. Not what society says you should want. Not what would impress people. What do YOU actually want? Most people die without ever honestly answering this question.
December 26, 2025 at 1:01 PM
The conversation most people never have: What do I actually want? Not what your family wants for you. Not what society says you should want. Not what would impress people. What do YOU actually want? Most people die without ever honestly answering this question.
Your biggest expense isn't money - it's tolerating dysfunction. That toxic friend draining your energy. That cluttered space scrambling your mind. That delayed decision eating your peace. You're paying for these things every day with your life, not your wallet. Some things cost more than money.
December 26, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Your biggest expense isn't money - it's tolerating dysfunction. That toxic friend draining your energy. That cluttered space scrambling your mind. That delayed decision eating your peace. You're paying for these things every day with your life, not your wallet. Some things cost more than money.
Truth bomb: Most of your stress comes from saying yes when you wanted to say no. That event you don't want to attend. That favor you don't want to do. That person you don't want to see. Every false yes creates real resentment. No is a complete sentence. Use it.
December 25, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Truth bomb: Most of your stress comes from saying yes when you wanted to say no. That event you don't want to attend. That favor you don't want to do. That person you don't want to see. Every false yes creates real resentment. No is a complete sentence. Use it.
The truth about motivation: It's garbage. It comes and goes like weather. What you need are systems that work whether you feel like it or not. You don't need motivation to brush your teeth - it's just what you do. Build systems that make success automatic, not dependent on how you feel.
December 25, 2025 at 8:48 PM
The truth about motivation: It's garbage. It comes and goes like weather. What you need are systems that work whether you feel like it or not. You don't need motivation to brush your teeth - it's just what you do. Build systems that make success automatic, not dependent on how you feel.
What nobody tells you about boundaries: They're not walls, they're instructions. You're teaching people how to treat you. Every boundary you don't set is permission for disrespect. People push exactly as far as you let them. Your tolerance becomes their behavior.
December 25, 2025 at 6:12 PM
What nobody tells you about boundaries: They're not walls, they're instructions. You're teaching people how to treat you. Every boundary you don't set is permission for disrespect. People push exactly as far as you let them. Your tolerance becomes their behavior.
The real reason you're not where you want to be: You're still making excuses for why you can't be there. Too old, too young, too late, too early, too broke, too busy. Meanwhile someone with worse circumstances is doing what you say you can't. Your excuses are just fear with better marketing.
December 25, 2025 at 3:36 PM
The real reason you're not where you want to be: You're still making excuses for why you can't be there. Too old, too young, too late, too early, too broke, too busy. Meanwhile someone with worse circumstances is doing what you say you can't. Your excuses are just fear with better marketing.
Simple truth: If you don't build your dream, someone will hire you to build theirs. Every day you postpone starting is a day you spend making someone else successful. There's nothing wrong with employment. Just don't confuse their mission with your purpose.
December 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Simple truth: If you don't build your dream, someone will hire you to build theirs. Every day you postpone starting is a day you spend making someone else successful. There's nothing wrong with employment. Just don't confuse their mission with your purpose.
The clearest sign of emotional intelligence: Knowing when to stop talking. Not every thought needs expression, not every feeling needs discussion. Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is keep your mouth shut and let people process.
December 25, 2025 at 2:00 AM
The clearest sign of emotional intelligence: Knowing when to stop talking. Not every thought needs expression, not every feeling needs discussion. Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is keep your mouth shut and let people process.
The moment you realize your excuses are just fears with better stories - everything opens up. No time is fear of prioritizing. No money is fear of investing. Too late is fear of starting. Name the fear behind the excuse and the excuse loses power.
December 24, 2025 at 11:24 PM
The moment you realize your excuses are just fears with better stories - everything opens up. No time is fear of prioritizing. No money is fear of investing. Too late is fear of starting. Name the fear behind the excuse and the excuse loses power.
Simple truth about success: It's mostly just doing obvious things for an unreasonably long time. Exercise every day for 5 years. Save 20% for a decade. Work on one skill for 10,000 hours. Success isn't complex. It's compound interest on simple actions. But simple doesn't mean easy.
December 24, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Simple truth about success: It's mostly just doing obvious things for an unreasonably long time. Exercise every day for 5 years. Save 20% for a decade. Work on one skill for 10,000 hours. Success isn't complex. It's compound interest on simple actions. But simple doesn't mean easy.
The moment you realize most people are just traumatized children in adult bodies - everything makes sense. The anger is old hurt. The arrogance is old insecurity. The coldness is old abandonment. Everyone's just carrying their childhood and calling it personality.
December 24, 2025 at 6:12 PM
The moment you realize most people are just traumatized children in adult bodies - everything makes sense. The anger is old hurt. The arrogance is old insecurity. The coldness is old abandonment. Everyone's just carrying their childhood and calling it personality.
What nobody tells you about confidence: It's just proof you can trust yourself. Proof you'll do what you say. Handle what comes. Figure out what you don't know. Every kept promise to yourself builds trust. Every broken promise erodes it. Confidence is self-trust made visible.
December 24, 2025 at 3:36 PM
What nobody tells you about confidence: It's just proof you can trust yourself. Proof you'll do what you say. Handle what comes. Figure out what you don't know. Every kept promise to yourself builds trust. Every broken promise erodes it. Confidence is self-trust made visible.
The moment you realize motivation is a luxury - that's when you become dangerous. You don't need to feel ready. You need to start. Action creates motivation, not the reverse. Waiting for motivation is how dreams die. Moving without it is how dreams live.
December 24, 2025 at 1:01 PM
The moment you realize motivation is a luxury - that's when you become dangerous. You don't need to feel ready. You need to start. Action creates motivation, not the reverse. Waiting for motivation is how dreams die. Moving without it is how dreams live.
Something I noticed about people who get things done: They don't wait for the mood. They don't need perfect conditions. They just start with whatever they have, wherever they are. While everyone else is preparing to prepare, they're already halfway done with version one.
December 24, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Something I noticed about people who get things done: They don't wait for the mood. They don't need perfect conditions. They just start with whatever they have, wherever they are. While everyone else is preparing to prepare, they're already halfway done with version one.
The most successful people I know are terrible at most things. They just found their one thing and went all in. While you're trying to be good at everything, they're becoming irreplaceable at one thing. Diversification is for stock portfolios, not skill sets. Pick a lane and own it.
December 23, 2025 at 11:24 PM
The most successful people I know are terrible at most things. They just found their one thing and went all in. While you're trying to be good at everything, they're becoming irreplaceable at one thing. Diversification is for stock portfolios, not skill sets. Pick a lane and own it.
The skill that determines your wealth: Delayed gratification. Can you want something and wait? Can you see reward and resist? Can you be hungry and fast? Every financial decision is essentially marshmallow test for adults. The ability to wait determines what you accumulate.
December 23, 2025 at 8:48 PM
The skill that determines your wealth: Delayed gratification. Can you want something and wait? Can you see reward and resist? Can you be hungry and fast? Every financial decision is essentially marshmallow test for adults. The ability to wait determines what you accumulate.
Your purpose isn't some mystical calling. It's the problem you can't stop solving. The friend everyone calls for that issue. The thing you fix without thinking. The pattern you spot instantly. Purpose isn't hidden in the clouds. It's hidden in your habits.
December 23, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Your purpose isn't some mystical calling. It's the problem you can't stop solving. The friend everyone calls for that issue. The thing you fix without thinking. The pattern you spot instantly. Purpose isn't hidden in the clouds. It's hidden in your habits.
A liberating truth about life: Most rules are suggestions by people who benefited from you following them. Question everything, especially limitations presented as law. The most successful people treat rules as guidelines, not gospel.
December 23, 2025 at 3:36 PM
A liberating truth about life: Most rules are suggestions by people who benefited from you following them. Question everything, especially limitations presented as law. The most successful people treat rules as guidelines, not gospel.
Your meeting could have been an email. Your email could have been a Slack. Your Slack could have been nothing. 80% of communication is just people proving they're working. Real work happens in silence. If you're always communicating, you're not creating.
December 23, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Your meeting could have been an email. Your email could have been a Slack. Your Slack could have been nothing. 80% of communication is just people proving they're working. Real work happens in silence. If you're always communicating, you're not creating.
Here's why advice is usually worthless: People tell you what worked in a different economy, industry, and era. Success strategies expire faster than milk. What worked for them won't work for you because the game already changed. Create new rules.
December 23, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Here's why advice is usually worthless: People tell you what worked in a different economy, industry, and era. Success strategies expire faster than milk. What worked for them won't work for you because the game already changed. Create new rules.
The most expensive thing you'll ever buy: Trying to impress people who don't care about you. The car you can't afford. The wedding you'll pay off for years. The lifestyle that keeps you broke. You're financing other people's opinions with your future.
December 22, 2025 at 11:24 PM
The most expensive thing you'll ever buy: Trying to impress people who don't care about you. The car you can't afford. The wedding you'll pay off for years. The lifestyle that keeps you broke. You're financing other people's opinions with your future.
Nobody prepares you for how lonely growth can be. You'll lose friends who can't celebrate your success. Family who feels threatened by your change. Communities that need you to stay small. Growth is a path that gets narrower as you climb. The air gets thinner but the view gets better.
December 22, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Nobody prepares you for how lonely growth can be. You'll lose friends who can't celebrate your success. Family who feels threatened by your change. Communities that need you to stay small. Growth is a path that gets narrower as you climb. The air gets thinner but the view gets better.