Martin stared at the blinking cursor on his laptop.
It was close to midnight. His wife was already asleep upstairs. The kids had stopped asking why Dad was always “finishing something” in the other room.
The cursor blinked.
The clock ticked.
And Martin told himself the same thing he’d been saying for years:
“I’ll get to it when things calm down.”
What was “it”?
Losing the thirty pounds he’d been carrying since his early forties.
Starting the business idea that kept him awake at night.
Finally becoming the kind of man who lived on his own terms instead of reacting to whatever landed in his lap.
But there was always something else first.
One year it was his company’s merger.
The next it was paying off the credit cards.
Then it was helping his daughter with college applications.
Always a reason.
Always a delay.
Twenty years later, Martin was still at the same desk, staring at the same cursor.
Same house. Same debts. Same gut. Same marriage—though now it was polite silence instead of sharp words.
The only thing that had changed was the calendar.
When I met him, he didn’t talk about regret like it was a tragic wound.
He talked about it like a slow leak.
A little air escaping every day until there was nothing left to keep the tire moving.
And here’s what struck me: Martin hadn’t “failed” in some dramatic way.
He just… never started.
I’ve worn the same handcuffs.
I’ve told myself I’ll rebuild when the dust settles.
I’ve stayed in a marriage longer than I should have because “now isn’t the right time to leave.”
I’ve kept businesses alive on life support because I didn’t want to face the pivot.
Yes, other people played their parts in those endings.
But I played mine, too.
I avoided the hardest moves.
I overextended.
I chose juggling over leading.
And it cost me years.
Here’s the truth I learned the expensive way:
There is no “perfect” time to transform.
Life doesn’t pause so you can reinvent yourself in peace.
Transformation isn’t what you do after the calendar is clear.
It’s what you do while the circus is in full swing.
It’s a hostile takeover.
It barges in uninvited, kicks your schedule in the ribs, and says:
“We’re doing this now—ready or not.”
The men who accept that truth?
They get forged.
The men who don’t?
They wait. And waiting is where men go to die slowly.
Now—there is a wrong time to transform.
If you already have a Top, Top Priority—a mission so critical that every other part of your life must bow to it—you don’t split your focus. You protect it. You win that war before you open a second front.
That’s not procrastination. That’s command.
But most “not now” moments aren’t strategy.
They’re comfort wearing a mask.
We tell ourselves we’re “being strategic” when in reality, we’re avoiding the risk of starting.
We’re waiting for the pain of our current life to finally outweigh the fear of change.
By the time that happens, the cost is higher than we can pay.
The Sovereign sees the storm and sails anyway.
He knows the seas will never be calm enough.
He knows the noise will never stop.
He knows the man he wants to become will not arrive just because the timing is convenient.
And he knows that before it’s too late is the only deadline that matters.
Here’s your choice:
Keep blinking at the cursor, telling yourself the right moment is just around the corner…
Or get up from the desk and start now—with the circus still in full swing, the bills still coming, and the noise still roaring.
Because in the end, you will either live with the mess of transformation—or with the quiet, airless leak of a life that never began.
If you’ve read this far, you already know which one is meant for you…
✍️ SHARE YOUR STORY
If you're navigating collapse, burnout, or just done playing a game that doesn’t reward truth—
You’re not alone.
And you're not broken.
You may just be entering your Forge.
👉 Share Your Story Here
(I read every one.)
Some of you may be invited:
Onto the podcast
Into the community
Or deeper into the rebuild
⚔️ KNOW SOMEONE BUILDING A TECH PROJECT?
I’m working with an elite engineering firm (BairesDev) to bring Sovereign-level support to founders, operators, and teams building real technology.
If you know someone:
Building a product
Scaling a SaaS
Or managing a digital transformation…
I’d love to hear about it.
👉 Refer a Project Here
(Quick form. Just the basics. I’ll take it from there.)
No pitch. No pressure. Just open the gate.
CLOSING CREED
I will not wait for calm seas.
I will not bargain with my fear.
I will not trade my future for my comfort.
I run light.
I move fast.
I answer to no one but the man I am becoming.
And I begin now.
— Doug Utberg
This reminds me of a piece I just published on how to move when the timing feels impossible. Funny how universal the resistance is.
Every year you delay is another year you’ll wish you had started. Ask me how I know.