3 Lessons from GTY’s First Year
We are quickly approaching one year since GTY’s public launch, and while it has brought purpose, a profound sense of fulfillment, and an outlet to help others, it hasn't been without its challenges. In fact, it has been one of the hardest things we have ever tried to do.
Entrepreneurship is really just solving problems. We founded GTY to solve a problem—the problem being too many people not having the tools, access, or education to improve their lives physically, and being sold on quick fix empty promises that leave them worse off than we they started.
It’s the same concept when trying to build a business. How fast you scale and grow the business depends on how quickly you are able to solve the problems you encounter. The problems never stop; you just get better at solving them.
I like to think about it in terms of a video game. When you first start, you’re level 1, you barely know how to play the game, everything seems difficult, and you lose (a lot). But as you continue to grow and learn (or level up), you start to get better. You start to understand how to play the game.
But as you continue to grow, so do the size of the problems (or monsters) you need to slay. Instead of problems the size of rabbits or squirrels you would face when you're level 1, you’re now facing dragons. But you have the experience (or levels) behind you to help you slay those dragons.
So with one year of “leveling up,” let’s talk about some of the lessons we’ve learned.
Lesson 1: You Must Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
Growth only comes when we get outside of our comfort zone. That isn't some profound statement—it’s known by most people. However, that doesn't make it easier to really put it into practice on a weekly and daily basis.
When we first started posting content in January of 2024, it was incredibly uncomfortable. The anxiety we would feel from posting would be so strong it would have a physical reaction—sweaty palms, elevated heart rate, and thoughts racing of how people would react.
When we get so uncomfortable we feel these physical symptoms, the first reaction is to stop. But it’s only when we lean into this discomfort that it slowly starts to fade. First post on social media? Extremely uncomfortable. Hundredth post on social media? Just another day.
As we persevere through discomfort, not only do we improve, but you might find that you start to enjoy the discomfort because you know what's on the other side of it: growth.
Lesson 2: You Learn by Doing, Not by Analyzing
Paralysis by analysis. You spend so much time thinking about doing the thing that you never actually start doing it. A tale as old as time.
Starting a business can be extremely overwhelming. Figuring out the name, logo, marketing, mission, products, vendors, intellectual property, website, fulfillment… the list of tasks seemed endless.
As we sat in a workroom in our old apartment in DC, it was hard to determine where to even start. But that’s the secret—everyone who has ever built an extremely successful business has had to just start. It doesn't matter where you start, all that matters is that you start working.
Once you take that first step, no matter how small, only then does the second step become clear, and step by step you slowly move forward. You learn more by starting, doing the thing, and most likely failing, than by over-analyzing how to be perfect.
It’s where the saying “move fast and break things” comes from. You never know how things will work until you start doing them, and if they don’t? Well, now you know what not to do, which is still a win.
Start. Fail. Learn. Do it better. Fail again. Do it even better.
This is the cycle of people who change the world. It’s not magic; it's just consistency. Which leads to the final lesson.
Lesson 3: Extraordinary Results Come from Doing the Ordinary Work for an Extraordinary Amount of Time
I used to think some people were just born lucky with how successful they were. This was just my ego shielding me from the truth—that I wasn't willing to do the work that was required.
It isn't some magic trait that separates hyper-successful people from those who aren’t. It is the ability to work without reward for an extraordinary amount of time. The ability to show up and do the work that is required, day in and day out, for years and decades.
Bill Gates has a quote: “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” The truly successful people don't think in terms of months or years, they think in terms of decades.
It’s the power of delayed gratification. The power of compound consistency over years and decades. It’s why Find Your 1% is so powerful for us, because it’s the small daily work that everybody overlooks that truly can change the course of our lives.
We are building GTY, embodying the power of the ideals it was founded by. The power of showing up and progressing by 1% every single day. Your 1% doesn't have to just be a physical improvement; it can be a small improvement you make in your mindset, or your relationships. It’s just progress. It is absolutely not easy, and some days are much harder than others.
But if you can commit to Finding Your 1% every day, I promise not only will the growth become so addicting that you can't stop, but you will look back one day and realize the entire trajectory of your life has changed.
Thank You
We can’t thank you all for your support enough in this first year. We have made a ton of mistakes, but I can promise you this: We will never stop. We will never quit building something truly great for every single one of you.
To many more years.
GTY
