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INSPIRATION
Before the 20 interviews. Before Salesforce. Before any of it.
It took me a full year just to admit I wanted to leave.
A year.
On paper I had every reason to stay. I'd built my whole identity in higher ed. I was on track to run a college.
And quietly, I wanted something else.
Wanting it and saying it out loud are two different things.
So I sat in the in-between. Talking myself out of it, then back in.
If that's you right now, here's the truth nobody tells you: it won't feel good. The discomfort isn't a sign you're doing it wrong. It's the toll.
What finally moved me was small. I stopped trying to figure out the whole thing.
I call it the 1% rule. You don't need the full plan. You need one percent more confidence than you had yesterday, and the nerve to spend it.
For me, 1% was reading a book a friend kept pushing. Then rewiring how I used LinkedIn. Then one conversation. Then one application.
None of it required having it figured out. It just required me to stop waiting to feel ready.
Because ready shows up after you start. Almost never before.
COLLABORATION
My "1% rule" isn't original, and I won't pretend it is. I borrowed the math from James Clear.
In Atomic Habits, he shows that getting just 1 percent better each day compounds to roughly 37 times better over a year. I just pointed it at courage instead of habits.
If the idea grabs you, go to the source →
▶ The TEF Show — Episode 1: The 20 Interviews →
EXECUTION
Your 1% this week. Pick one. Do it before Wednesday.
- Read the thing someone smart keeps telling you to read.
- Rewrite your LinkedIn headline to point at the life you want, not the one you're leaving.
- Send one message to someone already living it. No pitch. Just a question.
Don't blow up your life this week. Just go spend your one percent.
One question:
What's the 1% move you'll make this week, before you feel ready?
Hit reply and tell me. I read every one.
— Dr. Lynch
The Invisible Interview · Freedom Roadmap · The TEF Show
