This week’s debrief is a reflection on something I’ve been sitting with for a while now: what it really means to start from the bottom.
Between my conversation with Charlotte and finishing The Ride of a Lifetime, I couldn’t ignore the parallel that kept surfacing. Their paths look completely different on the outside — different industries, different timelines, different circumstances — but at the core, they shared the same beginning. They both started from scratch.
No shortcuts. No guaranteed outcomes. No audience in the early days.
And yet, when we talk about success, we seldom talk about that part.
We tend to encounter people only after the years of quiet effort have already compounded. We see the results, not the process. The wins, not the work. The visibility, not the invisible seasons that came before it. The lonely days, the self-doubt, the failures, the moments where quitting felt easier than continuing, those rarely make it into the highlight reel.
Somewhere along the way, we start assuming that the people we admire didn’t struggle the way we are struggling now.
But that assumption is almost always wrong.
What Starting From the Bottom Actually Looks Like
If there’s one thing this week reinforced for me, it’s this:
Every person you admire once stood exactly where you are — unsure, unproven, and unseen.
So instead of idolizing the outcome, I’ve been thinking differently:
Pick the person you truly admire and ask why.
Study their story.
What did they do when no one was watching?
Why did they make the choices they made?
What values did they refuse to compromise?
Then take what resonates, adapt it to your own life, and keep going.
Not to copy them but to understand the work behind the success.
Because the truth is: Everyone’s journey is different.
You can’t control the timeline.
You can’t control the outcome.
But you can control your effort.
And that’s where real progress lives.
For the first time in my life, I feel like I’ve learned how to separate my work from its outcome, and that shift has been unexpectedly liberating.
I’m doing the work because it matters to me, not because I’m chasing a specific result.
And somehow, that makes the work better.
What I’m Reading
The Ride of a Lifetime — Bob Iger
This book gave me chills — not because of the scale of what Bob Iger built, but because of how he built it. Again and again. It’s a masterclass in creating history without losing your humanity.
Traction — Gino Wickman (starting)
This book was recommended to me by a mentor when I told him I wanted to start my brand. It’s a practical, no-frills framework for building companies that actually run well — especially when growth starts to outpace your systems.
The 5 Types of Wealth — Sahil Bloom (starting)
I’ve been following Sahil Bloom for a while and genuinely admire his work. This book, being a New York Times bestseller, only adds to the intrigue, and I’m excited to dive in. It feels like the right mindset reset to go into the new year with intention.
What Else Dropped This Week
Off Script
The Audacity to Begin: How Charlotte Trecartin Built an Eight-Figure Brand from a Hair Tie
Under the Hood
Why Your Shopping Choices Actually Run the Economy (And What It Means for 2026)
On My Reading Desk
Kate Spade is using the Coach bag playbook to try to reach Gen Z
Curiosity Is Your Secret Weapon for Building Stronger Strategies
Mel Robbins was in a ‘toxic’ place. She’s now sharing the tools that got her out of it.
Note to My Future Self
Don’t rush the beginning.
Don’t romanticize the end.
Keep doing the work, especially when it’s quiet, unglamorous, and unseen.
Detach from outcomes.
Stay obsessed with effort, values, and consistency.
Everyone you admire once stood at the starting line.
The difference is that they kept going.
Be bold. Be real. Be Anomalous.
— Sai Menon
New Debrief is out every Friday