The Disease of Instant Gratification

Jake Luehrs
May 17, 2025

ONE QUESTION

Are you obsessed with Growth or with Winning? Growth is about you vs you. Winning is about comparison to others. Neither are good or bad, it's the perspective you hold on their importance.

ONE THING TO PONDER

We often abandon ourselves simply to ensure that others don’t abandon us…both personally and professionally.

ONE PERSPECTIVE

What if our greatest superpower was patience?

The reason we get in a 'win at all cost' mindset is because we lack perspective of the long game.

We get inundated about what we lack, about being behind, about not being enough….

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Most marketing is a ploy designed to keep you anxious and buying.

Will I win every day of my life? Absolutely not.

Every week? No way.

Over the next 30-40 years? You better believe it.

So what makes sense to me is not to sprint every single day, it’s to intentionally walk in the right direction every day, and to pay attention to life…not to sprint to get to the end.

The person that will walk the furthest isn’t the one that walks the fastest, it’s the one that loves to walk.

Consistency beats intensity every time over time.

^{Here are 5 things that will transform when you play the long game.}

1.You’ll set down the burden of unrealistic expectations of yourself and where you should be today.

It doesn't matter where you are today, it's where you're going and who you're becoming that matters.

We fail to understand that today is a snapshot, not the entire story.

When was the last time you celebrated your progress instead of obsessing over your current situation?

2. You don't have to GRIND - Please don’t confuse this with not working hard, and also understand the importance of seasons of life.

Compounding effort will beat sporadic sprints over time every time. You can't go to the gym for 6 hrs 1 day a week and expect to get all the benefits. Focus on time on task over time.

Life isn’t static, yet there are periods in life that we need to place more time and energy toward.

I remember years ago someone telling me that 80% of the time you spend with your kids happens in the first 18 years. That’s called a season..don’t miss the opportunity. It’s a reason why I’m not willing to work as many hours in this season. People can pass me, I’m happy for them as long as they are happy!

It’s quite ironic that we sacrifice our health and well-being to make money only to spend all of our money to get our health back.

3. The seduction of quick wins won’t hold validity.

Quick hits and unearned wins are like fast food - they are great in the moment but empty and unhealthy over time.

Relationships, Wealth and Health...all require patience and care over time to be successful and meaningful.

You can’t create real relationships, build strong healthy habits, or build sustainable wealth by being a one hit wonder. You have to BE the version of the person that builds those things.

4. You’ll realize you're running your own race

Society wants conformity. Your success requires authenticity.

Also, understand that if your pace isn’t leading you where you want to go, YOU have to be the one to own it and change it.

Maybe you have to work harder, or maybe you just have to love yourself more.

Society won’t give you what you want, it’s going to give you what you’ve earned.

Your race, your pace.

So who’s race are you running? Society’s or your own?

5. You actually find peace in other people’s success and won’t be as susceptible to overexaggerating any situation.

90% of what you're magnifying today won't matter in 5 years.

Most won't matter in 5 months.

Many won't even register in 5 weeks.

Build resilience through patience, intention, and with hard work.

Resilience isn't about being hard. It's about being patient, compassionate, and consistently showing up.

Compounding effort will beat sporadic sprints over time every time.

The path is sustained consistency and small tweaks, not overhauls every few months.

I’ll see you along the way!

Onward and upward!

PODCAST

Dave Asprey Reveals the New Frontier of Biohacking

The ED MYLETT SHOW

This was a super interesting episode. Intuition is wisdom when we are able to cultivate it without getting it all messed up with our emotions and logic. There is infinite wisdom when we are able to listen to our path vs form to outside expectations. Well worth the listen, and it will likely challenge you!

BOOK RECOMMENDATION

The Way Forward
by Yung Pueblo

If you are growth minded, like to think deeply and are working towards truth and self awareness, this book prompts a lot of thoughts. It’s written differently…being able to open to any part of the book and find wisdom and questions to answer. If this is your style, I’d highly recommend getting a copy!!