Are you where you thought you'd be? Me neither.
Halfway through 2026, and both stories are true. It depends on which one I tell.
Hey y’all,
We’re halfway through July, and more than halfway through the year already. That doesn’t seem possible, and yet here we are.
So let me ask you: are you where you thought you’d be?
I’m not. I’m both ahead of where I expected AND further behind. Makes perfect sense, right?
Stay with me.
The mirror I wasn’t ready for
I said when I started this newsletter that I was going to be vulnerable and honest, and damn sometimes that’s harder than I thought it would be. Sitting down on Sunday to write has become a mirror I wasn’t ready for.
When I think about what to write, a couple of things always bubble up to the surface and get instantly rejected as TOO honest. And then it hits me: those are probably the exact things someone else is struggling with too.
Like this mid-year check-in. I’m not where I want to be, and that frustrates me. But then I have to start digging deeper. Were my goals realistic and achievable? Were they tangible and intentional?
Because here’s what I recognize in myself: I chase perfection, then deal with resentment and frustration when I don’t achieve the result I wanted… usually in a wildly unrealistic time frame.
The first story
My business is struggling with cash flow issues I haven’t solved. My kids are growing and changing, and I don’t have every answer. My long-distance relationship forces me to confront insecurities and deal with hard issues. My routines aren’t perfect. I haven’t learned French. I don’t have my pilot’s license. My physique isn’t where I want it. On and on and on… all the things wrong.
The self-inflicted pressure to do more and be better, and then the guilt when I’m not where I wanted to be at some arbitrary point in the year.
Why? I think society and social media (especially for entrepreneurs) put a pressure on us to grind and hustle, usually at more personal harm than gain.
And I’m recognizing that. Which is exactly why I’m further ahead than I thought I’d be.
The second story
My business is growing. My team is amazing, and my business partner is a real partner (and a friend!). My kids are growing, and I’m growing with them. I’m not perfect, but I’m a damn good dad, and I try.
I met the most amazing woman. Relationships are hard, and distance is just an excuse. What a privilege to have access to therapy to work through my own stuff, to resources, and to a girlfriend who’s also an entrepreneur and “gets it.” I get to be in love again…how cool is that?!
I started French! Slow and steady wins the race. I’m studying for my pilot’s license; while building a company and being a dad and a boyfriend and volunteering and living a beautiful life. So who cares how long it takes?
And I’m in the best physical shape I’ve been in in years. Down 20 pounds, eating clean, stronger than ever.
Same seven months. Two different stories. One outlook shift.
Grace
If I’ve learned anything recently, it’s to be kinder to myself and allow myself grace; honestly, to hell with what anyone else thinks.
So… I asked if you were where you thought you’d be, and maybe your answer was no. Now read your year the second way. What’s your answer now?
Be kind to yourself. We are all just climbing, and none of us are quite “there” yet.
Your turn
Here’s this week’s homework: tell me both stories. The one where you’re behind, and then the same seven months told the other way. One thing that hasn’t gone to plan, and one thing day-one-of-January you would be proud of.
Hit reply and send me both. I read every single one.
Still…. not quite there yet ;)
Talk soon,
Ryan
Not Quite There Yet Guy
CEO & Co-Founder, Knowledge Perk | Chair, Gravity Center Foundation | EO Charlotte