Some weeks feel productive. Others don’t. And if you’re like most creators, you know what it’s like to want to do the work but just not feel like it. Life gets busy, distractions pile up, energy runs low. It’s easier to plan, to think about starting, or to wait for a better time.

But here’s the truth: the people who make things happen aren’t always the most talented or the most prepared. They’re the ones who decide to show up.

Let me give you a recent example.

I signed up for a 24-hour Lovable hackathon. Great opportunity. Terrible timing. The challenge kicked off at 8 a.m. Saturday morning, but that day was jam-packed with family events, and I was going to be gone the whole day. It would’ve been easy to skip it, tell myself “next time,” and move on.

But I communicated with my wife, and around midnight, when most of the world was asleep, I sat down and started. I stayed up until about 4:30 a.m. and finished my submission. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t nearly as polished as I’d have liked. But I got it done.

The result? I made the top 100. More importantly, I learned a ton from the experience and proved to myself that momentum doesn’t require perfect conditions. It just requires action.

This isn’t just about hackathons. This is about life. Work. Creativity. Relationships.

The days you don’t feel ready are the days it matters most to just start.
The sessions where you “don’t have time” are often the ones that move you forward.
The tiny habit of showing up—writing for five minutes, sketching one idea, opening that scary project—truly adds up.

We think success comes from breakthroughs.
But breakthroughs come from the build-up.

So go build.