From Self-Doubt to Self-Belief: The "Why Not Me" Mindset

You don’t need permission to dream bigger - you need belief and a push

This is our first collaborative article!

We usually do videos together, but this time we decided to put the message into writing.

The main story comes from my personal experiences (Isaac Wooden), while Dalton Howell added lessons, quotes, and insights to reinforce the message.

We hope it hits you at just the right time.

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Why Not You?

We’ve all heard it before.

A quote, a phrase, a line from a speech that lodges itself into your mind and refuses to leave.

For us, it was: “Why not you?”

I first heard it from Jim Rohn, just after college. I was working as an irrigation technician, digging trenches and laying sprinkler lines - and I hated it at times. Not because it was hard work, but because deep down, I knew I wanted something different. I wanted to do creative work. I wanted to write. I wanted to build something.

But instead, I was knee-deep in mud. And that phrase kept echoing:

Why not you? Why can’t you build a business? Why can’t you make an impact?

At first, it just felt like a motivational saying. But over time, it became the question that guided my life. If someone else could do it - someone I admired, someone I followed online - then why not me?

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The Invisible Wall

Most of us don’t need more inspiration. We need to rewrite the story in our heads.

Because the only thing standing between you and the life you want is the story you keep telling yourself about why you can’t have it.

“Excuses are just fears in disguise.”
– Dalton

I did that for years.
I told myself I wasn’t ready.
I wasn’t smart enough.
I didn’t know enough.

But those weren’t truths. They were just walls I had agreed to build.

“We call them reasons, but they’re really just excuses wearing a mask.”
– Dalton

Once you realize that, everything begins to change.

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Why Not Me?

At some point, I stopped asking if I could do it - and started asking, why not me?

• If someone else built a business from scratch, why not me?

• If someone else wrote a book, launched a podcast, or started a brand - why not me?

• If someone else got their dream job, changed careers, or broke free from the same cycle I was stuck in - why not me?

It’s not about luck. It’s not even about talent. It’s about belief followed by action.

“The difference between people who succeed and people who stay stuck isn't talent or luck - it's belief in themselves, followed by action.”
– Dalton

And that belief is often hardest for the people who care the most. The people who want to do good in the world. The ones who constantly tear themselves down with thoughts like: "Someone else will do it better than I can."

But that mindset is a lie. It’s a prison you build brick by brick.

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You Were Meant for More

While on a podcast Kevin Hart once said something similar to Jim Rohn, “Why not you? Why can’t I start a book club? Why can’t I start a business?”

I ask you the same.

If you’ve ever looked at someone else's life and thought, "That would be amazing, but it’s not for me,” then stop right there.

That thought isn’t yours. It was planted there - by fear, by your past, by comparison, or by people who never chased their own dreams.

“Every time you think something is out of reach, ask yourself - who told you that?”
– Dalton

But the internet changed everything.

You can learn anything. Build anything. Document anything.

And when you look closely, most of the people you admire didn’t come from more - they just believed differently.

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From Small Things, Great Things Come

I already have the Amor Fati tattoo. Recently, I added Memento Mori.

But the next one I want is Sic Parvis Magna - “Greatness from Small Beginnings.”

Because no matter how small your beginnings, you don’t have to stay there. You don’t have to accept the limits you’ve outgrown.

Excuses limit you.
Belief frees you.

So today, just ask yourself - Why not you?