Skip to main content

The Two Lies That Are Holding You Back (Even If You Don't Know It)

There’s a storm coming. Not the kind on the radar, but the one you may find yourself in daily, unknowingly swirling through the same myths that keep countless business leaders anchored in place. We’re talking about two of the most pervasive lies that show up disguised as “truths” in almost every conversation about growth, success, and business strategy.

Lie #1: Hard work equals forward movement.

We’re all taught that hard work is the golden ticket, and for some reason, we believe the harder we push, the closer we are to success. But hard work without purpose? That’s just spinning your wheels. You might be busy, but are you actually moving forward?

Every leader’s journey eventually encounters this truth: hard work is only half the story. If your effort isn’t aligned with a clear outcome, you’re not really making progress. You’re just busy. To break free, define your purpose. Without a compass, even the fastest ship won’t make it to its destination. Your hard work needs a direction, not just intensity.

So the challenge here isn’t about doubling down on effort. It’s about committing to a clear purpose and moving with intention. That’s where progress lies, not in the effort alone but in the purpose that guides it.

Lie #2: Busyness means productivity.

We love saying, “I’m so busy.” It’s a badge of honor in today’s world. But busyness is often a distraction from what really matters. It’s the constant churn of low-value tasks that keep us from facing the real work—the high-stakes, high-impact stuff that requires focus, clarity, and commitment.

Think of all the time spent checking emails, running from meeting to meeting, or even organizing things that should be working in the background. For some, being busy is a way to avoid the very tasks that would truly move the needle. Why? Maybe because deep down, there’s a fear of simplicity—an inner belief that it can’t be this easy. We trick ourselves into thinking that staying occupied validates our success.

The truth is that busyness doesn’t equal productivity; in fact, it often steals it. True productivity comes when you prioritize, when you can say no to the distractions and focus on the high-value actions that actually drive your business forward. It's the art of knowing when to go all-in and when to let things be.

The Real Takeaway

Break free from these lies by aligning your hard work with purpose and focusing your effort on priorities that matter. Let go of “busyness” as a badge, and wear your purpose on your sleeve instead. Define what matters most and let everything else fall away.

Remember, the storm will come, the distractions will call, but your job is to stay anchored, clear-headed, and intentional. That’s where true movement, real growth, and genuine momentum begin.

Stay well, and keep moving forward.




About Spencer Combs:

Spencer Combs is a business leader and author of Momentum and Mastery: The Business Leader's Guide to Fastrack Unshakeable Profit, Productivity, and Purpose. With a passion for helping others transform their challenges into opportunities, Spencer offers unique insights through his events, coaching programs, and daily text messages.


Take the Next Step:


Connect with Spencer: www.spencercombs.com/social 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Here's what others like you are reading:

What's your Number?

We talk about freedom. We talk about choice. We talk about work-life balance , the hustle , and the grind . But sometimes, all that chatter is just noise, distracting us from the actual lever of autonomy . The lever is a number. It’s not your net worth. It’s not your annual salary. It's not your bank account balance right now. It’s your FUN (F* U Number) . It’s the amount of capital, invested strategically, that would spin off enough residual income —passively—to cover your chosen lifestyle expenses forever. It’s the size of the asset that makes the job optional. The deadline negotiable. The compromise avoidable. It’s the number that means you get to say 'no' to the client who drains you, 'yes' to the project that inspires you, and 'stop' to the routine that suffocates you. It's the ultimate measure of your self-reliance . If you don't know your FUN, you don't know the distance to your freedom. You're just wandering. You're working withou...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Firewall

  The world is a machine. A vast, efficient, relentless machine focused on two things: speed and automation. If your job, your skill, or your output can be described by a predictable set of instructions, the machine will eventually learn to do it faster, cheaper, and without complaint. This is not a threat. It is a reality. It is the new baseline. So, where do you stand? Are you building your house on sand, relying on tasks that are easily copied? Or are you building a firewall? The firewall is the part of you the machine cannot touch. It's the unique combination of judgment, empathy, creativity, and the courage to make a non-obvious choice. This week is a choice. You can perform the necessary, replaceable tasks. Or you can invest in your firewall. The question isn’t about job security. It’s about value creation. What is the one thing you can learn, practice, or build this week that will make you so valuable, no one else can do your job five years from now? It's the dif...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Multiplier

The clock runs. The hour passes. The time is spent. Most of the world gets paid for the passing of that time. It's a comfortable contract. An agreement of safety. Trade one hour of life for an agreed-upon unit of currency. The problem with this contract is that it caps your potential. It rewards presence, not performance. It celebrates effort, not outcome. But the economy of impact is different. No one pays the painter for the hours she spent cleaning the brushes. They pay her for the masterpiece. No one pays the entrepreneur for the hours he spent staring at the ceiling. They pay him for the breakthrough idea. They pay for the result . The moment you accept this truth, your relationship with the clock fundamentally changes. You stop asking, "How long will this take?" You start asking the only question that matters: What can I do with this time that will yield the single greatest result this week? This is the question of leverage. It's the search for the acti...
Post a Comment
Read more