Are You Building to Last or Just Surviving?

Before we dive in, I’d like to thank all the new subscribers, and the ones who’ve stuck around, for being here. Your willingness to seek clarity and sit with hard questions inspires me every week.

I’ve been thinking about the parallels between Alone and building a brand. How founders, like those contestants, purposefully step into discomfort.

Alone is a survival series that drops people into remote wilderness with minimal tools.

Contestants have to find their own food, build shelter, and last longer than anyone else.

They all share one challenge:

Figuring out how to get food consistently.

It’s not enough to catch one fish or forage a handful of berries.

They need a strategy that feeds them over time.

It’s the same question every day:

Do I eat everything now, or save it so I last longer?

Some spend all day chasing small gains.

Reacting. Surviving. Barely making it to tomorrow.

The ones who win study patterns.

They build better traps.

They treat it as a mental game.

That work lets them last.

There’s power in not knowing what the others are doing, or how many are left standing.

It forces a clear plan.

A choice about who you are and what you stand for.

Something that actually works for you.

You can chase quick wins.

React to whatever’s in front of you.

Or you can do the harder work.

The planning.

The uncomfortable choices.

The systems that create trust and deliver consistently.

That work is what helps a brand endure.

Reflections to work through:

Clarity is yours to claim. 

The uncomfortable truths are where strategy begins.

Understand the terrain.

Study patterns. Know the limits. Plan for the environment you’re really in.

Face the real problem.

Don’t distract yourself with easier tasks, or what others are doing. Identify the single biggest constraint and focus everything on solving it.

Prioritize systems over quick wins.

One fish won’t last. Build repeatable, resilient ways to deliver.

Invest early in the hard work.

Real strategy comes from intentional choices made early to deliver lasting results.

Ian Adams, Founder the little red sofa