Last week I told you I was done chasing the comeback story.

I'm working on the new chapter...

Being a CEO, coach, content creator, husband, and father. Let's not forget athlete as well. New identities for a new chapter.

What I didn't tell you is that I've done this exact rebuild before.

Years ago, I was trying to make the leap from in-person training to online coaching.

I had the strategy. I had the skills. I had a credit card statement that made me want to throw up and every reason in the world to figure it out.

What I didn't have was the ability to get out of my own way.

Every morning I'd wake up with the same voice in my head: You're not going to figure this out. Just beg your old in-person clients to come back. Entrepreneurs are a different breed, and you aren't one.

I had all the plans; none of the action.

Sound familiar?

If you've ever known exactly what to do with your training, your nutrition, or your career and just… couldn't follow through, this email is for you.

Because the problem wasn't my plan, my discipline, willpower, or even my work ethic.

It was my identity.

And until I fixed that, no plan was going to work.

Today I'm walking you through the exact 3-part exercise that got me unstuck. The same one I now have my clients run when they hit an identity wall.

It's not pretty. It took me hours. I cried writing parts of it.

But it worked.

Let's dive in 🚀

🧠 Why You Can't "Discipline" Your Way Out

Most people approach change the same way...

Find a plan, push hard, and hope willpower carries them through. Then they fall off, beat themselves up, and start over on Monday.

The problem isn't the plan. It's that the plan is fighting their identity.

If deep down you think you’re the kind of person who never sticks with anything, then every workout, food log, and early wake-up is going to feel miserable.

It's going to feel like a punch in the junk. And you're going to lose that fight. Not because you're weak, but because identity always wins.

It's a principle I come back to over and over with clients:

Discipline fails when your identity disagrees.

You don't need more discipline; you need a new identity. And here's the part most people miss: you can't just decide to have one.

You have to do the work to build one.

That's what these three exercises are for. They're simple, they're free, and they can be done in an hour or two.

But most people, especially the ones who need them most, will skip them.

And that’s why most people never change.

1️⃣ Name and Banish Your Weaker Self

You can't fix what you won't name.

This first exercise sounds simple, but most people refuse to do it.

Write a brutally honest description of the version of you that's holding you back: the one who flinches, hides, makes excuses, and always has a perfectly reasonable story for why this won't work.

Then give him a name.

I called mine Little John.

Here's a snippet of what I wrote about him (heads up: raw journal entry, not polished for an audience):

Reading that back years later still hits me like a slap in the face.

Little John was real. He was the version of me that wanted to quit, the voice that told me online business was impossible and I should beg my in-person clients to come back instead of doing the harder, scarier thing.

Naming him gave me power. Because once you name the voice, you can recognize it the next time it shows up, and you can choose not to listen.

Winston Churchill famously referred to his depression as the black dog.

It was the dark, heavy version of himself that tried to drain his energy, confidence, and resolve. Yet despite battling that inner darkness, he helped lead Britain through World War II.

That’s the lesson: even strong people battle weak versions of themselves.

Your turn: Open a doc and write a page or two on your weakest self.

Get specific about what he looks like, the lies he tells you when you're tired, and the excuses he makes when things get hard. Give him a name.

2️⃣ Define Your Strongest Identity

Now you flip it.

Step 1 was the version of you that's holding you back; Step 2 is the version of you that future-you would be proud of.

This isn't about vague affirmations or telling yourself "I'm going to be more disciplined."

It's about building an actual character: specific, vivid, embodied. Someone you can step into when you need to.

I called mine Action Jackson.

I described his posture, his breathing, his mindset, how he handled obstacles, and how he carried himself in a room. Here's a snippet:

That description became a blueprint.

• When I'd catch myself slumping in a chair after a long day, I'd remember Action Jackson sits up straight.
• When I didn't want to make a sales call, I'd remember Action Jackson doesn't let his emotions dictate his behavior.

Tiny corrections, made dozens of times a day, eventually become who you actually are.

Your turn: Open a new doc and write your strongest self in vivid detail.

Cover the posture, voice, and decisions he or she makes. How they handle stress and how they show up at home and at work. Give them a cool name too.

3️⃣ Write the Goodbye Letter

This is the part that surprised me.

Step 1 names him; Step 2 builds his replacement; Step 3 is the official break-up.

You're going to write a letter, in your strongest identity's voice, to your weakest. Tell them their services are no longer needed, tell them why, and tell them what's coming next.

Here's how mine started:

I closed it with one line:

Then I read it out loud.

I'm not gonna lie, it felt ridiculous at first. I was a grown man reading a goodbye letter to an imaginary version of myself in an empty apartment.

But something shifted.

The next time that voice showed up in my head, I had a different response. Not "I can't do this" or "what if I fail," but simply: we already had this conversation.

Your turn: Write the letter, read it out loud, and save it somewhere you'll see it again. That letter becomes your new standard.

🏁 Wrap

Here's the part nobody tells you about identity work: it's not a one-time exercise.

I'm doing this again right now.

Action Jackson 1.0 was the broke entrepreneur trying to build a successful online fitness business and climb out of $70K worth of debt.

Action Jackson 2.0 is the CEO, coach, content creator, husband, father, and athlete trying to build a company without losing his family.

Same process, different identity.

If last week's email landed for you, this week is the work.

Don't try to do all three exercises in one sitting.

Pick one, sit with it, and be honest. Cry if you need to (I sure did).

Then come back next week.