How To Start Hard Things (And Finish)

Hey, Do you believe you can move this Mountain?

Before you start a new skill, a new business, a new degree or even a new version of yourself — do you first ask, “Do I believe enough to make this work?”

This question was inspired by what Christ said in the Bible — specifically, about faith and absolute belief. Because honestly? That’s where everything begins.

hi. I’m Phoenixx

And it’s been a minute since I last shared anything via this newsletter.
Out of many things, overwhelm has been a big one for me. When I get overloaded, I just… log off.

But recently I thought — huh, why not write about that exact feeling? Why not just share the journey in its rawest form with people who might want to stick around? That was my initial goal, didn’t figure a way to balance between my “rants” and actually sharing value, to you … my readers.

Well… doing it anyhow.

the magic of thinking big

What you think… you attract.

The older I get, the more I realize how real that is.

Although when this is mentioned to some people, the response is something like “But I think about money every day, why don’t I have a lot of it?”

a valid question btw, hahaha.

But reading The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz made me realize: it’s not just about thinking something, it’s about what you believe deep down.

Because belief → thoughts → perception → actions → results, the chain starts from the inside. And it’s practically the same with learning anything.

If you don’t believe you can actually understand what you’re learning, you’ll approach it with resistance instead of curiosity, and that’ll make your journey a hard one.

Quick back story

Earlier this year, I switched careers, from marketing and growth to cybersecurity. Yes, an actual web3 cybersecurity girlie (clock ittt).

And honestly? It’s been hard asf.

From the confusion of the transition itself, my brain was literally trying to make sense of what was happening, to actually understand the code logic, to learning some fundamental maths (I used to hate maths with everything in me eh)

But months later, I look back and wonder, “why didn’t I just stop?”

The truth is, before I even started, I had already seen myself as someone who could do this. I had already proven to myself that I could get really good at something, through the skills I already built, the brands I worked with, and the people I learned from. That belief stayed, and it made quitting not even an option.

progress check

If you’ve been following me on X or TikTok, you’ve probably seen parts of this, but let me retell it properly:

— I went from absolute maths noob to understanding some core fundamentals (yes, even algebra)

— I started playing chess to train my logic. It helps me think steps ahead, which is literally what security research is about

— I went from struggling to even compile a contract → to building small projects (reveals soon).

little things I’ve learned along the way

— Learning is more mental than technical. If your mind is chaotic, your focus will be too. Calm first, code second.

— Repetition beats speed. Don’t rush through new concepts. Loop back. Revisit until it sticks naturally.

— Micro wins matter. Each contract, each small error fixed, each thing you finally “get it”.

— Community keeps you sane. Web3 is hard alone. Surround yourself with people who remind you why you started.

Regardless of what you’re learning, or even how early you are, Web3 is still full of open doors.

There’s room for devs, writers, designers, researchers, and thinkers. The game isn’t about being the smartest; it’s about staying long enough to become valuable.

finally …

The biggest mountain to move isn’t learning the syntax of any programming language; it’s believing you can.
Once that’s settled, the rest starts to move in your favor.
So before you start the next lesson, or open that new repo, ask yourself again: “Do I believe enough to make this work?”

Because once you do, the mountain moves.
— Phoenixx

See you at the next one.