Dear Legacy… Stop Romanticizing the Grind | Build Without Burning Out | Ep 7

Dear Legacy… Stop Romanticizing the Grind

In today’s culture, exhaustion is often celebrated as proof of ambition. Social media glorifies hustle, long hours, and nonstop work as the only path to success. But what if that mindset is leading more people toward burnout than legacy?

In this episode of Dear Legacy, Kevin B. the Brand challenges the idea that grinding nonstop is the ultimate measure of success. Using the simple reminder that we all have the same 24 hours just like when the clocks change during daylight savings Kevin explores the difference between meaningful hard work and self-destructive hustle.

This conversation dives into the hidden costs of hustle culture, the difference between discipline and chaos, and why sustainable ambition is essential if you want to build something that truly lasts.

Because real legacy isn’t built through exhaustion it’s built through intention, patience, and consistency over time.

If you’ve ever felt pressure to constantly grind, push harder, or prove your commitment through burnout, this episode will challenge you to rethink what success actually looks like.

Why You Should Watch / Listen

If you’ve ever felt like the only way to succeed is to grind nonstop, sacrifice sleep, and stay constantly busy this episode is for you.

Kevin B. the Brand breaks down the difference between hard work and hustle culture, and why many people are chasing exhaustion instead of building something meaningful.

This episode will challenge the way you think about time, discipline, ambition, and success and remind you that the goal isn’t just to work hard, but to build a life and legacy that actually lasts.

Sound  Bites

"Are we grinding efficiently?"

"Being busy is not productive."

"Success without peace, is it truly success?"

Chapters & Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction to Legacy Building 

12:02 - Hard Work vs. Self-Destruction 

17:10 - Invisible Costs of the Grind

23:27 - Discipline vs. Hustle

29:08 - Sustainable Ambition and Long-Term Vision

38:27 - Redefining the Grind

46:12 - Building a Lasting Legacy

If this episode gave you something to think about, subscribe to Dear Legacy, drop a comment, follow us on social media, and share it with someone building their legacy in real time.

Till then Go Define it, Go Build it, Live it.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Bragging about being tired all the time, it kind of makes exhaustion look heroic. But don't get it confused. Being busy is not productive. Take this journey with me. Let's define it. Let's build it. Let's live it together. Welcome back, guys. How is everybody doing? It's your boy Kevin B. The Brand, and you're back on Dear Legacy. Oh man, the open letter open scribes to ourselves, to our past, to our future, where we're learning how to define it, learning how to live it, learning how to build legacy in real time. This is episode seven, guys, and this is how we're gonna kick it off today. Dear Legacy. On Monday, I did a thought of the day video that actually got me thinking, and that's what sparked this episode, right? Because I want to dive a little bit deeper into the thought of the day, and you know, just just thinking more about how we're building, defining, and living this legacy in real time. On Sunday, the clocks changed and we sprung forward, which means technically we gained the hour of daylight in the evening, but we lose one at night, right? And every year people react the same exact way. Some people are excited because it's lighter, longer. Some people are frustrated because they feel as though they lost some sleep. Some people don't even notice. But when you really think about it, nothing really changed. It's the same 24 hours you had yesterday. It's the same 24 hours I was here in the fall, and the same 24 hours I'll be here next week. The clock might have moved, the hand dials moved, but time didn't. And that's what made me start thinking about how we talk about time in our lives, especially when it comes to work, ambition, building something, chasing goals. Because somewhere along the way, we started believing the idea that if you're not grinding all the time, you're somehow falling behind. But what is grinding actually, right? You could be grinding efficiently, and I think that's the difference that we seem to forget about. Social media definitely feeds that mindset also of grinding. You see people bragging about the little sleep they got, you see the people talking about no days off, you see people wearing exhausting as if it's some badge of honor. And even I'm I'm I fall victim to it. I subscribe to that mantra and that narrative. But don't get me wrong, I believe in hard work, I believe in discipline, I believe in sacrifice. If you're building something meaningful in your life and chasing after something, those things actually matter. They do. But what I started noticing is that a lot of people are romanticizing the grind part. Grind. That word grind. I just touched on it a little bit. Are we grinding efficiently? See, they're over here glorifying exhaustion as if when chasing the hustle in your dreams, the more tired you are, the more successful you must be. I don't think it works like that. But the truth is, just like the clock changing on Sunday, we're all we all still have the same 24 hours. Nobody got more time, nobody got less time. The real difference is how we're choosing to live inside those hours. And if we're not careful, we can spend so much time chasing the success that we forget to ask ourselves what the chase is actually costing us. Because if the grind costs you your peace, if it costs your health, if it costs you your relationships, if it costs if it costs you time with people that you say that you're doing it for, if it's costing you to lose yourself, then what exactly are you building? So today let's dive a little deeper into these thoughts. Because, like you, I need to hear it out loud, especially in a world that celebrates this hustle nonstop. Why we need to stop romanticizing the grind and start thinking more intentionally about how we spend the time that we're given with who we want to give it to. Because the real question isn't about how hard you're grinding, because we have to grind. I understand that. The real question is whether the grind is actually building the life that you say that you want. It kind of let's just drift right into what we're what I want to talk about. You know, we could start right off the top with the first with the first segment. The lie of the hustle culture. And I think the big part of the reason people feel this pressure to grind nonstop is because of the culture we're surrounded by. The things that we see every day. You see it all the time. I like I said, postings like no days off, while you sleep, I grind, sleep is for the week. Look, I get it. We only have 24 hours, and in those 24 hours, we're trying to be as we're trying to work so hard to get to these goals that we're chasing, but it comes down to how efficient are we doing this? Because discipline matters, hard work matters, but somewhere along the way we started confusing being busy with actually building something or doing something in the pursuit of these dreams, in the pursuit of these goals, in order to leave a lasting, impactful legacy. I said it before, it is I'm not bad mouthing the grind. I understand you have to grind. But it's the it's how they glorify it on social media and show you those that that 30 seconds, the 90 seconds. But what about the other 23 hours, 59 minutes or 58, 30, 58 minutes and 30 seconds? What are you doing with that time? The no days off. Clearly, we do take some days off. We do go on vacations, don't we? We gotta have some me time, you have to get your mental ready. Cause this this grind thing, it it's it's worth it when you get to where you're trying to get to. I get that. I want you to get there. But bragging about being tired all the time, it kind of makes the hustle co the hustle culture makes exhaustion look heroic. But don't get it confused. Being busy is not productive. I told you, even I subscribe to this mantra sometimes, and I know it's wrong. Knowing that it's wrong. Oh, all I need is four hours of sleep, and I'm good. That's cool. But what I'm not telling the people is I'm a king of naps. I'll take me a 20-minute power nap, refresh, reset the battery, and go. But that's the part. Let's not glorify the no days off. Yes, I'm always grinding. Yes, I'm always working, but I'm now starting to do it efficiently. While you sleep, I'm working. I mean, yeah, maybe for a couple hours. That's because I know I got deadlines that I want to meet. There's goals that I'm trying to that I'm trying to reach. So, yes, some people they want to get there eight, nine hours. I can't afford to do that all the time. See, that's the difference. All the time. This is what the people are not telling you behind the scenes, right? I'm gonna I'm gonna peek behind this curtain for you real quick. There's days where, yes, I'm gonna go off of four hours of sleep and catch me a couple power naps and then the next day. But then there's also days where I'm getting my seven hours. I'm doing seven? I don't know if I get seven. I might get six or so. Again, being busy does not equal being effective. Being tired does not equal being productive. You're just tired. And once you once you get tired like that, the the constant hustle actually hurts the focus. We out here chasing validation instead of results. We want to make sure that it looks good for the gram. And some of us, yes, we're doing the we're doing the work that matches what we're putting up on the gram. Some of us is a facade. I just told you in real life, real life, right here, right now. I sleep when I grind, no days off. I only need four hours of sleep. What I don't tell people is I'm taking power naps. I will quickly take a power nap. But that's that's that's a difference, right? Nobody, I I have to shut down the brain at some point. At some point, I have to put all the devices away. That don't mean I stop grinding. Maybe at that point I'm in the journal. I'm writing down some ideas, I'm writing down some thoughts. Some people are not building success, they're building an image of success. I don't want to do that. I don't want you to do that. Building an image, what does that do for anybody? That's not that's not lasting. That's not changing the lives of anybody. That's not living up to the legacy, the three dots. Being exhausted doesn't automatically mean you're building something meaningful. A lot, to include myself, are aren't chasing the progress. We're chasing the appearance of the hustle. It looks good. It looks like we're busy. If it looks like I'm busy, then that means I'm truly busy and I'm so successful and I'm doing all this. I'm the we're falling short. We're not all the way successful like we want to be. Would some kill to be in certain people's positions? Absolutely. I always tell people if this is where I plateau at, then it's a good, it's a good life. I'm not gonna say hand lie. The problems that I have, the things that I complain about, somebody else would kill to be in. But I know I want more, I know I can achieve more. So that's that's why I keep going. It's not about the appearance. Yes, I'm gonna post it on socials, but this is where I give another platform to behind the scenes of what that what that really looks like, what the grind culture really looks like. The best way for me, I can't tell you that's the best way for you. Because even with my best way, I'm still developing that and realizing where I'm falling short at. Because don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that hard work is a problem, hard work is necessary, but there's a difference between working hard and destroying yourself, trying to prove that you are. Let's jump into the next segment: hard work versus self-destruction. And let me be clear again, I'm not against hard work. When you're chasing something, hard work is part of the process. Hard work is the grind. We just shortened it to one word, grind. But that shorten, that shortening that we just did, bringing the word down to from hard work and doing this and doing that, and writing down the notes and and putting it out for the gram, knowing where we fall short, having those internal conversations or internal storms, the discipline, that's key. The discipline is so key because once you stay disciplined to this pathway that you're on, once you stay disciplined and you're in chase of achieving these goals, it makes the grind a little bit easier. But even in that, you have to realize that sacrifice is still necessary. Sacrifice is still necessary. Like I said, this no-sleep culture and all this, it's not to be exhausted, and the more exhausted you are, that's the more successful you're going to be. It's, yes, there's gonna be days where I'm only getting four hours. And then there's gonna be another day where I'm gonna get six or seven hours. But the days that I'm getting four hours, I gotta let you know. I I'm taking one, if not two power naps. 20 minutes. 20 minutes. Close your eyes. Snore a little bit, wake up, refreshed, ready to go. Don't do I mean, different different people have different opinions on how long a nap should be. I I wouldn't cross over 20. That's that's for me. Anything over 20, then you okay. I'm not gonna go into the science of it all. But but the difference between working hard and destroying yourself, it's it's a thin line. Because we want to put the hard work, we understand that there's gonna be sacrifice along the way, and the sacrifice comes in many forms, many forms. It's not just the lack of sleep, it's the mental part of it, the drain, the suck, the being, the the failures along the way. Which I don't like to use the word failure sometimes, but I know that's what's gonna resonate more, right? For me, I look at them as lessons. Everything is a lesson. Right, wrong, or indifferent. Whether it hurt, whether it sucked, it's the lesson. A lesson for you to figure out what you could fix, what you can't fix. You see, the problem is some people are grinding without direction in the first place. That's where the thing starts to go awry. This is how we start to find our problems in certain situations. Some people are trying to grind just to prove something. To prove that you're better than this, to prove that you're better than that, to prove that you're better than your circumstances. Who are you proving it to? If that's not part of your path, if you your plan, who are you proving it to besides yourself?

SPEAKER_00 15:12

And then you got some people that just gonna grind because they don't know when to stop.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

There's there's a there's a in business, they always say you build something to sell it. There's an end point to everything. To sell it, maybe to pass it down, whatever the end point is, you know what it is. But some people they just be grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding. But there's no end in sight to the grind. Because they never sat down, they never actually put it down on paper, in their phone, in their notes, in their journal. This is the goals. This is what it looks like when I obtain it. Because a lot of us, that's the thing, also. We obtained success. We made it to level one, we unlocked it, we unlocked level two, we unlocked level three, and then now we've reached a goal. We reached what we wanted it to be. Then we don't know what to do because we never we never added that part. We know what the success part is, but we never really added, like, okay, when we get there, now what? Now what? There's a difference between chasing after your dreams and running yourself into the ground, trying to prove them, whoever them is, that you're grinding and hustling.

SPEAKER_00 16:36

Them.

SPEAKER_01 16:39

The photos, the videos, again, I fall victim to it too. But that's a society that we live in. It is what it is. It's not wrong, it's not wrong, it's not right, it is what it is. But understand the differences between the two. Hard work builds success, obsessions destroys balance. And when people are sitting here romanticizing the grind, they almost never talk about the cost. We talked about the self part, the difference between hard work and self-destruction. But let's jump into the invisible cost of the grind. Because truth be told, every lifestyle comes with a price. It does. And while you're sitting there grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding with no vi somewhat of a vision or no vision in mind, but or trying to prove to them, trying to prove to the parents, trying to prove to the doubters, the haters, you know what is gonna create? Burnout, stress, health issues, mental fatigue. That is burnout, health, stress, mental fatigue. All that's going to do is make that thing that you were chasing after, it's it becomes more of a daunting task. You start losing the passion for the thing that you loved. You start losing the passion for the for that chase, for the ambition, for the thing that you was chasing after. People chasing success but losing peace at the same time, it it it shouldn't be that way. Because success without peace, is it truly success to you? Because peace is part of my success. This is what I'm doing all this for. The financial gains and all that stuff that comes with it. But it's the peace of mind and knowing that you don't have to worry about you and the next, you and your family.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

The thing is, you could achieve everything you said you wanted and still feel completely drained. Just think about it.

SPEAKER_01 19:15

You could achieve everything that you said you wanted and still feel completely drained. That's the peace leaving. That's the pa that's you losing the passion for it. It becomes it becomes, and I don't want to say it becomes work. Right? If success is costing you peace, it stops being success. My opinion. But then who's really paying the price? Because the grind doesn't just affect you, it's affecting your family. Those of us that have kids, it's going to affect them because they notice certain things. What we're doing right now is shaping their thoughts, their ideas, how they feel about certain things. Your close friends are watching. Your family feels the absence. Your friends are gonna feel the absence. It's okay if you're doing it right. And when I say it's okay, because we know there's going to come with certain chasing something that you're passionate about is going to come with certain sacrifices. You're not gonna always be with your friends, you're not gonna make it to every family event. Sometimes you're going to miss kids' functions, you're going to miss family functions. If you're not the type of person that's communicating with your partner right now from the beginning, it's going to feel an emotional distance for them. Because they don't understand, because you never sat down and and and and made them understand or explain to them, not made them, but explain to them, hey, this is the plan, this is the vision, this is how I'm going to try to execute this. Along the way, if this happens, maybe I'll need to pivot this. Or even if you don't have that answer right then and there, when when the this is happening, are you going back and telling them, hey, the plan's changed? See, people love to say that they're grinding for the family, but it's never with them. You're saying you're doing it for the family, but they rarely see you. You have to carve in that time. Because at the top of the show, I talked about it. Time did not change. Change. It's still moving forward. If they're not seeing you, then we might, and you're saying that you're doing it for your legacy, whatever part of that legacy is. I know for me, family is very big in it. So I carve out those times. You have to. Part of the plan is carving out the time. That's the most valuable asset that you have is your time. Grinding for your family means nothing if they never experience you.

SPEAKER_00 22:35

And this is where people misunderstand something important. Discipline versus the hustle. There's a difference between that.

SPEAKER_01 22:46

The discipline and the hustle. See the hustle part of this whole thing, when you're out here chasing it, it's chaotic as fuck. It is chaotic. It is ghetto. It's going to knock you down. It's gonna punch you in the face. And the moment you think you cleared, nope. Sorry. Those of us that's in this big old age of 30, 30 plus, remember the board games? You think you're going, you're going, you're going, you're going, and you put up a card and tell you go back 10 spaces. 10 spaces? I almost landed on go. Go directly to jail. Don't, don't, don't, don't collect 200. What are you talking about? I was right there. That's what life is. That's what life is. We're all on a game board and we're trying to get to Park Street. We're trying to get to North Carolina, we're trying to buy up the whole thing and be successful. But in that whole process, chaotic as fuck. But here's the inside scoop. The discipline part of it all, that's structured. If you structure it and you're disciplined to it, it's less chaotic. I'm not going to tell you it's not going to be chaotic because it's still going to be chaotic with all the plans that you'll have and all the discipline that you got going on, it'll still be chaotic. It just becomes less chaotic. The hustle part of this whole thing, it tends to lean more towards the validation part. We hustling because we've we want that validation. We want that attaboy. We want the people to see. Look at me. Look at what I'm doing. I'm grinding. But that part of the hustle is just going to lead to burnout. It's just going to lead to stress. It's going to lead to health issues, and it's going to eventually not let you get to your end result, your end goal, whatever it is for you. But when you got that discipline part, not only does it make it less chaotic for you, it also sustains the progress. The discipline part allows you to see the benchmarks being met. And then when we get to the quarter, how are we adjusting? Because that's part of the discipline. Part of the discipline is knowing when to adjust. Legacy requires discipline. It requires it. When you're chasing a goal, it requires discipline. We sit here on my other show. I talk about these NBA players, these NFL players, and these college kids that's about to go and fulfill their dreams of being a professional athlete. They had goals, but they had to stay disciplined on the track. They got to get up in the morning and go do those workouts. They got to stay late after practice. They got to do the film sessions. That's the discipline. They can't just rely on talent. A lot of us have innate God-given talents. Me, I feel as though behind this mic, that's my innate God-given talent. But I still got to work at it. I still got to be disciplined with it. I still got to show up consistently. Even my out-of-shape fat ass. We could all sprint for a short time. But legacy is built by the people who can run the long race, the marathons. Nip named his whole company Marathon Continues. Think about that. The marathon continues. The marathon is 26 miles when you're running it. It beats down the best of us, 26.2, I believe it is, to run it. It beats down the best of us. It takes you a year to get ready for to run a marathon. To torture yourself for some of us that are not runners, to torture yourself for a whole year to prepare for three hours, for three hours, four hours, depending on how fast you are. Maybe five hours for some of us. Six, maybe also. But seriously, just think about that. You have to put in that work, you have to put in that discipline. Anybody could get up and run and sprint for a short period of time. But the legacy part of it, that's for the people who could who could do the long race, who could run the marathons. And then when they finish the marathon and knowing that it still continues, the marathon continues. That's why. Because once you finish, you you reach the pinnacle part, right? Does that mean you're done? You finish, life's over? No. What's next? Hustle chases into attention. Discipline builds results. And if what you're chasing matters, it has to be sustainable. Sustainable ambition. In this process of chasing ambition, it has to be sustainable. It has to be sustainable. You can't be disciplined, you can't turn down the chaos, you can't do none of that stuff if it's not sustainable. How does it become sustainable? Simple tasks, journals, notebooks, notes in your iPhone.

SPEAKER_00 28:40

You have to actually put down and plan out the long-term vision.

SPEAKER_01 28:46

Long term. I'm talking about long term. Not next week, not next month, not in the quarter. Five years. Five years. It's gonna, when I when you sit down, you write down this goal, you and you're being realistic with yourself. You're sitting here like, it's gonna take me about five years to get to this goal. But in those five years, what am I doing? What are the benchmarks that I need to reach to know that I'm still on pathway for this five years? Right? Then the next the next key part of this whole thing is protecting your health. Because when you do the long-term vision, you're starting to build a system. People that have systems and discipline behind to maintain the system, that's when the chaos comes down. That's when you're not chasing after validation. And you're protecting your health in that same manner because now you're not doing the burnouts, you're not getting stressed. The burnouts you probably won't have. Stress is still gonna come with it. Stress is still gonna come with it. I'm not gonna say here lie and sugar cold, oh, the stress is gonna disappear. But you're protecting your health in the sense of it's less stressful because it's not so chaotic. It's less stressful and it's harder to get burnt out because, oh, you know what? Cool, I'm meeting these benchmarks. Now you got a dopamine going. All right, I hit that. I hit that. Now I want to get to the next part. Okay, this is what the vision calls for. This is what the plan is. Then when you hit them lows, you're like, all right, let me go back to the plan. I'm not gonna come down on myself. I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna look to see where where did it go wrong? How can I pivot? What lesson was taught? What can I take from that? You're also protecting your creativity, you're protecting those relationships, especially the family ones, especially the friends. The pace and the manner that you're going, that matters. Pace matters. You can't say that you're gonna try to accomplish this lofty goal in a year and a half. Is that realistic? When you were doing your research and not looking at the viral moments, not thinking about the oh my God, that happened overnight. Go back and do your research. That athlete, it took them 20 years to get here. 20 years, nonstop, discipline, just to make it to the professional level, because that was their dream. That was their that was their legacy chasing. True success takes years. Years. I don't care what anybody tells you on social media, I don't care. Can certain things happen in 90 days? Yes. You could achieve something in 90 days. But if the ultimate result was to just go viral and to get the subs and start getting monetized and get that next promotion, whatever it is, if it took only 90 days, kudos to you. I think you need to make the vision a little bit bigger. Because if you could obtain whatever your dream is in 90 days, let's try to make the vision a little bit bigger. Legacy ain't built overnight. Mm-mm. It's not. You can make decisions. You can make decisions that change your legacy overnight. You could do things, you could hit benchmarks, but it's not gonna be overnight. You can't build a legacy at a place, at a pace that destroys you. The goal isn't to win fast, the goal is to win. The goal is to last. Doing it fast, doing it quick, cool. Alright. Is it going to last though? What what is your systems that you have in place? Do you know what your end goal is? One of the most underrated things in life is presence. We've talked about this. Part of the things that shape me in life is about presence. My dad not being around. And now being a dad, I want to make sure that I'm fully present. Being a better husband, being a better friend, being a better brother, a better son. The power of presence. That's one of the most valuable things you can give to people in your life is time and presence. What does presence mean to you? Presence doesn't mean in the physical form. When you're there, are you mentally present? When you're around and you're chasing this thing, are you appreciating the progress along the time? Along the way. I know we're chasing after these milestones, but we can't just always be chasing the next one. Sometimes we have to slow down and be in the moment. Be present. Look at what you've accomplished along the way. The moments are there. The achievements will be there. But be present when they're happening. Not in just a physical form, be present in the mental, be present emotionally.

SPEAKER_00 34:33

You achieved it. You hit that milestone.

SPEAKER_01 34:41

One thing for sure that I know and growing up, and what I'm trying to make sure that is that is pres present in Caden's life as well is kids remembered the presence. They remember that. They remember the presence more than the presence. I could buy you anything that you within reason, anything that you wanted and asked for. I could buy that. That's easy. But am I building a life where you're going to remember the memories? The stuff that they can't take away from you, the stuff that doesn't get out of style, the stuff that you can't outgrow. It's not just the kids, it's your spouse. Are we building these memories with them? Do we pause and carve out time for our friends and family? Yes, I understand part of the sacrifice is going to miss some things, but we can't miss everything. We can't miss everything. We have to show up for those that we say that we're doing it for. We have to show up for those that support us. We have to show up for those that are pouring into us. Because they're part of this journey also. They're sacrificing too. Their sacrifice is just different. Their sacrifice is knowing that they're going to lose our time with you. But they're going to figure out, trying to figure out ways on how they could get some of that time back with you.

SPEAKER_00 36:05

Because once you're gone, they can't get that time back.

SPEAKER_01 36:12

We can't wish that we were more present later on. Or they know that I love them because I bought them everything that they need. All the bills are taken care of. Time. That's the most valuable asset that you have. But if you're giving it to everything and everyone else, they'll remember. Some of the most important moments in life don't come with money being attached to them. They just don't. I know for me, some of my best memories don't have any type of monetary value. Just shooting shit, hanging out with the friends, riding bikes through the parks. I put the travel on there also. I love seeing different parts of the world, but that there's a monetary value. But when you get there, there's certain experiences, certain memories that you're building with the person that you're traveling with, with your family.

SPEAKER_00 37:14

Legacy is built in the moments that people remember.

SPEAKER_01 37:20

So maybe, maybe the real grind isn't what we've been taught. Maybe the real grind isn't what we've been seeing all all day, every day. Things that we've been trying to grapple with. Right? Maybe it's time to redefine the grind. Maybe the real grind isn't working nonstop. Maybe we gotta consider that the real grind is showing up consistently.

SPEAKER_00 37:57

The real grind is protecting what matters. The real grind is staying disciplined over years.

SPEAKER_01 38:08

I need to hear that part. Over years. Because some things we we're we're looking at, oh, we made it 30 days, we made it 60 days, we made it 90 days, made it 120, made it to the second quarter, but we're not even filled, we're not even fulfilling the full potential for one year, let alone years, but then be mad that we're not successful, then be mad that we haven't reached certain certain pinnacles of this thing. Discipline and consistency is over years, not over moments, not over a short period of time. It takes years. The real grind is being patient with the growth. The real grind is actually building something meaningful, staying grounded through success. The real grind is staying committed without losing yourself. Let's start to wrap this up. What does it mean to you? That's the segment before I close this out. What does it mean to you? Because I got a couple questions. Because I want to flip it back to you for a second. Because even in talking, even in going through my notes and we're talking and having this conversation, I'm sitting here thinking, as I'm saying it, I'm thinking like, this is where I'm falling short. That's where I'm falling short. Because it's easy to look at the hustle culture and point the fingers at everybody else, right? Or they're romanticizing it. But I'm sitting here thinking about it, like, why point the fingers at somebody else? Let's let's let's let's use the thumbs. Not the fingers, let's use the thumbs. Let's point it back at us. The real question is where might we be doing the same thing in our own lives? The real growth usually happens when we pause long enough to ask ourselves the same questions. Question one. Where in your life might you be romanticizing the grind? I told you where I was that I uh while you sleep, I grind. I only need four hours of sleep. Now I'm dog ass tired. But then I'm not telling you that I'm taking naps. Right? I'm not telling you that I'm taking out breaks for myself to protect my peace, protect my mental. So I don't get burned out and stressed and make, and it feels like work, and now I don't want to do this anymore. You know, where in your life where you might be romanticizing the grind. Not because you're doing something wrong, but because somewhere along the way we were thought, we were taught that exhaustion means progress. And sometimes we keep pushing ourselves harder than necessary. Not because the work demands it, but because we feel like slowing down means we're falling behind. Let me tell you right now, you're not falling behind. I promise you, you're not falling behind. You're only falling behind if when you go back and check your notes and you're about three, four milestones behind. But then when you're three, four milestones behind, stop, pause, think about it. What happened in that last 30, 60 days that created that pause, and you didn't you weren't able to achieve what you were trying to achieve in the timeframe that you needed to to hit the deadlines, to get through the five-year plan. You're not falling behind. This is your pivot moment. This is the moment where you can sit and actually restructure the plan. And it could simply be one change that'll get you right back on track of this chaotic track that we're talking about. Here's my second question. Are you chasing exhaustion or are you actually chasing after your goals and dreams? Because being busy and being productive aren't always the same thing. Sometimes the strongest move you can make isn't pushing harder. It's stepping back and asking yourself if the work you're doing is truly moving you forward. Is it? Just ask yourself. Am I just being busy or am I being productive? Is the work that I'm doing right now actually moving me forward? Here's my next question. Are you sacrificing the right things or the wrong ones? Let it sit for a second. Are you sacrificing the right things or the wrong ones? Sacrifice is part of the chase and building a legacy. Time, energy, discipline, those things matter. But sacrificing your peace, sacrificing your health, sacrificing the people you say that you're doing it for, those might be the wrong sacrifices. We might have to look back and see how do we adjust the things that we're sacrificing? How do we move forward without losing ourselves and sacrificing the wrong things? And they might not be the wrong things to you. You can only tell yourself what actual, what are you actually sacrificing and is it worth it to you? Now, I could all those things I listed, yes, it comes with the journey. It comes with the comes with the grind, it comes with the hard work, it comes with the discipline. We know that. Sacrifice is part of this journey. But what are we sacrificing? One last question. Are you building something that will last? Or are you just trying to prove something right now? Seriously. Are you building something that will last, or are you just building something for right now? If we're just doing it for the right now, again, kudos to you. You're winning, you're achieving. There's nothing wrong with it. I'm not even mad at it. I'm not, I'm not being, I'm it sounds like I'm being sarcastic, but I'm not being sarcastic. I promise you. If that's what the vision is for you, then that's what the vision is for you. I don't believe that legacy is built in moments of exhaustion. Legacy is built through patience, through consistency, through showing up over time. Legacy was never built on people who burnt out. It's built on the people who stay the course that keep showing up, that keep thriving, that understands that I'm going to sacrifice this, but I'm going to adjust to not sacrifice it completely gone to where I'm just now solo dolo. All this work was just for me. Let's wrap it up. Just like we talked about earlier when the clocks changed. The clock moved, but time didn't. We all still have the same 24 hours. The real question is, how hard are you going to grind inside those hours? And remember, we changed the definition of grind. Grind is hard work, grind is discipline, grind is minimal sacrifice, grind is bringing down the level of chaos. The real question is whether the way you're living inside of those hours. That's what I want you to focus on. How are we living inside of those hours? And is it actually building you the life that you want? Because the truth is, hard work will always be part of this process. Discipline is always going to matter. Sacrifice will always be necessary. Exhaustion isn't the goal. Chaos isn't the gale, isn't the goal. Burning yourself out, trying to prove something to the world, that's not the goal either. The goal is to build something meaningful and to build it in a way that you can actually sustain it. Remember, legacy isn't built in a sprint, it's built over time. It's built over the patience, through discipline, through consistency, and most importantly, through intention. Being intentional about the way you spend your time, being intentional about what you're building, and being intentional about the people that you're building it for. The grind is supposed to serve your life, not consume it. Because at the end of the day, success isn't about isn't just about what you achieve. It's about the life you're living while you're achieving it. I saw y'all, but I thought we are trying to achieve. No, yeah, we are trying to achieve. But it's about what how you're living while you're trying to achieve it. So work hard, stay disciplined, stay committed to the vision. But don't romanticize the grind so much that you forget why you started in the first place. This is why we define what it is so we could build something meaningful while making sure that it's sustainable and every day we live it so that it actually reflects the legacy you want to leave behind. That's what we're doing. Man. This episode gave you something to talk about. Go ahead and subscribe to Dead Legacy. Hit the bell button so you can know when a new episode drops. Drop a comment below, follow us on social media, and share with somebody that's building their legacy in real time. Till then, go define it, go build it, and make sure you keep living it. It's your boy Kevin Peter Brand. See you next week.