leashed ambition

I listened to a fascinating interview between Ryan Holiday and Mark Manson the other day.

In case you don't know them:

Ryan's a NYT bestselling author who’s written 15+ books and founded the Daily Stoic...

And Mark wrote The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, which sold 15 million+ copies and co-authored Will Smith's memoir.

Anyway:

The topic of the conversation was what it *actually* takes to become successful…

And how it’s often pretty counterintuitive.

(Which I agree with 100%.)

At one point, Ryan mentioned something former U.S. President Lyndon Johnson once said about himself...

Specifically:

LBJ described himself as having a "killer instinct" but needing to keep it controlled.

His exact words were:

"You've got to have it, but keep it on a leash."

I’ve been reflecting on that ever since…

Because success absolutely requires having ambition, drive, and competitive fire.

The hunger to build something meaningful...

The relentless push to keep going when things get hard...

And the refusal to settle for anything mediocre.

That’s what a killer instinct means to me in the context of entrepreneurship.

But without a system to channel it productively…

Well, that same drive can become self-destructive.

You end up scattered... chasing every new tactic... burning out on busy work that doesn't move the needle…

And sacrificing the important for the urgent.

The leash is what separates controlled ambition from total chaos.

Most email list owners I talk to have the killer instinct…

They've got the ambition to build something meaningful and the drive to succeed.

But without a system to channel that energy...

They end up working on 47 different things at once.

None of which are actually moving them toward their goals.

This is exactly why I created my Personal Review System.

It acts as the "leash" for my ambition…

Channels my energy toward what actually matters...

And keeps me focused on high-leverage activities instead of letting my drive pull me in every direction.

The review questions force me to evaluate:

Is this ambition serving my goals... or just feeding my ego?

Am I building something sustainable... or just staying busy?

As we head into 2026...

Having a system to channel your ambition might be the most valuable thing you can install into your life and business.

So if you want to see how my Personal Review System works...

Then reply to this email with the word “REVIEW”.

I’ll send you the video walkthrough plus all the templates you need to duplicate it for yourself :)

Jim Hamilton

P.S:

If you want to check out the conversation between Ryan Holiday and Mark Manson, it’s a good one that’s also not 2+ hours long.

Unlike most podcasts these days lol

Here’s the YouTube link:

What It Takes To ACTUALLY Be Successful | Mark Manson and Ryan Holiday on the Daily Stoic Podcast

P.P.S:

For anyone celebrating NYE tonight and in need of some good tunes…

Fred again recently did a set in Dublin that’s now available on Apple TV.

I’m def gonna be checking it out 🤘

Here’s a teaser video

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