Dabble and Slay
"Start with what you have." is a nice sentiment. Comfortable. Safe. Logical. And it keeps most people exactly where they are.
The truth is, more often than not, "start with what you have" has a high risk of creating more mediocrity than momentum.
The gurus who preach it didn't build their life, career, or legacy that way. But they say it because it sounds humble…not because it's true. They didn't start from zero. They started from risk.
They bought tools, invested money they couldn't fully justify, learned what they had to, and evolved through pressure.
Not through comfort, but through commitment.
The Myth of "Just Start"
"Just start" works when the goal is to test curiosity. But if your goal is mastery: business, craft, health…anything - then starting cheap often means staying cheap.
People love to romanticize humble beginnings but rarely talk about what actually made the difference.
They took on more than they were ready for.
They built around a standard that scared them.
They upgraded early and learned through the process.
The "start small" advice is technically true but contextually dishonest. It's the safe version of the truth. The one that doesn't trigger guilt or demand sacrifice.
Because the progress won't come from safety. It'll come from the decision to send it or sit down.
Investment Changes Everything
The moment you invest in something…truly invest…you raise your standards overnight.
I suddenly started to care about lighting, colour science and audio when I bought what I considered to be a serious camera. For me, the idea of spending anything over $500 on a camera body crossed into investment territory. Overnight my attitude changed. I started to learn about exposure, white balance, aperture, codecs. I found out later what real high-end cameras cost…which still blows my mind.
My perception of the personal price shifted my outlook and attitude. What I perceived to be a high cost of entry forced my evolution. I’m still a novice at best.
Money doesn't have to be the main motivator, but it can be an amplifier. You start training differently when you go from a basic gym membership to hiring a personal trainer or a coach. Paying someone $70 an hour 3 times a week will do that.
You start treating your craft seriously when you buy real tools instead of improvising. You start learning how to manage money when you have skin in the game.
It's not the buying of the "things". It's the personal accountability you gain from investing more than you're accustomed to.
When something costs you, you value it. And when you value it, you grow.
The Truth Behind "Free Advice"
Most gurus who tell you to "just start" are running businesses built on that message. But it's a marketing script…not a life principle. It lowers resistance, widens the funnel, and creates a lower barrier for entry creating future customers.
But the people giving that advice didn't hang around at the beginner level very long. They might've started small, but they invested hard once they knew their direction.
They didn't build six-figure brands, relationships, physiques, or peace of mind by staying in the shallow end.
They built it by committing more than they were comfortable losing.
The moment you invest outside your comfort zone, everything shifts.
Edge Cases Aren't Strategies
Yes, some people made it with less. Pure grit, luck, timing…whatever you want to call it.
And sure, maybe you could be that person. But I can't build my plan around being the exception. I have to figure out and build it around what actually works. Find where I can improve on quality, consistency, and investment and action them.
If I fail, it won't be because I didn't bet on myself early enough.
It will be because I just wasn't good enough.
Gear and Standards
This principle applies to everything.
If you're a craftsman, tools matter.
If you're an athlete, recovery matters.
If you're a business owner, systems matter.
The point isn't to buy luxury and convenience but to remove bottlenecks and excuses.
If you start with the best you can afford vs what you have, it removes the buffer between intention and action.
You'll either rise to meet the standards, or you'll expose how serious you really are. It will reveal what's hobby and what's mission.
When you put real effort, real time, or real money into something, you find out how much you really want "the thing" real fast.
That's worth more than saving a few bucks.
Compression and Friction
The goal should be to compress time and remove friction.
Every upgrade, resource and choice should be about reducing time and friction to achieve the goal. Not to skip the grind but to make sure the grind is moving in the right direction.
If a mentor, a system or piece of equipment can cut a year of trial and error into six months - take it. Because time is the only thing you can't refund. This isn't about impatience. It's about efficiency. At some point, you realize you're not paying for comfort or shortcuts anymore...you're paying to trim the fat.
The Verdict
Start with the best you can afford.
Not the flashiest, not the most expensive. The best you can reasonably commit to without lying to yourself. The amount is relative to your situation. It's the psychology behind it.
Everyone claims they want to slay the dragon until it gets hard. Everyone says they want the health, the wealth, the growth. But if you keep the cost of entry cheap, you'll have an endless supply of excuses. So force yourself outside the cost comfort zone.
The moment you commit serious resources — the amount you don't haggle over or wait for a sale on — you find out how serious you really are.
That's the filter. The truth.
The difference between dabbling and doing.
We either slay the Dragon or shut up about it.
