I wasted years chasing identity. I should've built instead

Nicolas Cava
Edited onEdited on Sep 23, 2025
Reading time1 minute

I wasted years chasing identity. I should've built instead.

Endless hours stuck in my own head: Who am I? What do I want to solve? Where is my zone of genius?

I watched videos. I drowned in endless content. I analyzed myself to death. And lost who I was.

I dug deep into myself. Learned a lot. But it turned into a rabbit hole. I made it into romanticized procrastination.

The hard truth? šŸ‘‰ You don't find yourself. You act yourself into existence.

āŒ Forget the next framework

āœ… Pitch unready āœ… Decide with imperfect information āœ… Launch it messy

Because chasing clarity has diminishing returns. I get it. You are scared. The only way out is through.

Your identity won't appear in a journal. It's carved into your scars.

Recent Notes

Tech

I run a US$400K operation on Apple Notes

I run a US$400K operation on Apple Notes. I follow one rule: Constantly and ruthlessly simplify how to do business. Subtract first. Add only what screams for...

Nicolas Cava

Nicolas Cava

Fractional CTO

Tech

I spent 15 years building teams

I spent 15 years building teams. Now I'm running the opposite in 2026. Pure AI agent-driven ops. Solo execution. Maximum margin. No noise. No waste. 100%...

Nicolas Cava

Nicolas Cava

Fractional CTO

Hiring

Your friends are terrible hires

Your friends are terrible hires. Not because they lack skill. Because you'll never treat them like employees. I did it years ago. Almost destroyed friendships...

Nicolas Cava

Nicolas Cava

Fractional CTO

Tech

I lied to 3 clients this week

I lied to 3 clients this week. Told them I was excited about our calls. The truth? I stared at the screen for 20 minutes. I have zero inspiration for this...

Nicolas Cava

Nicolas Cava

Fractional CTO

Nicolas Cava

Early-stage CTO helping founders build scalable software and teams from MVP to $5M+ ARR without burnout.

Stay in the loop

Weekly insights on engineering leadership, scaling teams, and building better software.

Support my work

Your support helps me keep my content free, independent, and consistently valuable.

Buy Me A Coffee

Ā© 2026 Nicolas Cava. All rights reserved.