NFA Finance

I think most people underestimate how difficult the beginning is.

Not because the work is harder.

Because everything is new.

There is no routine.

No momentum.

No proof.

No results.

You’re operating almost entirely on faith.

You write the first blog post without knowing if you’ll write a second.

You upload the first video without knowing if anyone will watch it.

You go live for the first time without knowing if anyone will show up.

That’s why the beginning feels so heavy.

Every action requires a decision.

Every day requires motivation.

Every step feels uncertain.

But something interesting starts happening once you survive those early days.

The habit begins taking over.

The decision becomes automatic.

The resistance gets smaller.

The work becomes part of your identity.

That’s where I find myself today.

Twenty-two straight days of blogging.

Twenty-two Friday Night Valet Notes lives.

One hundred fifty-four straight days of video uploads.

What’s funny is that Day 22 wasn’t easier because I had more motivation.

It was easier because I had more momentum.

The first few days required effort.

Today requires follow-through.

There’s a difference.

When you’re starting, you have to convince yourself.

When you’re consistent, you simply continue.

That’s why I believe the first 22 days are harder than the next 100.

Because the first 22 days are where the habit is born.

The next 100 are where the habit starts paying you back.

Most people quit before they reach that point.

They mistake the difficulty of the beginning for a sign that something isn’t working.

But the difficulty is the point.

You’re building the foundation.

You’re becoming the person who shows up.

Once that identity takes hold, everything changes.

The work doesn’t disappear.

But it stops feeling like a battle.

And that’s when momentum becomes your biggest asset.

Today wasn’t hard because I wanted to write.

Today was easy because writing has become part of what I do.

The same thing happened with the videos.

The same thing happened with the lives.

The habit carried me further than motivation ever could.

That’s why I’ll always respect the beginning.

Because the first 22 days built everything that came after.

— Nicholas Francis