How to win the game (without deluding yourself)

Explaining Inputs, Outputs, and Outcomes to Elliot Buick00:00

Speaking to Elliot Buick, host of the Next Generation podcast, about the difference between inputs, outputs, and outcomes. This is the input-output delusion. There are three levels of productivity. Most people stop at the first two and wonder why nothing in their life changes.

Inputs: Effort Applied00:30

Inputs are effort applied: sat at desk for 8 hours, spent two hours drafting an outreach message, went to the gym five times this week. Inputs feel noble and prove you're working hard, but effort without direction just burns calories. You can spend all day trying and still be no closer to what you want.

This issue arose after Atomic Habits by James Clear. Phenomenal book, fantastic writer. He said, "You don't rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems." People started optimizing for inputs only. Inputs feel noble and show others you're working hard, but they don't point you in the right direction.

Outputs: Work Done01:31

Outputs are work done: sent 50 emails (not sat at desk for 8 hours), published four blog posts (not spent hours drafting messages), completed all programmed workouts (not went to the gym five times; you could go and not complete them). Outputs feel better because you can count them and see productivity in a spreadsheet.

But outputs don't prove impact: sent 50 emails and get no replies, publish four podcasts that don't move audience, lift weights every day without changing diet and see zero results. It's motion, not momentum.