Chapter 47: The Paradox Of Advice

You need to question everything.

AI-generated videos. Bullshit advice. Eighteen-year-olds with podcasts.

Take an honest look at the world right now and you’ll notice something strange:

Most people have lost the ability to think for themselves.

They’re applying templates, copying recycled advice, and treating “7 tips to do Y” threads like gospel.

But if you blindly follow advice without questioning it, you’ll spend months chasing your tail.

Because there is no single right path.

So stop looking for it.

What’s right for me might not be right for you.

We all have unique circumstances, skills, and unfair advantages.

A Lesson from the Greats

Matthew Syed once wrote about watching Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic warm up before Wimbledon.

Three of the best tennis players of all time.

Same court, same tournament, but with completely different approaches.

Djokovic was emotionless. Each shot was deliberate and precise.

Nadal was pure aggression. Sweat flying, muscles flexing, a storm of intensity.

Federer was playful. Laughing, loose, and hitting trick shots.

If you watched only one, you’d assume that’s the “right way”.

But there was no “right way”.

Each found what worked for them.

Why We Crave Formulas

We all want certainty.

It’s easier to borrow someone else’s map than face the blank page of your own.

But the second you try to copy someone else’s exact process, you stop trusting your own intuition.

By outsourcing your thinking you end up following paths that were never meant for you.

That’s why so many people plateau.

They follow advice perfectly…

without personalizing it to their unique situation.

The Problem with Advice

Most advice fails because it lacks context.

What worked for someone else — their timing, their skills, their luck — is not guaranteed to work for you.

The internet is full of “winning lottery tickets” being sold as strategies.

But asking a successful person for their exact steps is like asking a lottery winner for the numbers they picked.

You might get inspired, but you won’t get rich.

What to Do Instead

Learn from everyone, but copy no one.

Study timeless principles, not just timely playbooks.

Test and verify things yourself.

Because the goal isn’t to copy someone else’s path.

It’s to use their map to chart your own.

Wrapping Up

There’s no single way to “win”.

Federer didn’t warm up like Nadal.

Nadal didn’t move like Djokovic.

Yet all three became great by crafting their own unique approach.

In a world obsessed with “the right way,”

the real edge is knowing yourself well enough to find your way.

Because the truth is, no one knows what the f*ck they’re doing.

Once you realize that, you stop searching for answers and start becoming the person who has them.

Rooting for ya,
—Dodds