Most Authors and experts think they need more discipline.

More motivation.

More time.

But that’s not why they’re stuck.

Their stakes are too low. Their deadlines are too soft. Their commitment is flimsy at best.

If you keep treating your biggest goals like side projects, with zero urgency, zero accountability, and zero pressure, they’ll die in your head just like they do for most people.

Why deadlines (with real stakes) are everything

Deadlines do what motivation never will:

They force you to decide.
They force you to act.
They turn your floating ideas into urgent priorities.

But not just any deadline. It needs teeth. It needs consequences. It needs to make you uncomfortable. Otherwise, you’ll blow right past it, promise yourself next week… then do the same thing all over again.

The time I had 48 hours to save my house

“You’ve got about $10,000 owed to the IRS. We can’t close until it’s paid. You have 48 hours.”

When we moved to Arizona, I was about to buy my first house. Nothing extravagant, just a modest place to finally start fresh after the pandemic, after living with my in-laws, trying to rebuild life.

"You have 48 hours.”

That was the hammer drop.

That was it. No flexibility. No “whenever you’re ready.”

The stakes couldn’t have been higher. So I swallowed my pride, borrowed money from family, sat on hold with the IRS forever, ready to drive to Phoenix at 2am if that’s what it took.

By Monday afternoon, it was done. Debt cleared. House secured.

Not because I’m some hyper-disciplined machine. Because the stakes were everything. Because the deadline was immovable. Because it had to get done.

This is how I build everything, and how I help others do it too

That same principle is how I built Rising Authors. It’s how I’ve grown my speaking work. It’s how I help authors and experts finally get over the hump, stop overthinking, finish their books, launch their brands, stand on stage.

We lock in deadlines that aren’t suggestions. We make commitments with real weight behind them. And that’s what forges the discipline most people wish they had.

The book that tattooed this into my brain

If there’s one book that’s shaped this philosophy for me more than anything, it’s The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

Pressfield says it perfectly:

“The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.”

He calls it Resistance, that voice that tells you to wait, to tweak, to start tomorrow. And he says the only cure is to turn pro. To treat your work like a job where, if you didn’t show up, you’d get fired. That means deadlines, consequences, and no excuses.

New podcast: how to stop fighting your mind

If this hits close to home because your brain’s a war zone of its own, listen to my latest podcast:

What happens when you stop fighting your mind and start working with it?

I sat down with Gerald Sunagel, author of PAIN: A.D.D., Suffering, and the Journey to Love. We talked about living undiagnosed for decades, how neurodivergence shapes creativity, leadership, relationships, and why AI became more than a tool for Gerald, it actually became a collaborator in his healing.

If you’ve ever felt unseen, out of place, or like your mind just works differently, this one’s going to hit hard. Check out Gerald’s books on Amazon, and give it a listen. Podcast episode

The Rising Authors Podcast Tour

Same thing’s happening right now with my RAE Van Tour project. I’ve been dreaming about driving up the West Coast, filming podcast episodes in indie bookstores, meeting authors, telling stories on the road.

For months, it just stayed that, an idea that I've pushed up a hill a little by little because I hadn’t put a hard line on the calendar.

Hadn’t involved anyone else to keep me accountable.

Then I brought in my friend Alex, a producer and videographer. We started locking in dates. Mapping budgets. Talking gear and booking segments.

Now there’s money committed. Someone else is counting on me. A line in the sand.

Discipline isn’t even a question anymore; the commitment and deadline are already baked into it.

What about you?

So let me ask you directly. And really think about this, because it’s the gap between staying stuck and building something meaningful.

What’s the project you keep circling, tweaking, or quietly avoiding?
What are the actual stakes?
Who’s holding you to it?
When does it ship?

Because if the answer to any of those is I don’t know, your work isn’t moving because it doesn’t have to. It’s too safe. Too easy to delay. No real pressure means no real progress.

**Here’s how to actually get sh*t done**

If you want to stop dancing around your goals and finally build your book, brand, platform, business, here’s the roadmap I’ve used for myself and every author or entrepreneur I’ve ever coached:

Pick one project. Not ten. The ONE that would change your life or business most right now.
Set a high-stakes commitment. This is the “I’ll look like a fraud if I bail” level. Or where money’s on the line. Or where someone else’s schedule depends on you.
Lock in a hard deadline. Not “fall” or “when things slow down.” A date you can’t wiggle out of.
Tell people. Announce it on LinkedIn. Tell your spouse. Tell someone who believes in you and if you can hire someone.
Break it into micro-deadlines. So you’re crossing small finish lines every week, not just facing one monstrous wall at the end.
Use the pressure. It’s not bad stress — it’s fuel. Let it push you.

When You’re Ready, Here’s How I Can Help

I help authors build a brand and online presence that matters.

Power Pack Pro — Brand foundation, website, coaching, messaging.
Power Pack Boost — Full-funnel marketing, social growth, systems.
Power Pack Ultra — Done-for-you author growth engine, start to finish.

DM me if you’re tired of silence.

— Hussein

THE HOLY GRAIL OF GETTING SH*T DONE