The Three Levers That Change Everything

Being broke can happen by accident. Staying broke is a decision.

This post breaks down three levers—skill, discipline, and leverage—that can transform your finances and your headspace. The trick? You don’t even need all three. Get two of them right, and the third starts to fall into place.

High-Value Skill

A skill that solves a painful problem people will pay for.

Examples: sales, coding, copywriting, consulting, design, AI tools, financial analysis.

Takeaway: Pick a skill that makes or saves money for others.

System of Leverage

A way to multiply your effort: money (investments), media (content), or code (automation).

Without leverage, you’re just swapping hours for cash.

Takeaway: Use tools, platforms, or capital so your work scales beyond your time.

Discipline with Money and Mind

Live below your means, reinvest surplus, and keep your head clear (sleep, exercise, no endless scrolling).

Discipline stops you sabotaging gains.

Takeaway: Consistency and control keep progress from slipping away.

How the 2-of-3 Works

• Skill + Leverage → Big upside, even if you’re sloppy with money. You’ll out-earn mistakes.
• Skill + Discipline → Slow but unstoppable. You’ll build wealth over time, even without much leverage.
• Leverage + Discipline → Even with average skills, your money and tools work harder than you do.

Do any two well, and the third becomes easier or almost irrelevant.

Takeaway: You don’t need perfection—just two levers working together.

Skill in Practice

Having a skill means you have something tradable in the market. If you enjoy it or excel at it, all the better.

Sales is the obvious one. Nothing happens until something is sold, yet many avoid it because it feels pushy. In truth, sales skill combined with almost any other ability is powerful.

Even simple skills, like offering excellent customer service, are rare today—and therefore valuable.

Takeaway: Any useful skill, done well, is a ticket into the marketplace.

Discipline in Practice

Discipline means building systems and sticking to them:

• Show up on time.
• Hit deadlines.
• Exercise regularly.
• Do what you say you’ll do.

It sounds dull, but these small acts build momentum.

Discipline also protects against distraction. Our world is built to pull attention away from the task at hand. Processes help: a checklist, a workflow, even a simple spreadsheet. Meditation helps too—it’s not mystical, it’s training for the mind. The more you can hold focus, the more you’ll achieve.

Takeaway: Discipline compounds small daily actions into big long-term results.

Leverage in Practice

Leverage is the multiplier. It’s how you get more out of the same amount of effort.

That could mean:

• Using AI to speed up tasks or create new offers.
• Automating routine processes.
• Investing spare money so it earns while you sleep.

Leverage compounds. Small advantages stack over time until they dwarf the input.

Takeaway: Find ways for money, code, or media to keep working while you aren’t.

Practical Applications

You don’t have to be world-class. Just better than the people you’re competing with, and able to show that value.

Examples:

• Sales skills can be sold to small and medium businesses that struggle with outreach.
• AI application skills—building custom GPTs or automations—are in high demand.
• Graphic design, writing, or copywriting can be turned into ongoing income if tied to business needs.

The key is to offer something that solves a problem in a market where the need is urgent.

Takeaway: Businesses pay quickly for skills that solve painful problems.

Pulling it Together

If you can develop skills people pay for, maintain discipline to stay consistent, and apply leverage to multiply the effect—you’ll move fast. But remember, you only need two at a time.

• Skills + discipline without leverage: progress is slow but inevitable.
• Skills + leverage without discipline: you’ll make mistakes, but the upside is still large.
• Leverage + discipline without standout skills: your tools and money will still put you ahead.

Takeaway: Master any two levers and life shifts. All three, and you accelerate.

Closing

Being broke can happen by accident. Staying broke is a choice.

Get two of these levers right, and life changes. Get all three, and you’ll wonder why you ever settled for less.

Takeaway: Broke is a condition. Staying broke is a decision.

Final statement: if you still don’t get it, congratulations—you’ve chosen the fourth lever: wilful stupidity.

If you want some more help with this then please get in touch.

You can also get access to my Seven Things training which builds on all of this