Seize the World by the Collar
How Waiting Becomes Wasting — and What to Do Instead
Hey friends,
In today’s piece, I want to share a story. Or maybe it’s more of a mirror. It’s about drifting, about waiting, and about the subtle danger of letting life pass while you’re busy hoping it’ll notice you.
This is a story wrapped in philosophy — a reflection on the quiet trap of potential unfulfilled. It’s inspired by a line that’s been ringing in my mind:
“Don’t wait for the world to come to you, or come knocking in your bedroom. Seize it by the collar before anything else happens.”
Let’s meet someone who didn’t.
Mr. X is a man without anchors.
He drifts—not through cities or seasons, but through choices left unmade. You wouldn’t call him a failure, not exactly. He’s just… paused. Like a thought you meant to finish but never did.
He says he’s 29. He might be. But his eyes belong to someone older—someone who’s watched too many mornings arrive without meaning. He doesn’t speak much of the past, and the future is something he only glances at from the side, like a painting he doesn’t understand.
He has no tribe. No echoes. The kind of silence that surrounds him isn’t just quiet—it’s absence.
And yet, it’s not the loneliness that’s tragic. It’s the proximity. He stands too close to the bridge of wasted potential, where great ideas go to rust and ambition forgets its own name.
You see, Mr. X once believed the world would find him. That recognition would arrive unannounced, tap on his shoulder, and call him chosen. But the world doesn’t knock. It doesn’t wait. It doesn’t pause for anyone lost in thought.
The world rewards movement. Not certainty, not perfection—just motion. A reach, a risk, a voice raised when silence would be easier.
And that’s the thing: the myth of arrival—the idea that life comes to you if you’re just good, patient, or talented enough—is a quiet thief. It steals time. It steals years.
Mr. X is a caution, not a condemnation. Because it can happen to anyone. The slow forgetting of your own fire.
A sincere call to action for all of us
If something’s been pulling at you—an idea, a risk, a move you keep postponing—take this as your sign.
Don’t wait for perfect. Don’t wait for permission.
Seize the world by the collar. Start where you are. Speak while your voice still trembles.
Because motion beats magic. Every time.
Also, we’ve just launched a new podcast — a space where these kinds of ideas stretch their legs and get a little louder. If today’s piece stirred something in you, it would be an honour to have you subscribe and tune in.
Let’s keep this conversation going — in your inbox, in your ears, and most importantly, in your life.
PHOTO CREDITS: https://unsplash.com/@sandertraa