I was watching Game of Thrones the other day (yes, I know, I’m late to the party). I’ve only made it through season three so far, but there’s a moment in Season 3, Episode 6 that made me stop and sit with it for a while.
In that episode, Lord Baelish delivers a soliloquy about chaos and what it really means. He says:
“Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail and never get to try again; the fall breaks them. And some are given a chance to climb, but they refuse. They cling to the realm, or the gods, or love, or illusions. Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is.”
That line stuck with me because it feels uncomfortably accurate and not just in the world of Game of Thrones, but in real life.
At its core, that quote is about progress.
We say “progress over perfection” all the time, but this is what that idea actually looks like when you strip it down. Perfection is an illusion. “Getting it right” is an illusion. The idea that there’s some clean, orderly version of life waiting for you on the other side is an illusion.
Whatever you think is standing between where you are and where you’re trying to go, be it clarity, confidence, timing, or certainty, that’s usually an illusion as well.
All that really exists is movement. Effort. The next step.
All that you can know for sure is that opportunity for progress will present itself every single day, for as long as you’re here.
For us OG Millennials, or anyone trying to become a better version of themselves, it’s important to understand something early: there is no finish line. There is no final form. There is no point where the work is “done.” The work is the thing. The work IS the work.
The chaos Baelish is talking about isn’t disorder, it’s life itself. Life is messy, unpredictable, uncomfortable, and constantly shifting. We spend so much energy trying to cling to the illusion of control, stability, and perfection instead of learning how to move within that chaos.
Most goals aren’t really about achievement. They’re about the false promise that once we reach them, everything will finally feel settled.
It never does, and more and more I’m starting to realize that it’s not a flaw, it’s the design. I guess it’s a flawed design, but following through on what I wrote about in last week's newsletter, once you know the game, you can get better at playing it.
What actually matters is the process. Showing up. Putting one foot in front of the other. Doing the work even when it’s unclear, even when it’s imperfect, even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed.
In a strange way, the process is the destination.
There’s an old saying that goes something like this:
The person who loves walking will walk farther than the person who loves the destination.
That’s the whole point.
If you can learn to value the climb instead of waiting for the top, you stop needing life to be perfect before you move. You stop waiting. You stop clinging. You climb.
The ladder is real.
The climb is all there is.
Keep Climbing
If this resonated with you, that’s exactly what The OG Millennial is about—clarity over noise, progress over illusion, and learning how to move forward without waiting for everything to be perfect.
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