Motivational Wave Rider Vs Strategic Habit Builder

This framework is a little creation of mine I designed to illustrate the two types of individuals who attempt to build habits and explain why one succeeds and the other fails.

I named these two people Jack and Zack.

Now, let’s get one thing straight about Jack and Zack: they ain’t flesh-and-blood folks, but let me tell you, their characteristics are very much rooted in reality and are inspired by real people.

Right now, you identify with one of them. Which one? Well, you’ll have to dive deeper into this content to uncover the answer.

Brief Backstory

2017. That year’s tattooed in my memory.

My business partner and I smashed the jackpot. Half a million dollars, right there on our table. Now, where I come from, that kind of money feels like bagging $2 million in the States. It’s big. Really big.

See, I’ve always had that entrepreneurial fire. That hunger. For a decade, that passion had me raking in 5x the average Joe’s salary in my homeland.

I wasn’t new to the thrill of success. But half a million?

That was a different ballpark.

Felt like the world had laid down the red carpet for me.

“This is it,” I told myself, probably a bit too smugly. “I’ve made it. It’s smooth sailing from here.”

Boy, was I in for a wake-up call.

For the next few laps around the sun, work took a backseat. I lived it up—traveling, indulging, just soaking in the good life.

And why not?

I had the world at my feet.

I figured, with a bank balance like mine, what could possibly go wrong? A few smart investments here and there, and I’m set for life, right?

Fast forward a bit, my pot of gold? Half went down a black hole of a bad business ideas. The rest vanished, living the dream. And just like that, I was back to square one.

I realized I wasn’t the hotshot entrepreneur anymore.

I was sliding.

My once razor-sharp work habit?

Dulled.

Before I knew it, laziness had its claws in me.

If procrastination was a martial art, I’d be its grandmaster, flaunting a shiny black belt.

Ideas? Oh, I had them. Plenty. But every time I tried to light that fire, a wall of resistance would pop up.

My days were filled with grand fantasies of “what could be” rather than “let’s get this done.“

You probably know that feeling too well.

I would imagine how good my life would be once I do the project, but I never moved my lazy ass do actually do it.

In the gritty heart of my procrastination saga, an idea smacked me upside the head: Take on a challenge.

You’ve heard that ol’ chestnut, right? “21 days to cook up a habit.”

Ring any bells?

(It’s a myth btw, it takes longer than 21 days)

I created a list of 30 things I wanted to accomplish during those 21 days.

Completely oblivious to my past attempts when I failed with a similar approach with even fewer things

I was pumped, motivated to crush it.

It went like this:

Day 1: Hell yeah! Let’s do this. Result? Nailed most of the stuff on my list.

Day 2: Riding that high – smashed most of the list.

Day 3: Bit overwhelmed, but still muscled through, with fewer things than yesterday though.

Day 4: Didn’t really feel it. Managed half the tasks, thinking, “I’ll just double up tomorrow.”

Day 5: Not in the groove today. Only did 2 or 3 things. “Double up tomorrow,” I told myself again.

Day 6: Déjà vu. Doubt kicked in – can I really pull this off? I felt guilty for skipping.

Day 7: Why the hell does every day feel like pushing a boulder uphill?

Day 8: Pushed through with sheer will but didn’t even get halfway.

Day 9: Same struggle as yesterday.

Day 10: Overwhelm city. So many tasks left.

Day 11: Screw it. Tossed in the towel. Game over.

Too much, too big, too soon!

The next day, I’m there wrestling with that age-old question: “Why could I maintain discipline in some aspects of my life but falter in others?“

I’ve always been able to get into workout habits easily. But, man, things like practicing the guitar, learning a language, or even straightforward tasks like organizing notes? Those took ages or never happened.

And when I took a swing at this challenge again, with only half of the items on my list?

Epic fail, again.

This cycle—decide, get hyped, start, crash, restart—was my pattern for years, trapping me in a never-ending loop.

Little did I know at the time that I was a motivational wave rider.

Meet Jack – The Motivational Wave Rider Role:

Jack usually makes decisions to start new habits when he is highly motivated, thinking he’ll nail it this time.

But here’s the catch: Jack’s been here before.

Time and time again.

Each new resolution, each commitment to a new habit, is met with a blind eye to past endeavors that ended up crashing on the shores of inconsistency.

He’s caught in the seductive dance of motivation, thinking it’s a never-ending ride, unaware that even the mightiest waves eventually break.

He believes sheer determination and willpower are enough to create a habit, completely oblivious to nuances of habit-formation principles.

When he feels like not doing the work, he thinks: “How can I keep myself motivated?“

Jack sets overly ambitious goals and harbors unrealistic expectations.

In his mind, every goal he sets takes on the grandeur of a cinematic climax—intense, larger than life, and far removed from the grind of daily repetition.

In mere weeks, he already envisions himself easily pumping iron with a chiseled six-pack body, playing instruments with Mozart’s finesse, and chatting in French as if he was born in Paris.

This audacious vision fuels his “go big or go home” mindset, convinced that with enough intensity, he can fast-track his success.

If he decides to work out, he’ll commit to doing it 5 times a week for an hour each workout.

He often tries to make too many changes simultaneously.

In his enthusiasm, bites off more than he can chew.

He juggles too many goals, and inevitably, the weight of all that ambition comes crashing down.

His conclusion?

A shrug and a half-hearted, “Maybe I didn’t want it bad enough.”

Jack is impatient and expects quick results. If progress isn’t immediate, he loses motivation and stops, feeling like he wasted his time. He then waits for the new wave of motivation to start again.

He avoids situations that require enduring discomfort or pushing through challenges. As soon as things become uncomfortable or painful, he starts to avoid them.

He’s frustrated with unfinished goals.

He’s set numerous ambitious goals in the past but struggled to follow through with them, leaving him feeling frustrated and disappointed. This also leads to self-doubt.

When he thinks about his goals, he often feels regret for missed opportunities and wishes he had been more consistent in the past.

This might motivate him to start fresh, which eventually he does, but due to all the mentioned factors, he ends up in the same failing again.

Wondering “why can’t I be consistent, why is it so hard?”

The cycle of setting goals, doing it for a while, giving up, waiting for motivation to kick in to start again, experiencing self-doubt, and then trying to start over again is what I call cycle of doom.

Meet Zack- A Strategic Habit Builder

Allow me to introduce you to Zack.

Zack isn’t your run-of-the-mill guy.

No sir.

While most folks, like Jack, would be chasing the next shiny object or dreaming about overnight success, Zack’s playing chess in a world of checkers.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day.” That’s his mantra. And he lives by it. Every. Single. Day.

No quick fixes. No shortcuts. For Zack, success is a marathon, not a sprint.

Motivation? It’s fleeting. Zack knows it. Relying on it is like using a candle to light your way through a long tunnel; it will burn out before you reach the end.

He utilizes habit-creation principles to push through, even when he doesn’t feel like it or despite not seeing any immediate results.

Zack knows that his efforts are not in vain, even when clear results are lacking.

He knows that real growth isn’t always visible. Like a farmer patiently waiting for seeds to sprout, he trusts the process.

Even in moments of doubt, he stands firm, knowing that beneath the surface, greatness is taking root in the shadows.

Zack sets realistic, achievable goals and crafts a clear path to reach them, avoiding overwhelm.

He doesn’t initiate too many changes at once, focusing instead on a few that truly matter.

Once a firm foundation is established, he then expands.

He views challenges as opportunities for growth. Seeking mentorship from those who have walked the path before him, Zack invests in guidance.

He recognizes that the most valuable currency in the world is time—a resource he cannot replenish. To him, every moment is precious.

Conclusion

Zack is professional while Jack is amateur

He shows up on the battlefield daily, like clockwork. Jack? Skips days if he is not in the mood.

Even on days when progress feels like moving an inch in a mile-long journey, Zack knows it counts. He’s laying bricks, one by one until he’s staring at a full-fledged house. Jack does not think small things matter, so he might as well skip them.

Zack understands that there’ll be sunshine days where everything just clicks and, yeah, some real stormy ones too. But no matter the forecast, he’s in the game, sleeves rolled up.

He might skip a day or two but quickly regains his momentum and resumes his efforts.

On the other hand, Jack? He’s got a different story. Starts strong but falters at the first sign of resistance. When the fire of motivation dims, he’s already eyeing the exit.

Some Jacks sit around, waiting for the stars to align, just to make a move. Others? They’re on the edge, waiting and hoping for that jackpot moment when the world flips in their favor and life gets ridiculously easy.

Jacks are all around you. In fact, there are more Jacks than Zacks in this world.

But you’ve likely encountered a Zack—they’re rare but definitely around you.

Habits are his secret weapon, and he’s killing it in every arena of life.

Some Jacks know they are Jacks. They want to change but haven’t grasped how to achieve it.

If you are Jack and want to transform into a Zack I can help you with that. Or if you are already a Zack and want to level up I can help with that too.

For those on my email list click here to access the gift I promised.

If you’ve stumbled upon this page via a search engine or a referral, you have two options:

1. Sign up for my FREE email course and start your transformation by clicking here.

2. Or you can purchase my book immediately by clicking here and start implementing the principles of habit creation to transform into a Zack today.

Igor “Strategic Habit Builder” Stojadinovic

P.S.

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