Ever found yourself doing all the work in a project, relationship, or team while someone else just nods, smiles, and disappears when it’s time to execute?
In this episode, we’re unpacking a hard-hitting truth: “I can’t want your success more than you do.”
It sounded like just another pep talk when I first heard it, but now? It’s one of the most important leadership lessons I’ve ever learned.
What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
- Why inspiration only works when the other person wants to grow
- The energy mismatch that happens in bad partnerships
- Questions to ask yourself when you’re carrying dead weight
- How to stop enabling people who aren’t doing their part
- What real alignment looks like in leadership, teamwork, and even friendships
Episode 5 coming soon on August 29th, 2025.
Full Podcast Transcript
Hey, welcome back to JacQ of All Trades, the podcast for curious minds, creative rebels, and anyone who’s ever tried to drag a team member, client, or friend toward success while they were busy bingeing Netflix and ghosting responsibility.
Today’s episode 5 is a little spicy, not the bedroom kind, don’t get excited, I mean the kind of spicy that burns because it’s true.
We’re talking about a leadership truth that stings:
“I can’t want your success more than you do.”
Yeah. Ouch.
If you’ve ever coached, mentored, managed, consulted, or even just tried to be a supportive friend… this one’s gonna hit home. So, let’s get into it.
Back in my mid-20s, picture idealistic me, fueled by ambition and probably too much coffee, I got involved in the MLM world. Now, say what you will about that industry (and oh, people have) but one thing they get right?
The motivational hype machine.
We’re talking team huddles, daily affirmations, “rise and grind” vibes 24/7. It was basically self-help with a protein shake.
In the middle of all that rah-rah hype, my team leader hit me with a truth bomb while I was ranting about how much I wanted success for people who claimed they wanted it but hadn’t done a damn thing to prove it.
“I can’t want your success more than you do.”
At the time, I brushed it off, you know, just another pep talk, right? But years later, especially after stepping into leadership and mentoring roles, that line came back and slapped me on the head.
Because here’s the thing: You can light the fire, hand someone the match, build the damn bonfire for them…
But if they won’t strike the match? Nothing burns.
Whether you’re leading a team, guiding a client, or hyping up a friend on their third career pivot, inspiration only works if the other person wants to be inspired. Growth only happens if they’re willing to grow.
Otherwise? You’re basically yelling into a motivational void.
Now, let’s talk about when drive doesn’t match the effort.
After leaving the 9-to-5 life (bless that exit), I started working with small business owners, helping with marketing, strategy, operations… the whole shebang.
Some of them were electric. Passionate. All-in. We were in sync like a perfectly tuned co-op mission. But then… there were others.
You know the type. They nod in meetings. They say all the right things. They even pay you.
And I’ll admit, I got excited for them. I started envisioning the success they could have. I was the one mapping out their wins in my head before they even took the first step. I believed in their goals more than they did.
But when it was time to implement?
Zero execution. Endless delays. And somehow, you end up doing all the paddling while they’re busy rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship.
And no matter how hard you push, the business stays stuck. Because again:
I. Cannot. Want. Your. Success. More. Than. You. Do.
At some point, we’ve all dragged someone across the finish line… only to realize they were never actually in the race. So, here are the hard questions that most people avoided (that I’ve learned to ask myself as well):
- Do they actually want it… or do they just like the idea of it?
- Are we aligned in effort, not just in vision?
- And honestly, how much of your energy are you spending trying to revive a project, a team, or a person that’s flatlining?
When you stay too long in partnerships where you’re the only one showing up, you’re not just wasting time. You’re stealing time from something or someone that deserves your full potential. And that someone…could be you.
So, please….protect your energy. It’s not unlimited. Protect your time. It’s not a buffet. And also, how about your ambition? It deserves to be matched, not babysat.
So, here’s what I’ve learned the hard way (like, trial-by-fire-hard) over the years of working with people:
- Work with people who match your energy.
- Learn to walk away when they don’t.
- And know that your time, talent, and tenacity are too valuable to be tied to dead weight.
You can cheer for someone. You can support their dreams. You can even build the path for them. But you can’t carry them the whole way if they’re not willing to move.
Leadership, teamwork, even friendships, they all come down to one question: Are we in this together, or am I doing this alone?
So the next time you’re burning out while someone else is just coasting?
Pause.
Reflect.
And ask yourself, am I the only one rowing this boat?
Because I don’t know about you, but I didn’t leave the 9-to-5 just to end up project-managing someone else’s laziness.
That’s it for today’s episode. If this hit a nerve, good. That means you’ve been there too.
Share this with someone who needs to hear it, maybe a fellow coach, a leader, or that friend who keeps asking for advice but never acts on it (you know the one).
And hey, if you’re enjoying JacQ of All Trades, do me a favor: Tap that follow button, leave a rating, and tell your chaos-loving, dream-chasing, multi-passionate friends to tune in.
‘Til next time, keep your standards high and your energy protected.
