Everything Works Out in Your Favour, When You Decide Everything Works Out in Your Favour

Read time: 6 minutes

Hey, welcome back.

Last week, I wrote about how placing money on a pedestal can actually hinder your chances of getting it.

And why you should normalise making it instead. (Lots of it).

​You can read that (and all past issues, here).

I'm off to Wales today for my annual 'Foundrs Forest' retreat where I take 65 people from my community of 450 scale up entrepreneurs deep into the Welsh forest for a hopefully transformational experience, including a big dress up party themed as 'Intergalactic Picnic' to make sure shit gets weird and to prove you're never too old to not take yourself too seriously. I'll report back next week on any learnings.

Today, I want to talk about something that sounds too simple to be true:
Everything works out in your favour, when you decide everything works out in your favour.

How I Learned This the Hard Way

For most of my twenties, I thought optimism was a delusion.

I saw “positive thinking” as a self-help cliché, the kind people use to avoid responsibility.
I prided myself on being realistic. Analytical. Grounded.

But “realistic” eventually became a trap.
Because what I called realism was really just fear wearing a clever disguise.

Every time something went wrong, I saw it as proof that life was hard, business was brutal, and I just had to “tough it out.”
That belief made me resilient, but not peaceful.

It took a long time to realise that most of the stress, anxiety, and chaos I felt wasn’t from what was happening.
It was from what I believed was happening.

Your Brain Works for the Story You Feed It

Here’s what I mean:
Your brain is a prediction machine.
It’s constantly scanning for evidence to confirm whatever story you’ve decided is true.

If you think “everything goes wrong for me,” your mind will unconsciously filter for proof.
If you think “everything works out for me,” it’ll start filtering for that instead.

Same events. Different lens. Different life.

It’s called selective perception, a cognitive bias backed by neuroscience.
You don’t see the world as it is. You see it as you expect it to be.

That doesn’t mean nothing bad ever happens.
It means that even when it does, your brain stays open to asking, “What’s the lesson here?” instead of “Why me?”

And that shift changes everything.

The Proof Always Comes Later

Some of the worst moments of my life, burnout, insomnia, failure, ended up being the catalysts for the best ones.

But they only looked that way after.
At the time, they felt like endings.

The belief that “everything works out” doesn’t mean you pretend pain is pleasant.
It means you trust the process long enough to see what it’s turning you into.

When you hold that belief, you stop fighting reality and start collaborating with it.

Reprogramming the Story

Here’s the thing, you can literally train your brain to expect things to work out.
It’s not woo-woo. It’s neuroplasticity.

Every time you choose a positive reframe instead of spiraling, your brain lays new neural pathways.
Over time, those become default.

Here’s how I practice it:

• When something goes wrong, I ask, “How could this be working for me?”
• I take one small action that signals faith, sending the email, finishing the draft, showing up anyway.
• I look back on past “disasters” that eventually became blessings.

And every single time, I remind myself, it’s not luck. It’s pattern recognition.

Everything has worked out before.
Why would this time be different?

A Simple Belief That Changes Everything

The belief that “everything works out in my favour” isn’t about delusion.
It’s about data.

The data says: you’ve survived everything you’ve ever been through.
And more often than not, you’ve come out better for it.

That’s not blind optimism. That’s historical accuracy.

So the next time life feels uncertain, choose the story that serves you.
Decide that this, too, is part of the setup.

Because it always is.

To self-belief that compounds, and turns into your story of success,
​Dan

PS: Speaking of seeking success and changing narratives - I went out for dinner this week with Spencer Matthews who's leaving today for his 4 week Guinness World Record Challenge to do 7 Iron Mans on 7 continents breaking the record by many months. What was he most looking forward to? Swimming in the Antarctic. That's what success looks like to him, whereas to me it looks like enjoying dinner with a friend, like this, and then not having to swim in ice. Each to their own! Good luck Spencer!

How To Take Over The World - Lee Kuan Yew The epic founding story of Singapore and how he turned a backwater nowhere into one of the most successful populations on planet earth. Listen Here The Signs, by Dr Tara Swart For anyone who's lost someone, tried to still feel connected to them and interested in the cross section of spirituality and science, this is for you Read Here Nobody Wants This on Netflix A Rabbi and a Christian walk into a bar, fall in love and mad comedy ensues. This pitch perfect comedy series is so easy to watch, has an incredible script and the chaotic sister and weird brother are phenomenal characters. Love. Watch Here

A study found that people with an “optimistic explanatory style” - those who interpret setbacks as temporary and growth-oriented - showed higher problem-solving ability, lower stress, and better health outcomes. Their brains literally processed challenges differently, engaging prefrontal regions associated with cognitive control instead of fear. Quick Takeaway → ​Optimism isn’t delusion. It’s cognitive training. Your brain believes the story you repeat most - so choose the one that moves you forward. ​→ Link to study​

In my goal to help more entrepreneurs/people who are looking to level up their careers, I've just started taking 1-1 consulting calls (only 1 a week) Why book a call? Some of my expertise/success: I've built 5 startups. 1 win, 1 fail, and 3 still going. E-Commerce: Heights - with revenue over £20M a year. Community: Foundrs, one of the UK's top founder communities Podcasting: Leaders Media - I bootstrapped a media company that made the UK's top business podcasts including Secret Leaders, with over 50M downloads across the network. Health/Mental Health: Overcame burnout, insomnia, depression & anxiety in pursuit of success. Hear me on Steven Bartlett's on Diary of a CEO​ Angel Investing: I've invested in over 100 startups Coached & Mentored: Certified coach & 5* mentor on Mentorpass Personal Brand: Over 400,000 followers across social So if you're interested in booking a session with me to talk all things business or building a personal brand, book for 30-minutes or 45-minutes. (limited spots). Book a Call with Dan

I'm building a vault of valuable tools, resources, and one sheets that I hope help you succeed. These will be stored in the ever-growing 'Science of Success' vault - you can always access that here. Access the Science of Success Vault

🧠 Fuel your brain and feed your gut, try Heights here (use code 'SOSDMS' for 15% off your first month of any subscription​ Try Heights (15% off)