Success is Mostly Boring - and That’s Why You’re Failing

Read time: 6minutes

Hey, welcome back.

Last week, I wrote about the addiction to struggle — how too many of us glorify chaos instead of building from abundance.

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

Before I start - I promised this newsletter is where I'll provide all exclusive access to things I'm doing that you might like so - on a first come first served basis - I have some spots available for my talk on 6th October at The NED with Dr Tara Swart for an invite only private book launch event. If you want to join us, hit reply with your full name (and which Heights product is your favourite and why - after all, she formulated them with us!) Here we are, discussing the talk at lunch this week, it's gonna be great.

Today, I want to share a quieter truth: most people don’t fail because they lack ambition. They fail because they cannot sit with boredom.

The Boring Face of Success

We think success is made of high points. Big launches. Stage moments. Investment rounds.

But the real building blocks look very different.

• Writing another newsletter when you don’t feel like it
• Reviewing the same creative brief for the tenth time
• Fixing small mistakes before they become big ones
• Holding yet another team meeting to repeat the same message until it sticks

Not glamorous. Not exciting. Boring.

But those are the bricks.

Why Boredom is The Real Enemy

People don’t fall off track because it’s painful. Pain sharpens you.
They fall because it’s dull.

• Pain tells you, “I’m doing something hard.”
• Boredom whispers, “This isn’t working, let’s try something new.”

That whisper is deadly. It’s what makes you abandon projects right before compounding kicks in.
It’s why entrepreneurs keep pivoting instead of persisting.
It’s why creators stop posting before they see traction.

The truth is, boredom sits right before the breakthrough. Most people never get past it.

Heights Was Built on Boring

When Heights was starting out, people assumed growth came from one or two big moments. The Diary of a CEO appearance. Celebrity customers.

Those mattered. But they weren’t the foundation.

The foundation was boring consistency.

• Shipping our newsletter every single week, even when subscriber growth felt slow and only my mum was reading them
• Answering the same customer questions hundreds of times with patience
• Testing ad variations over and over until something worked
• Testing the messaging of our products (that literally took 3 years until we started to feel like it was working by the way).
• Repeating values and mission until the team could say them in their sleep

That’s what built trust. And trust is what scales.

Boredom is Proof

Here’s the trap: you think if you’re bored, you’re doing the wrong thing.
But often boredom is proof you’re finally on the right track.

Because in the beginning, everything feels exciting. New ideas, new strategies, new opportunities. But the longer you stick with it, the more novelty fades. That’s when the real compounding begins.

Wealth. Health. Creativity. Relationships. They don’t grow from constant excitement. They grow from showing up again and again, even when it feels ordinary.

A Simple Reframe

Stop treating boredom like a warning sign.
Start treating it like a green light.

If you can keep going when it feels repetitive, you’ve already separated yourself from most people who quit when the buzz disappears.

A Boring Challenge for This Week

Pick one boring habit and commit to it.

• Writing a page every day
• Recording a short video every week
• Blocking 30 minutes for deep work daily
• Scheduling a recurring walk or call with someone who sharpens you

Not glamorous. But that’s the point.

The quiet work is what makes the loud wins possible.

To boring success,
​Dan

SOS (Science of Success) Curated:

LinkedIn of the week: ​You can pay someone more money.​

Podcast of the week: The Fastest Way To Burn Dangerous Visceral Fat! I'm Finding Mould In My Patients!​

My Tweet of the week: £20M ARR at Heights ($27M)! ​

Research Worth Reading

Research Worth Reading
A 2024 meta-analysis of 20 habit-formation studies involving over 2,600 participants showed that many health-related habits (like drinking water, flossing, exercising) often begin to feel automatic after about 59 to 66 days of consistent repetition in a stable context. There’s significant individual variation-some habits take over 100 days-but the key pattern is that persistence and regularity produce automatic behaviour even when interest or novelty fades.

Quick Takeaway
The boring repetition you dread is the engine behind long-term change. What feels mundane now becomes effortless later. Stick with it.

​→ Link to stud​y​

PS: I am speaking on a panel next month at "The Feel Good Summit" on a panel about building consumer brands with daily habits. The whole event is great for founders and startup employees building or involved in brands - so you can get 20% off a ticket here with the code "SPEAKERPAL"

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Bore yourself with 1-1 Coaching with Dan

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).

Science of Success Vault

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

Want to take your success (even more) seriously? 👇​
🧠 Fuel your brain and feed your gut, try Heights here (use code 'SOSDMS' for 15% off your first month of any subscription​

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