“The Three-Letter Word That's Keeping You Stuck”
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Title: Get Off Your "But"
Author: Sean Stephenson
Category: Focus, Habits & Productivity, Personal Growth, Motivation & Self-Improvement
What if the only thing standing between you and the life you want is a three-letter word? Sam and Sophie open Sean Stephenson's Get Off Your "But" with that question, and it turns out the but is doing more damage than we think.
The episode walks through Stephenson's core moves: diagnosing the but as fear speaking in the language of logic, taking radical responsibility (without blaming yourself for what happened), and rewriting the identity scripts that end in but. They land on the flip — turning "I want to write a book, but I don't have time" into "I want to write a book, and I'm choosing not to make time" — and explain why that discomfort is the point. Stephenson's own life with osteogenesis imperfecta runs underneath it all, including his story of being bullied and deciding what to do about it.
If you've ever felt stuck behind an excuse you half-believe, this one's for you. The takeaway: the cage door is unlocked, and the flip is the small move that makes the excuse visible.
Get Off Your "But" by Sean Stephenson. For the full written summary, head to 7minutebooks.com/app — over 6,000 fiction and nonfiction titles you can read or listen to in any language, plus infographics on many titles. Unlimited access from $2.99 a month, $9.99 a year, or $19.99 lifetime.
Chapters
00:00Diagnosing The Three-Letter Word01:55Radical Responsibility And The Bully Story02:40Rewriting Identity Scripts03:27Flipping The But04:13Fear, Regret, And Vulnerability05:17Someday, Service, And The Cage Door
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