Dale Callahan
Creator of Company of One | Helping Professionals Build Income & Control Through Entrepreneurial Thinking | Engineer & Educator | Host, Company of One Podcast
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October 13, 2025
I was trapped with no way out.
That was me years ago. I felt trapped by my title, by my job, by my salary.
As I looked around, I saw peers who felt the same, just many refused to admit it.
Instead, they complained. Dogged the company or the boss. Showed up talking about how much they hated work.
I was only 5 years on the job, many of them had been there for a lifetime.
All I knew is I did not want to be them.
But I had no idea how to get out. In fact, I had no ideas what was keeping me stuck.
I heard someone say “You can’t fix what you can’t see.”
That started me moving. What were the chains holding me back?
I stopped. I wrote down all the assumptions I believed about my work,
money, time, identity.
Some things I came up with:
• “I must have full certainty before trying anything new.”
• “If I go anywhere else, I will be starting from scratch and making less money.”
• “If I fail, I’ll lose respect.”
• “I’m too old to make a change.” (I believed this at 26;)
• “I’m not as smart as those other people doing cool things”
The list went on and on.
As I stepped back and looked at it – most where about me. How I thought.
The chains tended to be in my head, not on my body.
How about you?
Try this.
1 - Write down all the assumptions you believe about your work, money, time, identity.
2 - Then pick one assumption and experiment against it for 24 hours. Test it. Ask: What if the opposite is true?
Clarity comes when you question your own blind spots.
October 13, 2025
