Why Entrepreneurs Procrastinate
We’ve been waiting.
Waiting for things to shift. Waiting for the plan to be executed. Waiting for the good guys to win. Waiting for the financial system to change, for taxes to be cancelled, for justice to finally get handed out, for the people who “still don’t see it” to finally wake up.
Meanwhile, time keeps moving. Days keep passing. And there are two questions worth asking yourself right now:
Are you growing? Or are you falling behind?
Here’s a trend I’ve been watching closely, and it’s a hard one to talk about: a lot of people in the “truther” movement who gave everything — time, money, relationships, energy — to wait for some big shift are now in serious financial trouble.
The system outlasted them.
And now we’re watching the fallout play out in real time: infighting, blame, disillusionment. It’s sad to see, but if we’re honest, it was predictable. When you build your entire life around an event that hasn’t happened yet, and you don’t control the timeline, you’re gambling your present on someone else’s future.
Today I want to look at this through a different lens, because sometimes a new perspective changes everything.
The Trick: Build Your Life Without the Wait
Here’s the thing about the outside world — things happen out there that don’t actually impact you directly. Not today. Maybe not ever. But watching it is addicting. It’s a soap opera. What’s going to happen next? Will something finally happen? The wait can go on and on with no real end in sight.
The trick to avoiding this trap in your own life is simple to say and hard to do: get back to building your life, without the wait.
Because here’s the line that should sting a little: you never want to look back at this stretch of time and say “if only…”
The “Someday” Syndrome: Why Entrepreneurs Procrastinate
This same waiting pattern shows up everywhere — not just in politics or finance. It shows up in entrepreneurs every single day. I call it the “Someday” Syndrome: the belief that the “right time” is just around the corner, and until it arrives, it’s safer to wait.
Have you ever missed an opportunity because you waited too long? I can think of far too many times that happened to me. I kept waiting for all the ducks to line up.
Les Brown used to give a speech built around one line: “Go before you are ready.”
Sound familiar?”I’ll wait to have kids until I’m ready.”
“I’ll wait to start my business until I’m ready.”
“I’ll wait to lose weight until I’m ready.”
I should do this. I should do that. Don’t should all over yourself. What’s today’s excuse?
The King of Unfinished Projects
I knew a guy years ago who was the king of procrastination. He’d start something, then stop — waiting for something, though he could never quite tell you what. He became the king of unfinished projects.
His ideas were sound. He seemed genuinely excited every time. But that’s as far as it went. Soon enough, he was on to the next new project, chasing the same rush of a fresh start without ever pushing through to the finish.
Some of you can relate.
Procrastination is real, and it’s a problem, because it can quietly steal your dreams out from under you. Most people procrastinate. Some find a way to move forward anyway. Some get stopped hard, and never get past it.
What’s Actually Behind It?
When I coach someone with a tendency to procrastinate, I don’t focus on the behavior first. I look for what’s driving it.
Here’s something most people miss: procrastination is a survival tool. In the right context, it can serve you. If you’re standing on a bridge considering something drastic, taking time to think it through is a good thing. Hesitation has its place.
But like most things, what protects you in one moment can sabotage you in another.
So what’s really behind the procrastination that’s costing people their dreams? Usually it’s uncertainty. Sometimes, underneath that, it’s fear.
The unknown is hard to face — and we’ve been living in the unknown for years now. It’s been clear since 2020 that more people are procrastinating because they simply can’t see around the next corner.
It’s Time to Get Back to Business
But here’s what is clear: it’s time to get back to business.
Every client calling me right now fits this exact pattern. They were waiting and hoping, holding out for the moment things would resolve. Now they’re realizing it may take longer than they thought to get where they want to be — and that realization is exactly what’s pushing them into action.
Here’s the truth nobody wants to hear: you will never be ready.
But when you start taking action anyway, you find a way.
That first child you weren’t ready for? You found a way.
That first job? You found a way.
That first date? You found a way.
That first loss? You found a way.
You will always find a way — but only once you stop waiting for permission to start.
The bottom line on Why Entrepreneurs Procrastinate: Whether it’s waiting on a system to collapse or waiting to feel “ready” enough to build the business you keep talking about, the wait is the enemy. Time doesn’t pause for anyone’s someday. Start building now, without the wait — because the version of you looking back a year from now doesn’t want to be saying “if only.”
The post Why Entrepreneurs Procastinate appeared first on Robert Imbriale.