Built From the Field by Chris Momongan
🗓️ Posted: @May 31, 2025
✍️ Category: → Mindset & Motivation
When I first started out as a personal trainer, I knew I wasn’t going to be the guy with the biggest bench or the most shredded abs. I wasn’t the flashy, muscle-bound drill sergeant type. And I wasn’t trying to be.
What I had was a different edge, my education, my mindset, and my ability to connect with people in a real way. That’s where I always felt like I stood out.
Some people got that instantly in a consultation. Others were clearly looking for something else, and that was fine. I always saw myself more like a Lex Luthor or Batman type. Not gifted with superpowers, but sharp, strategic. The kind of guy who had to build his way to the top, not get handed a shortcut.
And truthfully, I’ve always felt like I was climbing out of a hole. Like a lot of people around me had the cheat codes and I didn’t. I might be tall, sure but nothing in my journey has felt handed to me.
That theme carried into real estate too. Especially with our duplex project, the most stressful thing I’ve ever taken on. It was supposed to be the next big step. Instead, it felt like one punch after another. Permits stalled, contractors delayed, and just when we were finally close to finishing, Hurricane Helene rolled through and displaced us.
I felt like I was barely hanging on.
But something shifted during the furnish phase. I was putting together the dining table — solo, exhausted, and I had a podcast playing in the background. It was Tim Ferriss interviewing Cyan Banister.
Her story was wild. From a rough childhood to becoming a venture capitalist — the odds were stacked against her from the start. But what stuck with me was a term she used: incrementalism.
Incrementalism, by definition, is the belief that big change doesn’t happen all at once. It’s built through small, consistent steps over time. Brick by brick. Action by action. It’s the opposite of the “overnight success” myth and honestly, it’s the only thing that’s ever worked for me.
And I froze when I heard it.
Because I had already been doing it, I just didn’t know it had a name.
I was surviving by narrowing my focus down to the next small step.
The next problem to solve.
The next screw to tighten.
It’s how I kept my sanity when everything felt like it was falling apart.
I knew about incrementalism, without knowing I knew about it.
That moment brought me all the way back to one weekend, after a terrible day at work. We drove to Hilton Head just to clear our heads. I didn’t have a big plan. I didn’t know what came next.
But I remember thinking: The next brick is just to do what makes you happy.
So I quit the job. I left an environment where I didn’t feel seen or respected by leadership and that one brick led to the next: selling our house. That led to having $110K in our checking account. That money, combined with everything I had quietly been learning about investing and FIRE, meant it was time to move.
From there, it all stacked:
- I learned how to analyze deals
- Found an agent
- Toured houses
- Learned how to write scopes of work
- Hired contractors
- Bought materials at Lowe’s
- Hired plumbers and electricians
- Opened business credit
- Tracked every expense
- Created systems
- Brick by brick
None of it happened overnight.
Most of it wasn’t pretty.
But it was real and it worked.
I’ve seen this mindset work in fitness too. I trained people who were told by their doctors they needed to lose 20–30 pounds not for vanity, but because their life depended on it. That’s not just tough news. That’s being handed a shovel and told, you’re in a ditch now and it’s time to climb out.
But I’d tell them: there’s no magic workout. No perfect meal plan.
The only way out is one smart decision at a time.
One workout. One walk. One better lunch.
Brick by brick.
And I’d remind them don’t feel discouraged because you're starting in a hole.
Feel hopeful, even euphoric, that every brick you lay gets you one step closer to solid ground. That’s the power of the mindset. That’s how you win.
It even shows up in gardening. You want a bountiful, English-style garden? You’re not going to get that with one trip to Lowe’s Garden Center. It takes time. It’s a rhythm:
Planting hydrangeas in the spring.
Pruning in late winter.
Watering through the summer.
Planting in the fall so you’ve got blooms next year.
And solving problems as they come up weeds, pests, root rot.
It’s not passive. It’s intentional. But it works.
Whether you’re trying to transform your health, scale a business, or grow a literal garden it’s all the same formula.
Big wins are built one brick at a time.
Final Thought:
I used to think progress had to feel big to matter. That if I didn’t see results fast, I must be doing something wrong.
But now I know the opposite is true.
The most meaningful changes in my life didn’t come from giant leaps — they came from quiet, consistent steps. From showing up when I didn’t feel ready. From doing one more rep, sending one more email, laying one more brick.
That’s what incrementalism really is.
It’s not just a strategy, it’s a lifeline.
A way to move forward when the chaos hits and the plan falls apart.
A way to build something solid, even when you start in a hole.
Whatever you're working toward better health, financial freedom, peace of mind — just focus on the next brick.
That’s how I got here.
That’s how I’m going to keep going.
And that’s how you can too.
đź”— Follow the Journey
More stories like this—honest and in real time—are coming soon.
→ @builtfromthefield (brand)
→ @chrismomongan (personal)
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