PROOF BEFORE PASSION

Before You Bet Your Time, Money, or Career on a Big Decision, Test It.

"Follow your passion." "Take the leap." "Burn the boats."

These popular pieces of advice sound inspiring-but what happens when the decision is wrong?

Starting a business, changing careers, or investing in an expensive degree can cost you months of effort, thousands of dollars, and opportunities you may not get back.

PROOF BEFORE PASSION introduces a practical way to approach big decisions: test your assumptions before making a major commitment.

At the center of this book is the PROOF Method, a five-step framework designed to help you turn an uncertain idea into a decision supported by evidence.

THE PROOF METHOD

• P - Pin Down the Claim: Define exactly what you believe will happen.

• R - Rank the Riskiest Assumption: Identify the assumption most likely to undermine your plan.

• O - Open the Cheapest Test: Find a small, affordable way to gather real-world evidence.

• O - Own the Result: Measure the outcome against a standard you decided in advance.

• F - Fork the Path: Choose whether to go, pivot, or stop.

INSIDE THIS BOOK, YOU'LL LEARN HOW TO:

• Recognize the hidden risks behind major life decisions.

• Separate genuine evidence from excitement, confidence, and assumptions.

• Test a career change before leaving your current job.

• Validate a business or side-income idea before investing heavily.

• Evaluate a degree, bootcamp, or certification before paying tuition.

• Design low-cost experiments and set measurable success criteria.

• Avoid sunk-cost thinking and moving the goalposts.

• Make a practical 30-day proof plan for your next big decision.

WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?

Whether you're considering a career change, planning to start a business, exploring a new educational path, or deciding whether to invest your time and money in an ambitious idea, this field guide gives you a structured way to think before you commit.

You don't need a business degree or a complicated financial model. You need a decision worth testing and the willingness to look honestly at the evidence.

Passion gives you a reason to start. Proof helps you decide whether to continue.

Don't bet everything on an untested assumption. Test first. Then decide.