Marshall's rule is the forward-looking face of "problems are normal": **defense matters**. Ambitious people are wired to be expansionary — to chase new projects — and to neglect defending and consolidating what they already have. The discipline: as you take up any new project, hobby, or initiative, run an analysis of what could go wrong and put defensive measures in place *before* you need them. We know diets fail, habits break, and interruptions come — so anticipate them. Concrete examples: prepare verbal replies for people pushing junk food on you; eat in advance so you're not hungry at a tempting restaurant; finish eating by 2 PM via intermittent fasting. His benchmark: "the best CEOs I know all look for disruptions, interruptions, little risks, and existential risks, and spend time mitigating them periodically." It isn't glamorous and earns no hero points when nothing goes wrong — but it buys a far better life. Cross-domain: business continuity, personal health, financial planning, security. --- *Source: [[Book Inventory/Progression|Progression]] (Sebastian Marshall, 2016) — Upstream Effects #9 — Adherence and Mastery*