Welcome to The Young Napoleon Project, where the tag line is “Chasing a dream without end, sharing the journey, and proving that the only barrier is me.” My name is Brian McClellan, and I am both the narrator and the subject of this journey that we are getting started on.
I first had the idea for this project over a decade ago, and at that time I was in a much different place in my life and needed to make some serious changes if I had any hopes of amounting to anything. In the midst of the struggles I was having with my health, my career, and my finances, I had an idea to launch a blog that would serve as an umbrella project for rebuilding every aspect of my life. The blog would serve as the narrative of an incredible transformation.
The problem was, that idea never became a reality. Over the last decade I have started, stopped, and restarted this project too many times to count and never made any sustainable progress. Yet somehow my life still began to change, and I began achieving some of the original goals I had for myself. I got married. I bought a house. I became a father. I lost some weight. I went back to school. I got promoted at work. But I never launched the blog or the all-encompassing project that surrounded it.
Then nine days ago, I started over again, and little by little things started coming together. Progress became visible, and now after just nine days, I have made more progress than the previous ten years combined.
You’re probably asking: progress on what? What is it that I’m actually doing? Well, I am trying to apply structure and systems to my life, and the best way I could think to do that was to treat my life as a business. Like actual businesses—made up of departments—I could create departments in my own life. Anything related to me—health, diet, hygiene—would be under the Chief Executive Officer. Anything related to my family and friends would fall under Human Resources. Finances and bills under Accounting. Stuff related to my house under Property Management. And so on.
By organizing my life in this way, I could create a comprehensive view of everything I have going on and what areas I needed to focus on. Looking at my life this way really helped me define my goals: to become more organized, healthier, financially secure, a self-published author of books and blogs, and the best husband and father I can be. And this blog is the narrative of the journey to achieving those goals.
So the next thing you’re probably asking is: what does The Young Napoleon mean? It goes back to my childhood; I had an interest in a Civil War general named George B. McClellan, nicknamed The Young Napoleon. And while I’m not sure there was any relation between him and my family, he had the same name as my dad, and that drew my attention to him.
His name wasn’t the only thing I connected with; we also shared a characteristic that was all too familiar to me. General McClellan was known for being a meticulous planner and strategist, but also someone who failed to act. And that is something that I am also known for—brainstorming, strategizing, overthinking, and overcomplicating things but then never taking any action.
The purpose of this blog is to document this project, to break down the systems I am putting in place, discuss the tools I will be using, and the processes that are going to help me rebuild my life in the image I have always imagined.
So here we are, over a decade since I first had the idea for this project, and my life looks nothing like it did back then. I’m a husband to my best friend and love of my life for the last nine years, a father to two amazing sons—one five years old and one a year old. I own a home. I’ve built a career at work. I lost some weight (and then put some back on). And even with all those changes, one thing has remained constant: the idea of this project. If I drift away from it, I feel lost, and when I’m working on it, I feel like I’m on the right path.
The path that is going to turn me into the man I have always believed I could become. This is The Young Napoleon Project. I am The Young Napoleon, and I’m done quitting on myself and this project.
The Young Napoleon Project 