Hey Reader,

Last week, I sat on a panel at an analytics event talking about breaking into football.

One idea stayed with me: resistance to frustration is the key to improvement.

Not motivation. Not talent. Resistance.

The Two-Week Waffle Chart

When I started learning to code, AI tools didn't exist. I was grinding through tutorials like everyone else, copying syntax I didn't understand, debugging errors that made no sense.

It took me two weeks to create my first data visualisation - a waffle chart.

It wasn't good. But I'd built something. I'd pushed through the frustration long enough to see a result.

Then I stopped.

The resistance didn't hold. A couple of weeks later, the frustration won. I parked coding and moved on.

This happened four or five times over about four months. Start, get frustrated, stop. Repeat.

Eventually, I sat down properly and learned the basics. Not because I suddenly became more talented. Because I built up enough resistance to keep going when it stopped being easy.

What You're Actually Fighting

If you're stuck right now, you're probably frustrated with one of these:

Not getting interviews or responses about jobs.

Not having access to good data to create insights.

Not knowing which skills to prioritise or develop next.

These aren't minor blockers. They're real obstacles that slow people down or push them out entirely.

But here's the shift: frustration is normal. Expected, even. The question isn't whether you'll feel it. It's whether you'll build the resistance to keep moving anyway.

Resistance Isn't Fixed

You can grow it. Like a muscle.

The first time you try to code a visualisation and it breaks, it feels impossible. The 10th time, you know where to look. The 15th time, you fix it without thinking.

The 1st time you send a message to someone in the industry and don't hear back, it stings. The 20th time, you understand it's part of the process. The 50th time, you've built enough connections that one rejection doesn't matter.

Resistance builds through repetition. Through doing the thing that frustrates you enough times that it stops feeling impossible.

The Group Effect

One thing made the difference for me: working alongside people on the same journey.

When I was ready to quit coding, someone else in the group would share their progress. That reminder - that other people were also stuck, also frustrated, also pushing through - kept me going.

That's why I built The Recruitment Room. Without a group when I started, I probably would have quit for good.

So here's the practical step: find one or two people who are also creating analysis or scouting work online. Or one or two people already working in roles you're aiming for.

Message them. Ask what they're working on. Ask what their challenges are. Offer to share something useful. Build that small network of people moving in the same direction.

They'll help you hold the line when frustration hits. And without them, you'll find it much harder to stay consistent.

What Happens If You Don't

If you don't build resistance, you won't improve. You won't develop. You won't stay consistent.

And without consistency, you won't progress in football. That's not pessimism. That's the reality of how careers work in this industry, especially when you want to change jobs to work in football.

The people who make it aren't the ones who never get frustrated. They're the ones who got frustrated and kept going anyway.

So if you're stuck right now, remember: frustration is part of the process. What matters is the resistance you build against it.

Keep going. Find your group. Build the muscle.

That's how you move forward.

Liam