DEFEATING CAN’T.
CAN’T starts in the mind.
It shows up as doubt, fear, resistance, setbacks, procrastination, uncertainty, and sometimes simply not knowing what to do next.
Defeating CAN’T doesn’t mean pretending those things don’t exist. And it doesn’t mean believing that anything is possible just because you say it is.
For us, it starts with mindset: the belief that there may be a way forward and the willingness to look for it.
Then comes the work.
Recognize what’s holding you back. Challenge the CAN’T. Understand what matters to you. Find what you CAN. control. Ask for help when you need it. Take a step, even if it’s a small one. Learn. Adjust. Prepare. And keep moving.
Sometimes there’s time to work through CAN’T. Other times, especially in high pressure moments, you have to filter it, trust your preparation, and act.
CAN. is the nudge forward.
A reminder to move from “I can’t” toward a better question:
DEFINE YOUR CAN.
That question has been at the heart of CAN. from the beginning.
From our early Goal Cards to the stories we’ve shared, the products we’ve created, and eventually the CAN. Thrive conversations, we’ve continued exploring what it actually takes to move from CAN’T toward CAN.
Here are seven ideas we’ve learned along the way.
CAN. THRIVE
Seven conversations. Seven ideas for moving from CAN’T toward CAN.
CAN. Thrive is a series of conversations between CAN. founder Andy Bestwick and performance coach Dr. Jason Carnegie exploring well-being, mindset, growth, purpose, action, and the obstacles that can keep us from moving forward.
It isn’t a seven-step formula.
Think of it instead as seven ideas you can come back to when CAN’T shows up and you need your own nudge forward.
Take what helps. Put it to work. Keep moving.
01 — DEFINE
What does thriving mean to you?
You can’t build toward something you haven’t defined.
Well-being is personal. It isn’t simply happiness, achievement, or somebody else’s definition of success. It’s understanding what matters to you: your relationships, health, purpose, engagement, values, and the things that make you feel alive.
Take time to ask what a life of well-being actually looks like for you. The answer can change as your life changes.
THE CAN. TAKEAWAY
Don’t borrow someone else’s definition of a good life.
CAN. Thrive Ep. 1
What Does Well-being Really Mean?
02 — RECOGNIZE
Catch CAN’T in the act.
Sometimes CAN’T appears before we’ve even examined whether it’s true.
A fixed mindset can tell us our abilities, circumstances, or potential are already decided. A growth mindset leaves room for learning, effort, improvement, and change.
The goal isn’t to eliminate every negative thought.
Start by noticing it.
Awareness gives you the opportunity to challenge the thought and choose what happens next.
THE CAN. TAKEAWAY
Sometimes the most powerful addition to “I can’t” is one word: YET.
CAN. Thrive Ep. 2
Fixed vs. Growth Mindset: How to Catch Yourself in the Act
03 — WORK THROUGH
Expect resistance.
Knowing what you want doesn’t mean you’ll always feel like doing the work.
Resistance. Avoidance. Procrastination.
They happen.
Instead of treating them as proof that you CAN’T, get curious about what’s happening. The task may feel too big. You may be afraid of failing. You may even be afraid of what happens if you succeed.
Find an action small enough to get yourself moving.
Then build from there.
THE CAN. TAKEAWAY
Forward is still forward, even when it’s slow.
CAN. Thrive Ep. 3
Resistance, Avoidance & Procrastination
04 — CHOOSE DIRECTION
Know where you’re going.
Moving forward matters.
But so does knowing what you’re moving toward.
A personal vision gives your effort direction. It helps you identify what matters to you, what you value, and what kind of life you are actually trying to create.
Without that clarity, it’s easy to start pursuing someone else’s definition of success.
Your vision doesn’t need to be perfect or permanent. It needs to be yours.
THE CAN. TAKEAWAY
Your vision becomes an anchor for the decisions you make today.
CAN. Thrive Ep. 4
Creating a Vision: Anchoring Your Life with Purpose
05 — START
Take the first step.
Sometimes the hardest part is starting.
Big goals can create big resistance. Fear, overwhelm, perfectionism, and uncertainty can convince us that we need to have everything figured out before we begin.
We don’t.
Make the first step smaller.
Find the nudge. Ask for help. Put on the shoes. Write the first sentence. Make the call. Try something.
Then take another step.
THE CAN. TAKEAWAY
SMALL STEPS CREATE MOMENTUM.
CAN. Thrive Ep. 5
Just Start: The Power of First Steps and Forward Momentum
06 — OWN YOUR ENERGY
Your mindset doesn’t stop with you.
We don’t experience life in isolation.
Our attitude, language, and energy affect our teammates, coworkers, families, and communities.
You can’t always control the environment around you. You can’t control another person’s negativity.
But you can decide what you contribute.
Look for what went well. Recognize progress. Encourage someone. Bring energy instead of taking it away.
Culture isn’t shaped only by the person with the title.
THE CAN. TAKEAWAY
You don’t need a title to positively influence the people around you.
CAN. Thrive Ep. 6
Staying Positive When Others Aren’t
07 — FILTER & ACT
Sometimes there isn’t time to process CAN’T.
There are moments when CAN’T has to be defeated at the speed of the game.
Competition. Leadership. A presentation. An emergency. Landing a plane. Making the next decision when the pressure is on.
In those moments, you may not have time to understand why doubt showed up.
You have to filter it.
Trust your preparation. Trust your experience. Trust your teammates. Reach into the toolbox you’ve built from previous challenges and successes.
Then move.
Next play.
Next decision.
Next opportunity.
THE CAN. TAKEAWAY
DEFEAT CAN’T AT THE SPEED OF THE GAME.
CAN. Thrive Ep. 7
Filtering CAN’T in High-Pressure Moments
MEET COACH JASON CARNEGIE
The coach behind the CAN. Thrive conversations.
CAN. Thrive was developed through conversations with Dr. Jason Carnegie, a performance and wellness coach whose approach combines his background in science with coaching focused on physical and mental well-being, personal growth, and helping people move toward meaningful change.
Jason brought the coaching perspective to CAN. Thrive: asking better questions, exploring what may be getting in the way, recognizing strengths, and helping turn possibility into action.
His perspective helped us dig deeper into a question that has always been at the center of CAN.:
How do we move from CAN’T toward CAN.?
PUTTING THE IDEAS TO WORK
Jason’s partnership with CAN. has grown beyond the podcast. Together, we’re exploring ways to bring these ideas into communities and help others develop their own tools for moving through CAN’T.
That has included working with young people through Key Club on Kauaʻi, using conversations and activities around mindset, goals, personal strengths, well-being, and the choices that can help us keep moving forward.
The goal isn’t to tell someone what their CAN. should be. It’s to help them discover it for themselves.
Then I'd put your existing:
[LEARN MORE ABOUT JASON →]
Connect with Coach Jason Carnagie
📧 Email: jason@jasoncarnegiefitness.com
📸 Instagram: @jasoncarnegie_IF
💼 LinkedIn: Jason Carnagie
CAN. IS A MINDSET.
But mindset is only the start.
Believing you CAN. doesn’t guarantee the outcome.
It changes how you approach the problem.
It creates room for possibility.
It can help you look for another route. Ask a better question. Seek help. Prepare differently. Take a smaller step. Learn from what didn’t work. Or keep going when the first attempt doesn’t get you there.
That’s how we look at Defeating CAN’T.
Not the absence of obstacles.
Not pretending CAN’T never enters our minds.
It’s what we choose to do next.
WHY PUT CAN. ON A SHIRT?
Because sometimes a reminder matters.
A shirt won’t defeat CAN’T for you.
Neither will a hat or a sticker.
You do the work.
But words can influence the way we think. A message can remind us what we believe. It can create a conversation. And sometimes seeing CAN. at the right moment can provide that little nudge forward.
That’s why we make what we make.
Our products carry a simple message into everyday life:
Wear the message.
Share the mindset.
Defeat CAN’T.
WHAT CAN. YOU DO NEXT?
You don’t need to solve everything today.
You don’t need to know exactly how it’s all going to work.
Sometimes defeating CAN’T begins by getting clear about what you CAN. do, what matters to you, and where you want to go.
DEFINE YOUR CAN.
What do you want to accomplish?
What do you want to change?
What do you want to become better at?
What is something you’ve been telling yourself you CAN’T do?
Write it down.
There is something powerful about taking an idea out of your head and putting it somewhere you can see it. That simple act has been part of CAN. from the beginning through our Goal Cards.
