Labels and Levels
Labels are the brain's tools. Learn to use them, so they stop using you.
"Hard worker." "Successful." "Superman." The words we wear can make life simple. They can also make us stop feeling it. This is a place to notice your labels, check what level they are working on, and get your real experience back.
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Every label is a shortcut
Your brain hands out labels so it doesn't have to think from scratch every time. That's useful. A label tells you, and everyone else, who you are and what something means.
The trouble starts when a label stands in for your actual life. You stop feeling what's happening, because the label already decided what it means.
Labels
The words you use for yourself, other people and the moments of your day. Tools, not truth.
Levels
How deep a label runs, from a passing tag to a whole identity. The deeper it runs, the more it decides for you.
About Trevor
I wore the labels too. Proudly.
I'm Trevor Jensen, a San Diego entrepreneur who co-founded and sold two companies. For years I lived by the labels: entrepreneur, hard worker, the guy in the office before six. It took a hard lesson, and my dog, to show me what those words were costing me.
- Grew Bullibone dog toys into 20,000+ stores, including Walmart, Albertsons, Dollar General and Family Dollar.
- Bullibone sold over 10 million toys and was a top-selling dog toy at Walmart for nearly a decade.
- Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Generation Esports, where I led fundraising for the $10.8M Series A and the $19M Series B, and led the Wizard Labs acquisition.
- PlayVS acquired Generation Esports in 2025.
Now I'm writing about the thing that mattered more than any of it: how one word can replace real experience, and how to get that experience back.
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I write on Substack about labels, levels and the moments they hide. Each post comes with a simple question you can try that week.
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The Label Enabler
The book behind Labels and Levels. Stories, science and a simple way to check the words that quietly run your life. Subscribe to hear first when it's ready.
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