I wrote this entire newsletter WHILE running 4 miles
An entrepreneur's recipe for sweet success
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3.5min Read
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I'm writing this newsletter on a run. Literally.
[Here's a video documenting this]
[Listen to the podcast of this issue here]
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Alright. I'm writing this right now, on a run. Okay, not exactly. I'm running and voice memoing at the same time. This newsletter, word for word, will also turn into a podcast.
And as I'm saying this out loud, I'm coming up with the newsletter on the spot. As I run.
It's got me thinking about how often people won't start something until they can see the whole package. Until they can see the finish line. I'll start this because I know I can finish it.
Seeing the end obviously makes it easier. BUT here's what it does to us. It keeps us from starting a lot of things. Most of the time the end result is, one, super unclear. And two, completely different from anything you would have expected.
And that is the beauty of it.
I don't want to sound too cliché here, but the most important part of the process is the journey. It's what we learn along the way.
When we're doing something we're not good at, or haven't done before, or don't know how it ends, that's challenging. That's uncomfortable. The list goes on and on.
We get better when we do harder things. Things that stretch us further out of our comfort zones.
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The same idea applies to fitness and getting in shape. We get stronger by lifting weights that are heavier than what we lifted before. That's the definition of strength training. Lifting more than you could before.
And you do that by picking up a weight you've never picked up before, without knowing the result.
So how do we get there? How do we get comfortable doing uncomfortable things? How do we get confident in our ability to do hard things? How do we come to grips with the fact that some of these things might fail? And when we do fail, how do we move past it in a positive way?
Teddy Roosevelt has a quote I love:
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood..."
That's the whole point of the man in the arena. He's the one actually doing it. He's out there trying, failing, getting back up and trying again. And when he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.
The critic never steps in. He never takes a hit, so he never gets better. The guy in the arena takes all the hits, and every one of them makes him a little tougher and a little more confident for the next one.
I'd rather be the guy in the arena every single time.
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I believe some of the greatest visionaries that have ever walked this earth had a little bit of delusion in them. They believed in things that others thought were crazy.
Think about it. Thomas Edison grew up in a world lit by candles. And he was delusional enough to believe his invention would change the world. That it would rewrite the norm for something people had been using for centuries.
Today, most people would call that an amazing invention, because we now have a documented history of incredible cases like Edison. But during that time, people thought he was crazy. Delusional. And in the end, that's exactly what it took for him to be successful.
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And as I'm running, 2.24 miles in at this very moment, I want you to slowly develop within yourself the confidence and the ability to do hard things. To make an impact. To get comfortable being uncomfortable. To be the man in the arena. To be successful in whatever venture you're in.
And to swat failure away like a mosquito out of the air. Or even greet failure like an old friend and welcome it back for more.
And the way you do that is by challenging yourself a little more each time. One rep at a time.
Maybe today you run around the block. Maybe you take a cold shower. Maybe you read 10 pages a day. Maybe you pack your lunch instead of eating out.
None of those things is huge on its own. But that's not the point.
The point is you're moving yourself in the direction you want to go. You're taking the action and the steps to get there. And that is a win.
That, done over and over and over again, will ultimately lead you to a destiny of success.
You just might not know what it looks like before you start. And that's okay.
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Until next time...
Stay in the fight,
My best tweet this week:
https://x.com/kevinasrx/status/2112231011342016707
My favorite tweet this week:
https://x.com/galdayan1895/status/2114461852126306652
Other places to find me:
📸 IG
🎥 YouTube
🤳 TT
🧑💻 Medium
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🙋🏻♂️ About Me
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