Week #11, 2025
Week #11 of 2025 has arrived... And once again the world is full of outrages and sublime beauties. The rainbow of possible realities is a many splendored thing.
Time to walk over to your 4K Weeks poster and fill in another square. Done?
How can I help you?
What do you need?
Do you just need whatever nuggest of wisdom I happened to write down in this newsletter this week? I would love to know... often just the smallest comment helps me make sure this is valuable to you on this finite journey.
I don't know what the hell I am doing here... except trying to improve!
If you have a minute, forward this email, and subscribe and/or rate the podcast!
Listen to this newsletter as podcast. We're on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!ON WEEK #11 OF 1980...
Speed skater Erick Heiden set the world record for 1,000m distance at 1 minute and 60 milliseconds. He won five gold medals at the 1980 Winter Olympics.
He was 1,134.71 weeks or 21.76 years old.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning." - Lao Tzu
The world is beyond the winning... that is wisdom that should be shouted from the rooftops these days.
So much of life advice stuff is contradictory... "Try, Try, Strive, Strive!" or "Let go, you can control nothing." I suppose that's why living well is an art, not a science.
If something is working for you, keep doing it. If it isn't working for you, try something else.
How do you know if something isn't working for you? If you are asking, it likely isn't.
Also... I am TERRIBLE at letting things go.
WHAT I AM CONSUMING THIS WEEK
I thought this video about how this guy built a multi million dollar ceramics business was interesting... notice how one of the key points was that he had friends in the hospitality business... Your network matters... people like to do business with their friends.
Tim Ferriss. #795 The 4 Hour Workweek Revisited. I really enjoyed being reminded of all this stuff...
Ezra Klein: The Government Knows AGI is Coming. This is super interesting... and coming faster than we expect... I am constantly thinking about how to get ahead of this... I have no idea. But, after this podcast, I moved the ChatGPT app to the main menu of my phone, and I am trying to use it every day. Also, I linked to the Youtube video of this podcast... WHO WATCHES PODCASTS ON YOUTUBE!!!! do you?
Nuggets:
WHAT I AM THINKING ABOUT THIS WEEK
How much the WHO matters.
We are thick in the middle of our kids growing up and out. We have homeschooled both of them for a while now, and since we have been around them most of the day for the last 5 years, we are acutely aware of the surge in their desire to socialize.
They have an almost primal need to be among their peers now, whereas a year ago, that wasn't the largest driver of their motivations.
And so we have suddenly been confronted with a whole lot of new situations, and a whole lot of new faces... and since they are theater kids, the age ranges are diverse... all ages 14-18. Theater kids seem to socialize across grades much more than I ever did as a pseudo-jock.
And that has gotten Ryann and I thinking about how we are going to both keep them safe and also give them the freedom that they desperately crave. In light of all these new influences, how will we keep them tied to the path that they are currently on... Awesome, kind, respectful, hardworking, motivated humans.
It struck me today that there is likely only one external factor that really matters when it comes to how this period of rapid growth will go for my kiddos, and it is the same truth for you and your development as well.
WHO are these people you are surrounding yourself with?
If I had to bet on your likelihood of success, and I could only choose one environmental detail of yours to research, I would want to know more about the 5 people you spend the most time with.
We all know a kid from our youth that seemed to be bumping along just fine and then got in with a crowd that wasn't a good influence.
Seriously. The people around you are having a huge effect on the expression of your personality.
Are they lifting you up or dragging you down? Are they encouraging you to grow, or are they undermining your confidence? Are they holding you accountable, or giving you an excuse to coast?
I am not saying to rush over to the social ladder, dump your family and friends and start trying to climb... I am just saying that you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.
You act on them, and they act on you. If you embark on a journey of self-improvement, and have the confidence to try to bring them along... it will be clear really quickly who is here for growth and who is just a crawdad trying to pull you back down into the bucket.
Choose wisely.
Until next week!
Spencer, Owner of 4K Weeks
P.S. I'm serious about the 33 Day Foundation. It works, and in the nascent 4K Weeks Community, I am happy to help you define your goals and stay accountable.
P.P.S. Here is your reward for reading this whole email: Oh dang! last week I said that This is the best version of this song. And then this was just released... which might be a better version!
DAD JOKE O' THE WEEK
What's the difference between a tuna, a piano, and a bottle of glue?
You can tuna piano, but you can't piano a tuna!
but what about the bottle of glue...?
Ah, that's where people get stuck!
Think you can do better? Join our Dad Joke thread!
Leave a comment: