Week #14, 2025
Week #14 of 2025 has arrived... The 47-year-old me loves to putter around the yard in the spring on a Saturday. The 18-year-old me doesn't even understand what that last sentence means.
Time to walk over to your 4K Weeks poster and fill in another square. Done?
The meat of this week's email is about detaching yourself from outcomes, and not confusing a lack of resources with a lack of resourcefulness. These are two things that I struggle with often. I mean, why the hell would you do something if you weren't interested in a specific outcome!?!?!?!?!?
I am working on it... that's why I am thinking about it... but in the meantime...
I am super attached to the outcome of you and others like you getting the most out of this email and podcast...
So, IF you have a minute, forward this email to a friend, and subscribe and/or rate the podcast! That is a super awesome way to say you appreciate it... and surely you know a few people who would like to subscribe... go on... tell them to!
Listen to this newsletter as podcast. We're on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!
ON WEEK #14 OF 2000...
Stephen Sondheim's creation, Follies, launched at Winter Garden Theater and ran for 524 performances. It was the most expensive Broadway musical at the time.
He was 2,141.14 weeks or 41.06 years old.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Our intention creates our reality." - Wayne Dyer
There is a trap here. The trap is to hear this as "Our intention IS our reality."
My kids are growing. But it is happening everyday, a little bit at a time. My son is growing more than a quarter of an inch a month. That is .008333 inches a day. It's nothing. It's the thickness of two pieces of copy paper. But anyone who doesn't see him for a month can't even believe how quickly he is growing.
We don't notice the small ways our focused intention affects our reality, until one day, if we are lucky, we don't even recognize the person we used to be.
Our intention CREATES our reality. Creation takes time. Give it time.
WHAT I AM CONSUMING THIS WEEK
- The Fish Doorbell. My wife has been watching the Fish Doorbell (Visdeurbel) occasionally this last week. It is one of the best use cases for the internet.
- My friend John recommended David Brook's book, "How to Know a Person." He called out two bits from Chapter 8 about Moral Formation. Moral Formation is about:
Helping people to learn to restrain their selfishness and incline their hearts to care about others.
Helping people find a purpose, so their life has stability, direction, and meaning.
It is on its way to me. I am sure I will use it as inspo for something in this newsletter in the next few weeks! I deeply hope that you have friends who send you thoughtful stuff to let swirl around in your head.
- Founders Podcast. I have been binge listening to these... And I keep saying the phrase "my Chicken Finger Dream!" which is from episode #383
- Freakonomics Radio, Sludge #627 Part #1. THIS!!!!! It's the wasted time that really gets me riled up.
WHAT I AM THINKING ABOUT THIS WEEK
Permission.
We are all waiting for permission. Permission to try, permission to be this, permission to say that, permission to feel that.
It's normal... I am currently sitting in my office writing this instead of taking action on a few different projects because... I am waiting.
But, as I have said before... Normal isn't necessarily good.
Why? That square on the poster on your wall isn't going to wait. No matter what happens this week... next week that square will need to be filled in.
And so, what would it look like if you just dove in?
Two specific things I want to call mention about this:
1. One of the people we most need permission from is ourselves
I think a good way to help foster this, while not triggering your fight or flight instincts, is to trick yourself to become less attached to outcomes. Let yourself be interested in doing the thing for its own sake, and not because you are hoping for some specific outcome.
It might help for you to think of yourself as a scientist studying your own life. You have a hypothesis, and you test the hypothesis, hoping not to prove it right or wrong, but hoping to learn something.
Coming at it this way both lowers the stakes (because I am certain that you WILL learn something), and also tilts your motivation towards action (because that action is lower stakes since you aren't attached to the outcome.)
2. Resources/resourcefulness
Another reason we often find ourself waiting is that we don't have... fill in the blank.
If you are stalled because of some resource that you are lacking... connections, money, time, assistance, knowledge, etc... stop what you are doing and watch this (the whole thing is good, but the specific part starts at 5:55)
Certainly if Al Gore can be called to account for not having "the Supreme Court", then you can find some resourcefulness in lieu of resources.
The only way to make something happen is to try to make something happen... And I know a plan and specific intention is valuable, but often the best way to start to untangle an extension cord is to just shake it around for a minute.
Extension cords don't get untangled unless you DO SOMETHING. And if you aren't sure what to do, then just try something, learn from it, and iterate.
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: Condescention?
DAD JOKE O' THE WEEK
What kind of tea is hard to swallow?
Reality!
Think you can do better? Join our Dad Joke thread!
Leave a comment: