Week #16, 2025
Week #16 of 2025 has arrived... MAN! Spring! Tulips in bloom, creeping phlox in bloom. If you pay attention, your neighborhood is an amazing place.
Time to walk over to your 4K Weeks poster and fill in another square. Done?
I know the world is ending. I know that, but I refuse to be pulled down into it. I have a ton of intense opinions, but I am not going to let my mood be dragged through the mud.
This is a powerful stance to take. There is a fine line between buoyant optimism and ostrich-like head in the sand. I see the difficulties, I am just not going to let my mood be undermined by them.
See if you can muster the strength to be unflappable and indefatigable.
Inner strength is an abundance feedback loop, More is more is more is more...
Listen to this newsletter as podcast. We're on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!
ON WEEK #16 OF 1979...
President Jimmy Carter was attacked by a rabbit in a swamp while on a solo fishing trip. The timing of the event, mirroring the just released Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with its man eating bunny, was too perfect not to be used to criticize Carter's presidency as hapless and weak. He was 2846 weeks old, or 54.58 years.
One thing you can say about Jimmy Carter, he lived his values. We could use a strong dose of new politicians who let their actions speak the truth. Words are wind.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude." - Denis Waitley
An abundance mindset is a hard thing to really wrap your head around. And in most of the spheres of the modern world, it is easy to debate. Happiness is at least one area where I 100% know that more is more. If you commit to experiencing and sharing your happiness in any given moment, it ripples out in a growing exponential wave.
We are all human. It isn’t possible for most of us to honestly and sincerely keep this up 100% of the time. That is why it is SO critically important to live into and share your happiness when you ARE experiencing it.
To bastardize Marx: From each according to her ability (in the moment), to each according to his need (in the moment).
WHAT I AM CONSUMING THIS WEEK
I have been creating a lot this week instead of consuming... We are having an open house for our brand Port of Curiosity in a few weeks, and we have also just started accepting commissions for the sculpture studio again. Busy times. Here are a few pods that I thought were interesting.
 |
Planet Money. How the War on Drugs got us... Blueberries. If you are wondering how all this international trade relates to the interests of the US, and how the world is shaped by aid money, this is a good listen.. |
 |
Inner Cosmos. Why do Brains Sometimes Make Things up Entirely? Silly brains... Don't they know what is actually REAL? |
 |
The Ezra Klein Show, Trump's Tarriffs Are Part of a Tectonic Plate Shift in the Global Economy. A great conversation with lots of nuance about what it means to be the world reserve currency, some steelmaning of the reasonable case for tarriffs, and a discussion about the relative importance of manufacturing jobs. |
WHAT I AM THINKING ABOUT THIS WEEK
What to do with all this uncertainty!
Tons of FUD abounds… Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.
Staggering losses on paper... And a great case to be made that it was all unnecessary and self-inflicted. The US, and possibly world, economy now looks to be headed into a recession.
But, shit happens. Focus on what you can control, try and try and try again to block out what you can’t.
If you were totally happy with your life last year, then you are likely still totally happy. If so, skip ahead to the dad joke of the week.
But, if you were already a bit unhappy with your situation, a downturn like this can feel like another nail in the coffin.
What can you focus on? Yourself, and your inputs and outputs.
A recession is a great time to start something. Half of all the Fortune 500 companies were started in either a recession or other economic crisis.
I was thinking about AI the other day, and I thought to myself, “A person could spend the next six months using all of their free time to learn about AI, and likely become a top 5 percent expert in it in the US.” That is true.
You have the ability to absolutely change your situation in a very short time by taking bold and massive action to invest in yourself and your skills.
Six months seems like a long time until you look back six months. And then you realize it is the blink of an eye. Most of us just don’t take advantage of this lever because either we are scared of failing or we are scared of the work.
Here is the thing: You will certainly have failures. . . that will be hard to deal with. Hard is always relative. The novel work will be hard . . . that will be hard to deal with. Hard is always relative. It will feel like nothing is changing for a while. Progress is always incremental.
Keep at it.
By starting now, at whatever capacity you can manage, you have already tilted the stars in your favor.
Now, my personal brand is push, push, push... Do, Do, Do, Go, Go, GO! so… individual results will vary…but here are two of my favorite quotes: "The best time to plant a tree was 60 years ago. The next best time is today." And: "Bite off more than you can chew and then chew it!"
Until next week!
Spencer,
Owner of 4KWeeks
DAD JOKE O' THE WEEK
Why was the pickle famous?
Because he was a big dill!
Think you can do better? Join our Dad Joke thread!
Leave a comment: