Week #21 of 2025 has arrived... You are doing all this work.  You are busy like an ant colony.  Make sure you are enjoying it. Otherwise...?

Time to walk over to your 4K Weeks poster and fill in another square.  Done?

ON WEEK #21 OF 1977...

The original Star Wars movie premiered, which was directed by George Lucas.

He was 1,723.29 weeks or 33.04 years old.

WHAT I CONSUMED THIS WEEK

I am in a season of sculpture. And when I am sculpting for hours each day I listen to music instead of podcasts. So, I don't have much thoughtful stuff for this section this week... But, my wife and kids and I watched the first episode of The Residence this week, and it is awesome!  If you like whodunnits, like Sherlock, and Knives Out, you will like this.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Be what you are. This is the first step toward becoming better than you are." - Julius Charles Hare

This quote falls squarely in line with my "Yank off the bandaid" philosophy.

As bad as it is, the first thing we MUST do in order to improve any situation is to gather our courage and look the festering rot squarely in the face so that we can know what we are dealing with.

If you want to grow, you first need a good understanding of where you are, and that usually means confronting some weaknesses.

People who grow know where they need improvement so that they can achieve their goals.

If you aren't sure where you need improvement, look for pain in your daily life... that is usually where the weakness it.

WHAT I AM THINKING ABOUT THIS WEEK

My Lawnmower.

I have a big lawnmower. It is one of my buddy's old commercial mowers. I have had it for almost 10 years, which is likely equivalent to one commercial mowing season, but it's old.

Lately it has been acting up. Surging when I start mowing, and then dying after a few minutes. I have been struggling to diagnose and repair the issue before the spring grass devours us.

The two lessons I was reminded of while struggling to get it running again are these:

First: When chasing down an issue, start at one end and work your way to the other.

Everything has a system. When someone seems to have a natural ability to navigate something that seems complex to you, it is likely that they deeply understand the system.

In this situation the top level system is Engine: fuel, air, spark = combustion. It turned out that the fuel line was slightly clogged. But I only discovered that by starting at one end and working my way backwards... Carburetor, fine. Fuel pump, fine. Gas... let's drain it and see if it's fin... why is it draining so slowly? Blasts air into the line, crud comes out, BOOM! Great success!

If you are stuck, think about the system and start at one end, confirming each link as you go.

Second: Everything is scary before you start learning.

I am pretty handy. That handiness stops well before internal combustion engines. And so, due to the age of the mower, I have been a bit afraid of something going wrong, because I would have NO IDEA what is causing it, and all the mower shops are WAY backed up with work, and the grass is getting longer... etc. etc. etc.

That fear was a real impediment to growth and getting the problem fixed. Once I had the courage to dive in, things got easier. I've said it before, action is the antidote to anxiety. I asked my buddy, who has a ton of small engine experience, what might cause the surging (and I also asked ChatGPT!). That gave me a few directions to head. It took a few tries, but the mower is fixed. But more importantly, now I know how the entire fuel system works on the mower, and it isn't scary anymore.

The trick is remembering next time something new breaks that a bit of learning will likely get it fixed.

If this helps you get unstuck on a problem this week, let me know!  I love to hear it.

Until next week!

Spencer,

Owner of 4KWeeks

P.S. Click here if you feel like letting me know you read the whole newsletter: I've shared this before... worth it to share again (slightly explicit... acknowledges that humans have sex and sometimes even look forward to it.)