Week #23 of 2025 has arrived... The summer routines are being established.  It's so silly how easy it is to slip, unintentionally, into a routine that doesn't serve you. Also, wildflowers are beautiful.

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

ON WEEK #23 OF 1955...

WHAT I CONSUMED THIS WEEK

	I do love Malcom Gladwell and his pretentious, lilting way of speaking.  Really... I do.  I listened to a few of his episodes this week.  S13E9 and S13E10. Raccoons are amazing, and I think I want to eat some english muffins, but IP laws are out of hand.
	The Daily, with Terry Real. "Why Boys and Men Are Floundering". As I listened to this, I was super thankful that I was raised in a home where expressing feelings was normal... and also thankful that I was raised with 2 strong and intelligent older sisters... I feel like that helped me build a perspective of the world outside of my super masculine brain, which has made me a better person, husband and dad.  I look forward to a future when we can all just be, with none of the trauma and crap. I quoted him below.
	"The Most Powerful People You Have Never Heard Of." Woosh... if there is a super secret kabal that runs the world, and I was looking for them... I would start here.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Family pathology rolls from generation to generation like a fire in the woods taking down everything in its path, until one person, in one generation, has the courage to face the flames. That person brings peace to their anscestors and spares the children that follow." - Terry Real

I was listening to this podcast this week, and heard this quote.

I am a good father. I might even be a great father. And the first reason that is true is that my father did better than his father. Compounding.

It is likely true that my son will be a better father than I am. And if so, that will be my greatest triumph.

If the one thing you do in your life is to be the scorched patch of earth that keeps the fire of generational trauma from continuing to rage, then you deserve the highest honors society can give.

WHAT I AM THINKING ABOUT THIS WEEK

An essay I wrote about the importance of strategy in all things.

I was talking about this with my friend who owns a lawn and landscape company. He started in high school, and when we were in college, I worked for him for a while when he was in that difficult stage between soloprenuer and business owner, when there is too much work for one guy, and not enough for two.

One day I was struggling with trimming. Trimming, or edging, or weed-eating, whatever you call it, is one of those things that looks SO easy when you watch a pro do it, and is SO difficult to master. The first lesson my friend gave me was: “First, you have to decide on your Trimmer Theory” The questions that follow just scratch the surface of what he meant by that:

Are you going counterclockwise or clockwise? One is easier and faster, and one naturally lifts the grass up and is better for longer grass and makes a cleaner edge. Also, one shoots stones away from you, and the other shoots them towards you. Most situations have a clear winner.

When are you going to break from the edge to trim around any trees or other obstacles that are away from the sidewalk’s edge? Thinking about this saves real time. Is there a path that keeps the retracing of steps to a minimum?

Does this part need a straight edge, or a flat edge? Sidewalks typically lend themselves to the former, asphalt driveways the latter. The correct form for the moment makes a better finished product.

These are just some of the big questions, but if you actually start trimming, and are mindful the whole time, there are countless little decisions that will impact how long it takes you and how good the job looks when you are done. Then you will begin to develop your own personal "Trimmer Theory".

It seems like just “trimming”, but for anyone who cares to notice, there is a strategy. And if there is a strategy, then there are better and worse ways to accomplish the task, and if you continually test them, you will become a master.

I remember when I was deeply into Taekwondo in College. It was my third year, and I was a High Brown Belt, one rung below Black.

We were having an intra-squad tournament, and for just a split second I saw the strategy of the match open before me. I was sparring an opponent who kept dodging the same way when I threw a right roundhouse kick. Three in a row, same thing “head down and to my left” All in one instant I thought two things: “this is chess” and “I need to test it” so I threw another right roundhouse, he dodged, “head down and to the left” and the next kick was a feigned right roundhouse followed by a quick left that connected so well it ended the match.

Everything is chess.

Now mind you, at this point I had been loving Taekwondo for almost three years, practicing 3-5 days a week for hours at a time, (ahh, the free time of college!) and it had just occurred to me to start paying attention to the strategy.

You have to learn to look for the chess in everything, but often it will only truly reveal itself after years of practice. My friend had been trimming for four years by himself, and had been thinking “what is the fastest and best way to get this done” nearly the whole time.

Everything is chess if you can only see it.

Do you have a ton of boxes to break down and stack up? What is your strategy?

Do you have a ton of fallen leaves to rake up? What is your strategy?

Do you have a studio floor to sweep? What is your strategy?

Do you have a business that needs to reduce its ad spend? What is your strategy?

Do you want to spend more time with your kids? What is your strategy?

Until next week!

Spencer,

Owner of 4KWeeks

P.S. Clickon this reward if you feel like letting me know you read the whole newsletter: Timey Wimey...