Week #26 of 2025 has arrived... It is going to be 95 degrees in Kansas City today. It is interesting that tomorrow's 95 is going to feel much hotter than early September's 95.

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

I am a bit lost this week. The kids are rehearsing from 9 am to 9 pm each day, we all have a bit of a summer cold, my legs are so sore from squatting after skipping 2 weeks that it is hard to walk up stairs (anyone have a solution to DOMS?)

It is all conspiring to create a feeling of... blah.  And I suppose that's ok.  My trainer says "It's the rule of thirds. One third of the time you feel great, one third you feel fine, and one third you feel blah."

But, I'm still showing up.  Still getting to my responsibilities. Still exercising even though it hurts a bit more.  It's all part of the cycle. Keep rolling and rolling.

ON WEEK #26 OF 1994...

Jonah Lomu became the youngest All Black test player at 19 years old and 45 days. He played rugby for New Zealand versus France. At 6'5" and 275 pounds, Lomu was nicknamed "The Freight Train on Ballet Shoes".

He was 998.14 weeks or 19.14 years old.

WHAT I CONSUMED THIS WEEK

	The Shadow Casket, The Darkwater Legacy Book 2, Chris Wooding Still reading book two... So good.  I would encourage ALL of you to start reading fiction... It is doing wonders for my imagination and creativity.
	The Prof F Pod, The Collapse of American Trust- with Sam Harris Sam Harris lost me for a minute. I loved The End of Faith, his 2004 book.  And I have always liked his takes, but his tiff with Ezra Klein left me a bit jaded... Not because I thought Ezra was right, just that I felt like Sam was letting his anger blind him.  But I'm back in the Harris camp. This podcast is awesome, and we should all hope to be so thoughtful, circumspect, and rational.
	Freakonomics Radio,  #636  Why Aren't We Having More Babies? Always interesting to learn about the forces outside our individual control that shape the world... Also, this is part 1... part 2 is a good listen as well.
	Big Think, Sam Harris: Breaking the Spell of Propaganda. I fell down the Sam Harris rabbit hole a bit... this is good.  Also, Youtube is the next big thing in media.... which is weird to say in 2025.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart." - Rumi

I heard this anecdote a long time ago, I have forgotten where... A father was talking to his 8-year-old daughter.  She asked him where he went every day.  He answered, "Well, I am a teacher at the university.  I teach students how to draw."  The daughter thought for a minute and then said, "You mean they forget how!?"

For better or worse, in the economy of industrial scale primary education, and/or the relentless pressure of adolescent anxiety to be "normal", most adults have often lost touch with the work that brings them the most joy.

I have been really lucky in this regard.  I have always loved making things, my parents were supportive, I had a few spectacular teachers come along just at the right moment, I didn't get a salary job right out of college, my wife believed in me and made just enough to support us while I started the studio... all wonderful bits of luck that made it possible for me to do the particular work that is in my heart.  And yet...  

The rock tumbler that is growing up in this modern, productivity driven, capitalist system sanded off quite a few of my interesting edges, and I have had to work hard to try to find the free, loose creativity that is native to every single 6 year old.

We all need to make a living... so don't quit your day job in a fit of passion... Think back to when you were young.  What form of "doing" made you the most happy? 

That is a place to start.  And if you lean into that with curiosity and a bit of work, interesting things might start happening.

WHAT I AM THINKING ABOUT THIS WEEK

My father-in-law, and "each according to their ability."

This last weekend was Father's Day.  (Happy late Father's Day!)

The nicest thing that happened to me was a note my father-in-law sent.  It was so thoughtful and complimentary that when I read it out loud to my wife, I choked up and needed a minute to finish reading the three sentences.

One of the sentences was this: "I am sure your Dad is looking down and is as proud of you and your family as I am."

There are two things that struck me about this.

The first is easy.  If you ever think something nice about a person in your life, TELL THEM. Sure, it was just a text, four sentences... but I will likely remember it for the rest of my life. It's nice to be seen. (Thanks Doc!)

The second thing is more complicated.

Many of you know my dad died two years ago, at 88.  He was a great dad.  Some would say the greatest.  There wasn't a moment in my life where I wondered if he loved me and was proud of me. He wasn't perfect, but he sure was really, really great.

For 46 years of my life he was right by my side, cheering the loudest, ready, willing and able to help me accomplish or become anything in the world I wanted. I think I only had to become an adult and feel the full lonely weight of the world on the day he died. Every day before that, he was carrying some of the load just by existing.

It's easy to take that kind of thing for granted as an experience that everyone shares and not as a HUGE leg up in the race of life.. 

My father-in-law didn't have that experience.  His father died when he was two.

As I read the note, I started thinking how much harder life could have been without my dad for those 46 years, and what a credit it is to my father-in-law's character, and the men and women that stepped up in big and small ways, that he found a path to being a good man, a loving father to my wife, and a spectacular grandfather to my kids.

I heard once that your father is the only man in your life that hopes you will do better than him. I disagree.

Life is a series of paths.  Some are harder than others. Kudos to the people who help us find and stay on the right paths, and extra kudos to people who find the right paths on their own.

Until next week!

Spencer,

Owner of 4KWeeks

P.S. Clickon this reward if you feel like letting me know you read the whole newsletter:  This is an insane oldie but a goody.(Lots of bleeped language!)