Week 27 of 2023 has arrived... slipping in like the last few thoughts of the day as you drift... off... to...sleep... DID I  LOCK THE FRONT DOOR?

Time to walk over to your 4K Weeks poster and fill in another square.  Done?... OK, here are a few Quadrant 2 thoughts for you this week.

We have been doing this for 33 weeks now.  I started sending this little newsletter out in November of last year. The feedback each week has been really positive. So, thank you.

In an era when 347 billion emails are sent EACH DAY, it seems like a big ask to send a long-form, meditative email.  But I think it's worth it, and I think it's important, and I promise to continue to do my best to make it valuable to you. The 4K Weeks poster is about living well, and that requires reflection.

If you ever think I am falling short in that promise, please let me know. I don't want to be noise, I want to be signal.

Thanks for being here and reading.  It is vital to "sharpen the saw" as a regular practice.  I think of these emails as a way for me to sharpen my saw and help you sharpen yours.

The 4K Weeks Brightsider- A Multicolor Extravaganza!
The 4K Weeks Fade to Black- Momento Mori, Anyone?
The 4K Weeks Long View- A Different Horizon

Remarkable Weeks

Week #27 in the year 1999, Tony Hawk landed the 900, a 2.5x revolution, aerial spin. From Wikipedia: "...after ten failed attempts. It was past regulation time but, as one announcer said, "We make up the rules as we go along. Let's give him another try." Watch it here... pretty cool how they all "lay hands on him" on the last attempt He was 1624.00 weeks old. (31.14 yrs) 

Week #27 in the year 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson assumes office as the first former public defender and first African American Woman to serve on the Supreme Court. She was 2702.43 weeks old. (51.82 yrs)

Week #27 in the year 2002, Steve Fossett became the first person to fly around the world non-stop in any kind of aircraft... in a 10 story tall balloon. He was 3036.57 weeks old. (58.23 yrs)

Week #27 in the year 1962, Sam Walton opens his first store in Rogers, Arkansas. He was 2309.43 weeks old. (44.29 yrs) 

This Week's Quote

You have to do your own growing, no matter how tall your Grandfather was.  -Abraham Lincoln

Your path is your path

And while it may be informed by the good and bad choices of all those who came before you, you (and you only) bear responsibility for your path.

And so own it, make peace with it, rip the band-aids off, look your weaknesses and shortcomings in the eye and just keep growing.

And just directionally... I think everyone who is truly growing is growing in the direction of love and acceptance.  Of themselves and of others. Vanishingly few messianic figures are exclusionary.  Exclusion is a human character trait, not a divine one.

What I am Consuming This Week

Revisionist History, Season 8, Episode #1 A "Good Circle". This is Malcolm Gladwell's podcast.  They are always a good listen... (you should hear his audiobook, The Bomber Mafia - it's  amazing.)  This is a continuation of his ax grinding against heavily endowed universities and how they are selfish and hurting America.

 Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman, "Will You Perceive the Event That Kills You?"  So interesting.  The best part begins at 31:40, and it describes a 50km/hr car crash, by the millisecond, and how the sensors and computer in modern automobiles react in relation to our brain's reaction speed... It's INSANE.

Lots of videos on how to convert a 1971 Hurst Edition Jeepster Commando to an EV. (It will be pretty cool if I ever get it finished!) It's mind-bending how much information is on YouTube.  Nearly anything that you could want to learn is just a few clicks away.  As bad as the internet is in some ways, it is full of so much amazingness. Most of what I search there is skill based, But then there is this...(mildly NSFW.) Who knows why this guy makes these videos...  I think they are art... whatever that means. Not everything has to have a point...as pointy as I usually am.

What I am Thinking About This Week

The United States of America

With apologies to the 40% of our studio audience who are not U.S. Citizens... The Fourth of July is coming up, and I love this country the way a father loves his teenaged child.

Fiercely, and willing to take the punches.

The U.S. is a pretty crazy experiment.

Countries are a lot like people. They are a unified whole made up of a whole bunch of squabbling individuals. There are parts of me that want to eat all the pie, and parts of me that only want vegetables... it's a messy stalemate, and it swings back and forth, but it works.

Have you heard of the concept of finite vs infinite games? 

It is an idea proposed in a book of the same name by James Carse.  The book is dense, but the concept is simple.  Finite games are played to be won - when someone loses, the game ends. Infinite games are played so that we can keep playing. 

The USA experiment has been an infinite game since the founding. All (or at least a critical mass) of the players have realized that "respecting the game" was more important than "winning". The one deviation from infinite to finite, the Civil War, resulted in around 1 million casualties, or 3% of the total population.

It's is really important to act like we want to keep playing.

So many people are trying to "win" at all costs.  So much money is being spent to convince one group that "...they aren't like us, we are the REAL Americans..." and a nearly equivalent amount of money is being spent trying to convince the other group the same thing! It is so selfish and short sighted.

Take a second and really stop to think about which things that you believe actually came from inside your own head, and which were likely put there by someone who activated your tribal instincts with some hyperbolic rant about a "THEM" group.

None of us actually own this beautiful land... we are all just borrowing it from our kids and our neighbor's kids.

And yes, some people's ideas suck - that is true of either extreme.  But as long as we make sure we can keep playing, the kids will be alright.

Happy 4th!

Have a great week! 

Thanks for being a part of the journey with us! Please tell me if you liked/disliked the email this week.  Ask my wife... those are the only emails I like to get!

Spencer, Owner of 4KWeeks.com

Spencer@4KWeeks.com

Dad Joke O' The Week

Why do golfers always carry an extra pair of pants?  In case they get a hole in one!