Week 31 of 2024 has arrived. The world has sent its best athletes to Paris to show all of us a thing or two about achievement and excellence. Why do I get butterflies in my stomach when watching them get into the starting blocks?

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

Two things about the Olympics.

First, you should listen to the Revisionist History podcast series about Hitler's Olympics.  I think it is very interesting, and lays bare the fact that at certain times in human history, everything is political.

Second, I listened to The Tim Ferriss Show with Ann Miura-Ko this week. On her first day of her work study (copying and filing paperwork), her dad told her " Make sure you do a world class job!" He had said that many times before, and this time, she thought about what that would mean... world class copying and filing?  

There is always the opportunity to give a world class effort... even if you are just taking out the trash. You don't just start making a world class effort on the first day of the Olympics.

Remarkable Weeks

Week  31 of 1972, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward had their first article on the Watergate Scandal published in The Washington Post. This ultimately led to the resignation of then-president Richard Nixon. It was considered "maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time." They were 1,485.14 (28.48 yrs) and 1,531.75 (29.37 yrs) weeks old, respectively. 

Week  31 of 2012, Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian in history by winning his 19th career Olympic medal and 15th gold as part of the American 4 x 200m freestyle relay team in London. He was 1,413.29 weeks old (27.10 yrs).

Week  31 of 2022, Volodymyr Zelensky urged compulsory evacuation of civilians from the eastern Donetsk region due to intense combat. He was formerly an actor and comedian who played the role of the President of Ukraine, following which he announced his candidacy for presidency. He was 2,322.43 weeks old (44.53 yrs).

This Week's Quote

He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty. -Lao Tzu

Oh man... Strength... Things are tough for young men in a lot of parts of life right now.  I know that seems like a weird thing to say since men still (mostly) rule the world, but it's true, and there is ample evidence to support it. The reason I mention that is this: When a whole bunch of one group are disaffected, you can bet people will start feeding them "content" that feasts on and amplifies that discontent.

This is why there is SO MUCH "content" focused on the "He who conquers other is strong" part of masculine strength... MMA, slap battles, etc, etc. etc.  It's not bad to aspire to have big muscles and be competent in your body.  I am heartily in favor of that.

But it is the inferior of the two kinds of strength.

It's much harder to talk about and encourage people towards conquering their internal life. That journey is full of nuance and quiet struggle, and no matter how much you improve, you are always still taking the first step of your journey. You have to conquer yourself everyday.

What I am Thinking About This Week

Vision

All of the meat of this email pops out of my brain each week.  And most of the time it's an extension of the personal struggles and victories that have been swishing around in my brain.

In an interview with Tim Ferriss, Arnold Schwartzenegger was asked how he gained the confidence he had a a very young age... he won the Mr. Europe bodybuilding contest at 19,  Ferriss remarked on the confidence on his face, saying that if they just looked at the photos it would have been clear that he would win.

He days "My confidence always came from my vision.  If you have a very clear vision of where you want to go, then the rest is much easier, because you know why you have to.. {do all the things}...It's not like oh my god, I have to do another 200 sit ups,  It's more like 'I can't wait to do another 200 sit-ups because that will get me one step closer to the abs I need to win.'"

I have been thinking a lot about this quote this week. It takes courage to have a vision, but before that it takes clarity. Clarity is in short supply with me right now.

But that's ok.  I have enough courage to stand here and wait until the vision is clear.

How about you? Do you have a very clear vision of how the next 5 years will go for you?  If not, is it courage you are lacking, or clarity? I would love to know... reply to me.

I think most of us have enough courage once we need it... but not enough clarity.  We need to get clear on what we want so the forces of the universe can rise up to meet us.

I know that is where I am now... and maybe knowing that is exactly the step I need to be on right now... or maybe not... it's unclear.

Have a great week!

Dad Joke O' The Week

Did you hear about the fire at the shoe factory?

Unfortunately, many soles were lost.