Week #33 of 2025 has arrived... I am now 2 1/2 weeks removed from shattering my arm. And I can honestly, sincerely, with a full understanding of the cringe...say, I’m glad it happened...

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

It’s pretty easy for that sentence to be a saccharine platitude, and I want to be clear …it still sucks a bit, but I have learned so much about myself and tuned in much more to how very little is actually important, that it was so worth it... Usually those lessons are more costly.

ON WEEK #33 OF 2017...

Barack Obama tweeted, "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion," in response to the Charlottesville violence. 

He was 2.923.57 weeks or 56.06 years old.

WHAT I CONSUMED THIS WEEK

	Read this. This book is a result of the Nine Dots Prize. Because of that, this link takes you to the actual PDF of the book. It’s spectacularly relevant reading. A change is coming. The only question is which direction
	Ex-Google Exec (Mo Gawdat) on AI: The Next 15 Years Will Be Hell Before We Get To Heaven. Jeesh.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"By accepting yourself and being fully what you are, your presence can make others happy." - Jane Roberts

I struggle with this sometimes because I’m pretty "extra". I’m full of earnestness, energy, opinions and volume.

In fact, when we were meeting with the physician's assistant for my arm checkup, it was clear that she was a bit blown back just by the force of my energy and questions.

I am an empathetic enough person to see that occasional discomfort in people's faces and not want to increase it. But the fact is, I’m a force of nature, and while that can be off-putting to some people, it is my superpower.

I don’t know what your superpower is, but I know that diminishing it and hiding your light under a bushel basket isn’t doing anybody any good, even the people who don’t particularly care for the color of your light. 

WHAT I AM THINKING ABOUT THIS WEEK

What it means to live.

Last week I told you all about how I shattered my arm on Tuesday, three weeks ago.

As a result of that, I had a four-hour surgery the same day. When I was finally released from the hospital, it was Thursday afternoon, which means I had three days and two nights to observe.

I am speaking to 95% of you when I say this: 

You are not paying near enough attention to how fit you are. The most important thing in the world is your fitness and you are ignoring it most days. You continue to ignore it at your peril. 

I had never stayed overnight in the hospital before. The closest I ever came was an outpatient ankle reconstruction 10 years ago.

I started getting really serious about my fitness in 2019. I had a drawn out lower back episode, which terrified me for the future. (If I am like this at 42, what will 80 be like?)

Since then, I have slowly accumulated a team of professionals to help me maximize my health span. I have a trainer that I meet with once a week and he programs three strength training workouts each week. After two years of work with him, at 48, 6'3"and 210 pounds, I can dead lift 400 pounds, squat 350 pounds, benchpress 220 pounds, and play 1 hour of intense, competitive basketball twice a week. It’s not gonna win any medals, but it’s great.

I have a physical therapist I meet with monthly, and he addresses any dings and dents that have happened during training, and any weaknesses that might become blinking red lights in the future.  And I have a nutritionist that I meet with once a week. He makes sure that I am giving my body the fuel that it needs to grow and recover.

I may be a bit excessive, but all of this costs about the same as some people’s car payment each month. My trainer says that everyone should spend at least 5% of their income on proactive health and fitness... Seems reasonable... Are you saving for retirement just so you can sit at home with your body broken, neglected, and useless?

Even with all that, being in the hospital for two nights was difficult and exhausting. 

It was made easier by the fact that I could, because of my core strength, very easily sit up in bed without using my arms. It was also made easier by the fact (and excuse my TMI) that my legs were plenty strong enough to be able to walk to the bathroom and slowly and safely squat to the toilet without any assistance. 

Every bit of this experience was made easier for me and the people around me because I am super fit.

My dad was in and out of the hospital a lot in his last five years of life. If he had been as strong and fit as I am at 48, he would’ve been in the hospital much less, and those trips to the hospital would’ve been much easier to recover from.

After the age of 40, if you aren’t laser focused on being healthy and fit, when you are 80, you will wish you had been. 

My goal now is to take absolutely as much strength into each new decade as is humanly possible.

It’s not hard if you want to get started. Start by standing on one foot while you put your shoes on.

Nutritionists are pretty easy to come by and provided you get one who knows to focus on protein, it isn’t really rocket science.

And... studies have shown that you get a huge percentage of the benefit of strength training and exercise just by doing some small bit of it regularly.

You don’t have to be David Goggins to make eventually being 80 years old much easier on yourself and the people you love.

You get to do which hard thing you prefer...exercise now, or not being able to walk alone to the bathroom later.

Chose wisely.

Until next week!

Spencer,

Owner of 4KWeeks

P.S. Click on this reward if you feel like letting me know you read the whole newsletter: 

Art like this helps me feel feelings... and that is as important as my fitness. His dad's last words to him were "It's going to be ok, Buddy"... and it is.  Not the same, but ok.

Here is my version of his "beach necklace".