Week #48, 2024
Week 48 of 2024 has arrived. The holiday planning and decorations are in full swing. Enjoy it. It's the most human thing in the world to celebrate the endings and beginnings of things.
Time to walk over to your 4K Weeks poster and fill in another square. Done?
I have been writing this weekly newsletter for 2 years and 2 weeks. 106 weekly newsletters. Does that seem like a lot? I have been recording the podcast for a year and 2 weeks. 54 podcasts. Does that seem like a lot?
It doesn't seem like it has been that long, and also it seems like I have always been writing it each week.
I think that is when a good habit really pays off... This is just something I do now, each week. It doesn't matter how I feel, it doesn't matter if it is my best writing, it has to go out at 8:30 on Sunday. No matter what.
What do you do every week no matter what?
Enjoy the email this week!
P.S. When you are ready, the best way I can help you is likely in the 33 Day Foundation Accountability Group. As we ramp up the community, the early members are going to get a lot of individual attention from me.
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Remarkable Weeks
Week 48 of 1865, Lewis Carrol had "Alice in Wonderland" published in America. He was 1,765.29 weeks old (33.85 yrs).
Week 48 of 1960, Gordie Howe,who is regarded as "Mr. Hockey," became the first NHLer to score 1,000 points. He was 1,704.14 weeks old (32.68 yrs).
Week 48 of 2016, Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the "Hamilton" musical, made a record for the most money earned in a week on Broadway at $3.3 million. He was 1,923.71 weeks (36.89 4rs).
This Week's Quote
"Nothing is predestined: The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings." -Ralph Blum
Nothing is predestined, but here is an important note... Today's weather is very likely to be very similar to tomorrow's unless some big amount of energy, in the form of a storm, shows up.
So, I suppose that maybe things are predestined... if you allow them to be.
If you want to change the outcome of your current trajectory, you will need to stop using your failures as evidence of your worst fears, and start using them as motivation to be the force that changes things.
You CAN do it, but you have to DO something. The only question is if you WILL.
What I am Consuming This Week
I have been a creator this week, not a consumer. I have been working on some things for the studio and our website PortofCuriosity.com. It is an interesting duality. I really value seeking and learning, but when I am doing my most creative, generative work, I can't be also processing other peoples ideas. And since I have been spending hours on the things pictured below, It has just been Spotify playlists on repeat!
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What I am Thinking About This Week
My moustache and goals.
This is so dumb...and maybe TMI... and maybe a long story with a tiny lesson, but go with me. First a bit of background.
We went to Germany in September, and popped over to Salzburg, Austria for a day.
While we were there, we visited the Salzburg Castle. It's an amazing castle on a high hill.
I am a portrait sculptor, as many of you know (and the above pics illustrate!). I am always seeking out and taking pictures of sculptures for reference. Inside the castle we happened upon a portrait bust of Former Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, Franz Joseph the First. (His actual full list of titles is almost an Onion Article of ridiculousness.)
Here are two reference photos that I took.
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I really like this bust. It immediately became my #1 favorite for sculpted facial hair... and also, my goal for my personal facial hair.
This beard spontaneously grows out of my face. Fast. It is crazy. I suppose I would rather have been gifted with my father's hair (he had a full, thick head of hair at 88), but instead I got the beard. I am not going to be bothered by shaving everyday, and so it stays. But I rarely have a plan or a goal.
But, since October, I this magnificent ideal has been my goal... It's tongue in cheek and serious at the same time.
So, now I have a goal.
I bought some beard balm, and a comb, and every night I have been "training" my currently short mustache hairs to go to the left and right as they grow.
And then, yesterday, I noticed at a stoplight that I was unconsciously smoothing the mustache to the left and the right very intentionally, evil-genius style.
Now, I know this is trivial, and I know my mustache doesn't matter. If I need to shave it off tomorrow, I won't give it another thought.
BUT... the lesson is HUGE. When you have a goal, one that is clearly defined and has an outcome that is nearly 100% within your control, and then you take regular, intentional actions to reach that goal, that's when the magic happens.
You internalize the goal, and when you don't even realize it, you end up acting in a way to make success even more likely.
I guess another example of that is this newsletter... I have to write it each week, and so, I have internalized the noticing of moments that teach me a lesson that is worth sharing.
I know that the mustache metaphor is stretching a bit here... my friend and proofreader John said it is "stretching so far that it pulled a hamstring. But the lesson stands... Once you commit to a path, and take consistent action, the road starts rising up to meet you.
How can you apply this little lesson in larger ways?
Until Next Week,
Spencer
P.S. I'm serious about the 33 Day Foundation. It works.
P.P.S. If you read this whole email, here is your reward... If you have teens, you do this every damn night. or, oh Deer!
Dad Joke O' The Week
What do you call a teacher who never farts in public?
A private tutor!
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