From Scratch (Ep. 40)
The Journey Left or So Far, Evidence of Success, Week 40 Updates
The Journey Left or The Journey So Far
Like a glass half-full or half-empty.
You always have two choices on how to judge your journey so far.
How far you’ve come
How far you have left to go
Back in 2019, I drove a van from Florida to California.
A friend of mine asked me if I wanted to help him move some stuff from St. Petersburg, FL back to his house in Turlock, California.
His idea was we could rent a van and drive this thing the entire way. A 2,800 mile journey.
When would I ever get to do something like this ever again?
Fuck it, I’m in.
Unfortunately, we had a timeline. So we finished the road trip in 4 days. Yes, it was a ton of driving with us taking shifts.
But I’m not new to long drives. I remember when I was younger I would dread the 10 hour drive from Michigan to Pennsylvania to be with family.
And I could’ve adopted the same perspective on this road trip too. But instead of counting down the miles…
I was enjoying the brief stops.
Trying and successfully winning enough money in baccarat at a Louisiana casino to pay for the hotel room for the night.
I was enjoying the scenery.
Watching cities turn to desert as we drove across Texas and Arizona.
That period of 4 days was a rare occurrence. I was fully immersed in the journey, not caring about the destination.
But when it comes to working toward business or personal goals, I wish I could say I’ve replicated the same experience and feeling from my road trip.
Like anyone else, there are times when I slip and think about how much further I have to go.
And I don’t know about anyone else, but these thoughts have never felt good for me at all.
But when I find myself going down these spiraling thoughts, I’ve trained myself enough to be aware. To snap back to the present.
Then I try to shift my thoughts to remember how far I’ve come since I started.
This is an example of “gap” and “gain” thinking, terminology I’m borrowing from Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy’s book.
When you’re in the “gap”, you’re always pondering over how much further you have to go.
Like a child in a long car drive constantly asking, “Are we there yet?”
When you’re in the “gain”, you’re always appreciative of how far you’ve come. Because if you’re still working towards something, it’s impossible for you to not experience changes and improvements.
And it’s a reminder for yourself that you have what it takes to get to where you’re trying to go.
But if you’re always in the gap, you tend to forget about how far you’ve come.
Maybe this is motivating for some people. Special human beings like David Goggins.
From what I’ve seen, being in the gap causes most people to shift their focus to more negative things.
Like a person going to the gym, still fixated on the flab around their stomach instead of noticing the definition on their arms and shoulders.
These days, I’ve been less patient when it comes to entertaining conversations within the gap.
Of course, I try my best to steer people out of the gap and into the gain. But you know…
Horses, water, and drinking.
Evidence of Success
Gonna continue this previous section for today because I think there’s another point that needs to be brought up.
Fear of failure.
This happens to everyone. No one is immune.
At some point along the way, feelings of dread and discouragement will arise. And at that point, it’s up to you to choose how you react to them.
You can accept these internal monsters as truth or accept them as temporary and continue moving forward.
When you’re in the gap, you might run into these monsters more often than not.
But when you’re in the gain, you might remind yourself that you have defeated these monsters before.
I’m going to Vegas in July for International Fight Week. My plan is to meet fighters in person and talk with them about starting their own newsletters.
The thought of this is fucking scary.
But you know what?
I’ve done this before. Back when I was building a startup with my friends.
I got an opportunity to do some volunteer work at some private investor event. And after my grunt work was done, I got the opportunity to mingle.
I distinctly remember asking someone, “How do I talk to these investors?”
And of course, his response was obvious, “Like how you would talk to any normal person.”
He was 100% right.
So I summoned the courage to walk up to these investors and talk to them about my startup.
The first approach was scary. But the more I did it, the less scary it became.
Of course, there were some who brushed me off. Others wanted me to follow-up.
Nothing ever materialized from my efforts. But that’s okay.
Because this is evidence for the person I am today that I’ve been in this situation before.
I’ve looked those monsters in the eye, powered up my Jajanken like Gon from Hunter x Hunter…
And blasted them away.
The earlier, less confident version of myself was able to do this. And I am not that same person.
So I’m ready for July.
And YOU are probably ready for what’s ahead of you too. You just need a reminder.
Week 40 Updates
I’ve been super impressed with the Miami Heat this year. As an 8th seed, they’re on the verge of making it to the NBA finals.
What’s been even more impressive about their playoff run are the challenges they’ve faced:
Very up-and-down season, barely making the playoffs
Losing one of their key players in the first round to injury
4 undrafted players in their current rotation
But despite all of that, what they’ve accomplished:
Beating the best team in the NBA this year (Milwaukee Bucks) 4-1
Beat a surging New York Knicks team
One game away from beating the second best team in the NBA, the Boston Celtics, to make it to the NBA Finals
They’ve got a tall task ahead of them with the Denver Nuggets. But I think they can get it done.
Anyway, so what does this NBA playoff update have to do with anything?
Because I can relate to the Miami Heat’s run right now. There hasn’t been much momentum in the past two months. Subscriber growth slowing. No meetings booked.
But still continuing forward.
Now I’ve got a call tomorrow with someone who might be my biggest client yet.
Whether we end up working together or not, he and his team will leave the call knowing that a newsletter is a great asset to build for his brand.
Other than that, we’re still growing:
1,664 (+75) = 1,739 subscribers across our clients
Closing in on 2,000 subscribers, pretty cool. We started with 0.
I’ll keep you guys updated next week with the meeting and anything else.
As always…
Trust the process, love the process.
Kevin