I read “Atomic Habits”, by James Clear, and one thing is clear (no pun intended), the only way for progress to be made in any field, craft, or skill is to make sure to put in your reps.
Many times, we find ourselves yearning for a specific vision to be fulfilled.
There is an end goal we want to achieve.
Focused on the hustle, we can find ourselves wanting to break our way into the top.
But success never happens overnight:
A new Youtuber never maintains 1 million views after posting a single viral video.
A first-time entrepreneur never becomes a millionaire by building out a product and shipping it overnight.
A junior employee at a company doesn’t become an executive or CEO in a year, even if they work the hardest. (okay, maybe if there’s nepotism involved 👀)
There is a possibility of capturing potential from one moment of success, but consistent success cannot stand without a strong foundation.
Like trying to grow muscles, we must put in the work to build up habits as a bodybuilder does.
Now one thing I know that stops many people, including me, is that when aiming for a goal, we want to do things the right way.
Comparing our goal to others who’ve walked the walk, we can’t help but wonder how we can achieve the perfect path.
That is a lie.
There is no perfect path. No one way.
Perfection is a good goal to imitate and strive for.
But visions without a healthy dose of reality can be toxic.
And the truth is, looking at other people who are successful, there is a long period of work, perseverance, and grit that is undertaken and sometimes unseen.
When looking at the famous MrBeast’s earliest videos, his videos have the quality and shakiness of a beginner.
He didn’t know what content he wanted to produce.
He wasn’t sure what direction he wanted to go.
But he did his reps.
He tried everything in the Youtube world, brainstormed and executed ideas, and was willing to be a fool in order to become where he is now.
“If you are not willing to be a fool, you can't become a master.”
―Jordan B. Peterson
It reminds me of a study where a photography class gave students a final project.
Half the students were told they could only take one photo, and submit that photo for their assignment, while the other half of the students were told they could take as many photos as they wanted, submitting only the final one.
Surprisingly, the people who took photos had higher grades than the ones who only took one photo.
And it makes sense.
You can analyze your positioning, work on photographic effects, and read all the books from all the experts you want, but until you take a picture, you won’t know what your photo looks like in practice.
Experience trumps theory.
They did their reps.
So what are you waiting for?
What is a goal you want to achieve? A project you want to start?
Take the time to plan out the path (but don’t get caught in perfection).
Then put on those weights.
Go to the bench.
And put in those reps.
Questions to ponder: 🤔
What is one project or someday goal you want to achieve?
What is one thing you can do today or this week in order to start putting in reps towards that goal?
Weekly Collections
A collection of resources for you to enjoy… 📰 🎬 🎙️
Faith
“Sooner or later, every Christian experiences a faith crisis — some of us numerous ones. But a crisis of faith does not mean a loss of faith. In fact, it is often through faith crises that we learn what faith really is.
So, when your own crises come, don’t assume your faith, love, and joy are gone, but that God wants to grow them in the furnace of affliction. Because the forging of a Christian Hedonist often occurs in the fires of a faith crisis.”
—Faith Forged in Crisis | DesiringGod
Quick Guideline for a High-Quality Webcam Setup
A Shakespeare Quote of the Day
Weekly Tidbits
Learnings, verses, & quotes to chew on… 🧐
Verse of the Week
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
—Philippians 2:3-4
Challenging Quote
“When people reflect on what it takes to be mentally fit, the first idea that comes to mind is usually intelligence. The smarter you are, the more complex the problems you can solve— and the faster you can solve them. Intelligence is traditionally viewed as the ability to think and learn. Yet in a turbulent world, there’s another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn.
Mental horsepower doesn’t guarantee mental dexterity. No matter how much brainpower you have, if you lack the motivation to change your mind, you’ll miss many occasions to think again. Research reveals that the higher you score on an IQ test, the more likely you are to fall for stereotypes, because you’re faster at recognizing patterns. And recent experiments suggest that the smarter you are, the more you might struggle to update your beliefs.
The curse of knowledge is that it closes your mind to what you don’t know. Good judgment depends on having the skill— and the will— to open your mind. A hallmark of wisdom is knowing when it’s time to abandon some of the most cherished parts of your identity."
—Adam Grant in Think Again
Weekly Update
Personal life stuff… 🔔
Hello friends,
And to all the new people, welcome! Greetings from Austin! 👋 Let’s jump right in!
Our fast is ending this weekend, and it has been a very good time! 🙂
Though doing liquids only has been hard, I’ve found myself relearning the joy of being in God’s presence and taking refuge in Him. God’s grace brings a feeling of deep peace and comfort, as I feel I am able to come to Him with everything and know that He will cover and care for me. 🙏
Even as the fast ends, looking forward and beyond Lent (another potential period of fasting), I hope to be able to carry the spiritual discipline of fasting outside of the church, as I foresee it to be necessary to grow closer to God the older I get! 🧐
Spiritual topics aside, as I shared last week, I joined an entrepreneurship community, and with it, I started to connect and build relationships with many amazing people! People who are building Youtube channels, growing businesses, or business connectors who help, support, and connect like-minded people to others. 💪
Through the community, I even found a platform called Lunchclub.Ai, which allows you to attain smart introductions to relevant people, with curated professional connections! 🧠
I’ve already met two people, and it’s been amazing being able to interact with people from places like Pennsylvania and New York, and connect based on specific preferences! (growing team, finding a co-founder, getting funding, gaining business development, etc..)
It’s really simple and straightforward, and took me several mins to set up my profile, preferences, and have 2 meetings scheduled in my calendar. (hoping to increase it to 3 next week)
If you’re interested, it has a waiting list to enter, but you can use my referral link to get further up the list!
As I shared in my post above, one of the many ways I’m trying to put in my reps is by connecting and meeting many people of different backgrounds weekly, so this platform has really helped in that!
Currently, I know that I can impact and help those in my circle, but by expanding my network and friendships, I hope to be able to even better support, help, and connect others to one another for now or in the future! (big business connector energy 💪)
Anyways, all that update aside, here are several pictures from this past week: 📷
Thanks for reading to the end! Always appreciate y’all sticking around with all that I have to share.
With that, stay safe 😷 , keep it savvy 😎, and I’ll see y’all in the next update 😊
Eric
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