Weekly Word: January 10, 2021

News and Notes
"Nobody will remember you."

These wise words came from the author Lawrence Wright who wrote some incredible books, one of which turned into a great series called The Looming Tower about 9/11. Now at first glance these words seem a little depressing but he went on to describe how he uses those four words to motivate him to pursue anything that interests him. As he looked back on his days in college, he is now in his sixties, he thought about all the great writers that he studied. As his kids went through school, he realized that many of these writers are no longer part of the curriculum. Disappointed by this, he realized one day nobody is going to care about his work. Nihilistic, I know, but stay with me here for a second..

This led to another thought about what motivates people. It basically comes down to two things: pain and pleasure. The pain of this thought, that nobody is going to remember his work led him to pursue topics that don't necessarily fit the mold. He figured that if nobody is going to remember him he might as well write about the things that he wants to write about and do it his way. In the end, it is basically who cares what anyone thinks, I am going to do what I want, and best of all, have fun while doing it!                     

What I've Been Watching
The Last Dance on Netflix
This series is awesome! The timeline of this basketball team lines up pretty well with when I watched massive amounts of sports growing up. I remember many of these stories and collected many of these guys basketball cards. In fact, they are probable collected dust in an attic somewhere as we speak. Getting back to the show, I absolutely love how coach Phil Jackson managed the different personalities on this team. For one, his handling of three unique personalities like Dennis Rodman, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen was beyond impressive. These three men had three different routes to NBA success. They all had their needs. They were all high maintenance at times but they always had each others back. They needed each other and understood that when the ball dropped, they would show up and play at a high level. In addition to all that, they knew Phil was there to fight for them and fight with him.

Phil as a person is unique. Phil as a basketball innovator, not so much. His ability to coach talent was the star of the system. The organization found players to fit into the style of basketball he wanted to play and everything seemed to work like magic! Others tried to replicate his style, often times his proteges, and they all were unsuccessful. Phil Jackson as a man and coach is not something to be replicated. I still have a few more episodes but look forward to finishing it up soon!

What I've Been Thinking About...
Creating more content! I slipped up in this regard over the course of the pandemic. I guess we can say I was trying to formulate a plan but after about 9 months of inactivity it is time for some action!

So I have decided to fire up the old podcast once again. As I have been thinking about the best way to do this, I decided it may be best to blend three interests of mine (books, coaching, and coffee) into one great show that the viewer will enjoy. If I had to sum it up in one sentence it will basically be this newsletter but on steroids! At some point in the near future I would love to have some guests visit the farm to discuss things but right now, I am going to be riding solo. 

The first book I will be discussing is Lean Made Simple by Slade Jones. This book provides some great principles for a short term fat loss program as well as what to do when that program ends. Be on the lookout for this over the next couple of days!

Fitness Tip of the Week
The economics of training. I had a talk this week with a former athlete and we were discussing conditioning. He felt that he could use a little more conditioning work and I began telling him what I did. To sum it up simply, I row for 30 seconds and then rest for 30. I then row for 1 minute, rest for 1, row for 2 minutes and then rest for 2, and finally I row for 4 minutes and go home. He said, you know what would be good? I said what? He said if you repeat what you did except now count back down to 30 seconds. I said "Nah, brotha. Just because some of something is good doesn't mean more is better" .

The conditioning I do doesn't sound like much but it is sustainable. I see slow and steady improvements that will continue over the long haul (I feel like that is what people want their retirement portfolio to look like). I don't always enjoy it but I do it. If I doubled up on it I may be able to do it for a few weeks and get big results but eventually I would grow sick of it or have an achy elbow or knee and pack it in. The improvements will level off and eventually start to decrease. I think this happens to a lot of us at the New Year. We embark on a new journey but the journey we take is one that is not sustainable. We start out motivated but soon grow discouraged. It becomes too much too soon. So here is what I recommend: Start slow, stay patient, slowly progress, and be in it for the long haul. Long term adherence trumps short term intensity!

Quote of the Week
"If you spend too much time learning the 'tricks' of the trade, you may not learn the trade. There are no shortcuts. If you're working on finding a short cut, the easy way, you're not working hard enough on the fundamentals. You may get away with it for a spell, but there is no substitute for the basics. And the first basic is good, old fashioned hard work." -- John Wooden

I hope you all have an awesome week!
Chris Fluck