Do you like hitting the ball?

If you commit to nothing you’ll be distracted by everything.

One of my favorite questions to ask myself:

Can my current actions carry me to my desired future?

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Sooner or later you realize everything comes down to your ability to ignore distraction and stick with the plan despite how shiny the alternatives are.

Martial Arts Teacher Daniel Bolelli on discipline:

"Training is like sweeping the floor. Just because we've done it once, doesn't mean the floor is clean forever. Everyday the dust comes back. Everyday we must sweep."

Writer Kpaxs on the definition of status:

“Status is the game you play when you’ve forgotten what you actually want.”

In 2010, Novak Djokovic was in despair. He'd just blown a two-set lead at the French Open and lost after entering as the favorite. He told his coach Marian Vajda he was done and that he wanted to quit.

But Vajda saw the real problem. Djokovic had gotten consumed by rankings, titles, and what everyone expected of him. In Djokovic's own words, he was "mentally at a very messed up place." So Vajda asked him a question: why did you start playing this sport in the first place?

Djokovic thought about it. He remembered the mini racket his parents had given him as a kid, and how much he'd loved just holding it in his hand. Then Vajda asked him a second question: do you still love holding a racket in your hand? Djokovic said yes.

He decided not to quit. The next year, he won three Grand Slams. Over his career, he would hold the #1 ranking for 428 weeks, the most of any player in history. When asked how he lasted so long, he said: "I can carry on playing at this level because I like hitting the tennis ball."

—

I had a catchup call with a friend this past week, and about halfway through, he said my energy sounded different, like I sounded happier. I think he's right.

4 months ago I asked myself, if money wasn't an issue, what would I do with my time? The answer struck me immediately. I'd write books. So why was I postponing that? Why spend a decade grinding toward a version of my life I could just start living now?

From the outside, leaving a great job to move back home and write books might look like a step backwards, but I've never been more locked in. I wake up inspired and go to bed tired, but not exhausted.

Don’t get me wrong, it's not always easy when you have to rewrite a sentence for the 11th time or get stuck on an idea you can't quite articulate, but I try to remind myself that this messy process IS winning. I like hitting the ball.

Publishing my 2nd book, getting people to read it, getting praise and recognition - all of that is a secondary benefit to what I’m doing now: actually writing the book.

If you're not sure whether you like to hit the metaphorical ball in your life, a few questions to reflect on:

When you like hitting the ball, you don't need to be pushed. You want to wake up early, stay late, be disciplined, and work on your craft, because working is the reward. The hunt is the feast.

A question for you to reflect on this week:

Do you like hitting the ball?

Until next week,

Author of You Can Just Do Things

Ps. Eggs

You Can Just Do Things just turned ONE! 🎂📙

A year ago, I confessed to a friend that I was nervous.

What actually happened:

📙 A 60-year-old woman DM'd me to say she'd entered her first bodybuilding competition and won.
📙 A med student cold emailed his professor and landed a research opportunity.
📙 A high school kid used the public pitch method and landed his first internship.
📙 A friend ran his first marathon because the title convinced him to sign up.
📙 A former coworker applied the principles in the book to land a new job.

I couldn't be more proud and grateful.

To everyone who read, shared, gifted, or sent me a note about what it meant to you – thank you.

To celebrate, the book is 75% off this week only.

You can grab a copy for yourself or a friend here.

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