Welcome to Start 2 Continue’s changelog newsletter, where we update you on everything going on with us each month and share helpful insight to improve your personal and professional life.
After a little bit of a hiatus last month, I’m happy to report that things are moving quickly. New content here, even more content slated in different places, and even some videos are almost ready to be shared. There’s been a lot going on but we’ll dive into that soon.
A special thank you to our subscribers and clients. It’s been a pleasure working with you and creating things together.
Thought of the Day
“I judge you unfortunate because you have never lived through misfortune. You have passed through life without an opponent — no one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you.”
It would be nice if life were easy (or, at the very least, easier). But a life without challenge would ultimately be boring. Think of your favorite books, video games, movies, and television shows. There’d be no excitement if not for some sort of evil to triumph over or an obstacle to smash through. A protagonist who shows no growth is often unlikeable and difficult to root for.
That isn’t to say you should create your own hardship to claim that you’ve suffered. However, we shouldn’t shrink in the shadow of a challenge or the obstacles that life places in our paths. Practicing your skills and studying theory is all well and good, but it’s these real-world challenges that act as pop quizzes and exams to test what you’ve learned so far. Ideally, you welcome them as a means to prove all that learning wasn’t just performative.
Overcoming challenges also doesn’t have to be this massive event. Oftentimes we’ll surpass milestones without realizing it through small, continuous bits of progress. For instance, if your goal is to bench 225 lbs, you must first be able to bench the bar (which is usually 45 lbs). Even if you climb slowly in increments of 10 lbs, that resistance becomes easier and easier to deal with; that doesn’t mean it becomes any lighter, just that you’ve become stronger.
This is true of all goals. Whether you want to get better at controlling your emotions, communicating with others, cooking, writing, trap shooting, roller derby, sailing… you must be willing to face the inevitable wall of your current skill level and suffer the frustration of setback until you learn the way over, under, around, or through that barrier.
If you’ve been trying to get through something lately and you’ve been struggling to believe in yourself, let this be a sign that you’re on your way. And that at least one person believes in you (spoiler alert: it’s me… because no matter how well we know each other or for how long or who you are to me and me, to you, you’re still human and you have reserves of potential you’re still finding).
Please reflect on the following:
When was the last time you sought to challenge your skills or try something new?
How do you handle failure? What would you do if failure didn’t exist? (After all, the only real failure is death so if as long as you’re still breathing, the fight ain’t over.)
What are some problems or obstacles that used to feel overwhelming but now you handle them very well now? How did it feel to get through them?
Content You Might Have Missed
Here are a few articles we’ve shared over the last two months. My ADHD is bad but hey, at least it’s an improvement from the last changelog so we’re getting through it:
0 to >1 Bedroom Challenge: A Real Example of Game Theory in Action - Struggling to get ahead no matter how hard you try? Follow along as I apply game theory to my own financial and life challenges, in real time, starting from nothing.
Stratagem: Using Whimsy to Overcome Executive Dysfunction and Existential Dread - The world is absurd. But for those drowning in anxiety and decision paralysis, using whimsy might be the most rational option in an irrational universe.
0→1BrC Update #1: Building the Foundation - It's been a month since the start of the 0 to >1 Bedroom Challenge. In this first monthly update, we'll set the benchmark and explore how to know how fast you should work towards your goals.
Discord Community Updates
There are (surprisingly) no updates for our Discord community at this time.
Special Thanks to Our Current Discord Subscribers and Server Boosters
Hype Homies
22_Flames
Katak
Messinger
NightKnight
Skilfulace416
Taz
Solid Supporters
Cale
CecilArongo
MightyChooch
old_soul_42
Server Boosters
22_Flames
Abaddon
CecilArongo
Concrete Cornhole
Conoron
DeathGhost
Melnik
Nighthawk1A
Penguino
Rolonar
Skilfulace416
Snyperfire
Taz
Xanael
Until Next Time!
I know it’s been a while since we last talked but I’m happy to reconnect this month. Just like Seneca says, I’ve been pressing forward through my own challenges (in the form of 0→1BrC among others) and while it’s not always the easiest or tidiest way of handling everything on my plate, the only way to learn is by doing.
All we can do is our best and sometimes, if we want to improve on that, it has to happen in small awkward steps.
Better than the alternative of staying put, feeling stuck, and hating everything, right?
As always, keep being awesome. Go conquer your goals.
Tony “Metz” Magestro | Co-Founder and Business & Personal Strategist, Start 2 Continue