🦅 Do this ONE thing to achieve long-term success

The 5-minute weekly newsletter for high-performance dads.

Good evening, men of VALOR.

Tomorrow is America’s birthday…and tomorrow, we ride.

Home of the Brave since 1776.

Enjoy the Fourth, everyone!

-Collier

_QUOTE
“Embarrassment is the cost of entry. If you aren’t willing to look like a foolish beginner, you’ll never become a graceful master.”
- Ed Latimore

No one wants to look less like a beginner than a man married with kids.

We want to have all the answers.

We want to show our wives and kids that they can trust us to lead.

We want the respect of our peers at work.

We think that looking like a beginner somehow makes us less than. So we avoid that feeling at all costs.

But even after falling into these thought traps, I come back to a vital aspect of one of our core roles.

And that is: As leaders in our spheres of influence, we must take up the mantle of being the beginner FIRST so the people behind us feel the safety and freedom to do the same.

Often that process is messy and sometimes we end up looking foolish or just straight up embarrassing ourselves.

But taking that path will lead us to the areas we want to master. 

_WISDOM
Mood follows action, not the other way around.

To achieve success in any long-term pursuit, perhaps the most important attribute is simply showing up.

This is especially important early on.

When taking on something new, mood and motivation are often quite high at the outset.

But then, when the first rough patch hits (there is no escaping rough patches) mood and motivation dwindle. 

This is when you sleep in on cold mornings instead of running; not give your all at the end of a big project; or, following the honeymoon period, decide to ignore your partner when they tell you about their day.

And yet if you force yourself to show up—to do the run, to focus on the project, to be present for your partner—and if you do this consistently, a strange thing starts to happen; your mood, motivation, and interest lift.

Sure, a firm daily practice takes some motivation to get going, but over time, the equation is reversed; dedicating yourself to a firm daily practice is what builds motivation. (Source: Rich Roll/Brad Stulberg)

This is easily one of my top life mottos.

I always thought “when I feel good” would be the right time to act.

Man, was I off.

I rarely took any action because the feelings came and they went so fast that I just kept waiting for the next “feeling.” Weird, right?

Don’t make that mistake—it is a dangerous game to play.

_ACTION
Use the “four quarters” method.

This method refers to the practice of splitting your day into four sections:

1. Morning (5am-9am)

2. Late Morning (9am-1pm)

3. Afternoon (1pm-5pm)

4. Night time (5pm-onward)

    

The theory is by separating the day out, you never need to write off a day as “bad.”

If you don’t perform at your best in one quarter, you still have the other three. (Source: Colby Kultgen)

That’s a wrap, folks!

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