Thank you. Every reader, every piece of feedback this first week has been fuel to keep pressing forward. And so I shall.

Friday’s first live stream tested me. The question inside of me was simple. “Would I be as good as the Greats at sharing value with others?” The answer I found through reflection this weekend is YES. Not because it was perfect. I was nervous. We had technical difficulties and I was only able to go live on Twitch (It’s fixed for multi-platform broadcasting now). But I did it. And that’s where every great voice began. Not polished. Not ready. Just willing to start.

You’re going to have that moment too. The first time you put yourself out there knowing you might stumble. Go do it anyway. Nobody starts great. Everybody starts with a little fear.

I also changed the newsletter to a shorter format. One Principle. One Voice. One Verse. One Challenge. This newsletter exists to serve you, not to drown you. The Greats taught me that removing things is a GREAT thing. That’s a principle worth applying beyond a newsletter. Leverage it.

Let’s get into it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

1 REAL DEAL PRINCIPLE, VOICE, VERSE, & CHALLENGE

Fear doesn't disqualify you. Quitting does.

I’m going to continue with this live stream experience as the theme for today’s newsletter.

Every person you admire was a little or a whole lot of nervous before they started. The speech. The business. The conversation. The leap. Fear showed up first but they went anyway. That's Faith. Believing the thing on the other side of the fear is worth walking through it.

I was certain about my ability to launch this newsletter. And totally nervous to go live on camera. But this was different for me, not because I conquered the fear on my first go. But because I decided the fear wasn't the thing that gets to make the decision. Faith is. The belief that showing up matters even when you can't see the outcome yet. Fear is information, not instruction. It tells you something matters. It doesn't force you to stop. Put your big boy/girl pants on and just do it.

That’s the real deal.

"Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline."

Jim Collins spent years studying what separates good companies from great ones and wrote the book ‘Good to Great’. But this line applies way beyond business. Your circumstances don't determine your personal ceiling. Your choices do. The kid who grows up with every advantage and makes lazy choices will be outperformed by the kid who grows up with nothing and makes disciplined ones. Every time. Over a long enough timeline, choices beat circumstances. I’ve seen it. That's not motivational fluff although Monday’s motivate me. That's what the data actually shows. Collins proved it with companies. Life proves it with people like you and I.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

This isn't a suggestion. It's a command. Be strong. Be courageous. The reason it has to be commanded is because fear is the default. Nobody needs to be told to be afraid. That comes naturally thanks to the evolution of experiences passed along for many generations. Can you imagine how afraid the cave me were? Lol

COURAGE is the thing that has to be chosen, deliberately, every single time.
And the promise attached to it isn't that the scary thing will go away. It's that you won't face it alone. That changes the math on every perceived risk you'll ever take.

Call or text one person who has been through something hard and came out the other side. Ask them one question. What did that season teach you that nothing else could have? Listen. Don’t give advice. Just listen.

Then write down the one thing from their answer that hit you the hardest.

Closing Note — Never allow fear to keep you from your future successes personally or professionally.

Know a young person who needs this? Sign them up & tell them you did!