Dickie's Digest - Lamar Jackson, Kettlebell Swings, and The Resistance
Friends,
It’s 64 degrees in New York this morning during what has historically been the coldest week of the year. As I sat down to write this week’s Digest in a local coffee shop, the barista suggested I get an iced coffee since it felt so warm outside. I foolishly accepted. My body now thinks it’s Spring and is itching to gamble on March Madness — back to hot coffee tomorrow.
Thanks to those of you who signed up over the past few days — here’s this week edition of the Digest. Enjoy!
Stat I Found Surprising
With the #1 Seed Ravens losing to the #6 Seed Titans last night and Lamar Jackson at -3000 to win NFL MVP, the NFL season will yet again end with the league MVP not winning the Super Bowl. The last time the league MVP won the Super Bowl? Literally last millennia, in 1999 with Kurt Warner and the Rams. I would have thought somewhere in there Tom Brady or Peyton Manning would have done this, but just goes to show how much of a team sport football is.
What I’m Listening To
#405: Penn Jillette on Magic, Losing 100+ Pounds, and Weaponizing Kindness - The Tim Ferriss Show | Podcast on Spotify
When I saw the title of this podcast, I wasn’t sure who Penn Jillette was, but after googling him I quickly recognized him as part of the comedy duo Penn and Teller. I really enjoy podcasts where the guest has too much energy to keep up with at 1.5x speed — Penn has that and some. Some of the coolest parts:
Penn’s journaling habit — he has over 30 years (!) of journals such that every day he reads his entry from 25 years, 10 years, and one year ago.
Penn lost 100 lbs in 120 days (0.9 lbs per day) following a very strange diet — only raw potatoes for the first three weeks amongst other oddities.
The guy has a hilarious laugh — one of those deep, belly laughs that makes everything funnier.
What I’m Reading
The Hybrid Power Conditioning Program | Breaking Muscle
This article on kettlebell conditioning lays out a pretty compelling argument on the benefits of kettlebell swings as the highest leverage conditioning exercise. Specifically, doing 10-15 minutes of heavy kettlebell swings (10 swings every minute on the minute) every day at the end of your workout or by themself.
I’ve been giving it a try over the last two weeks and have been enjoying it. I feel a noticeably increase in alertness afterward compared to other cardio exercises.
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles: Steven Pressfield, Shawn Coyne: 8601420220232: Amazon.com: Books
A topic I’ve been interested in recently has revolved around a simple question: What would the world look like if everyone did everything they said they would do? In turn, why is it so easy to plan to do something but often so difficult to follow through?
In his short book The War of Art (about 120 minutes cover to cover), Stephen Pressfield explains the universal force that prevents us from taking action: The Resistance.
Pressfield explains the different forms the Resistance takes — distraction, procrastination, justification, rationalization — and how to combat them. Overcoming the Resistance requires a mindset shift — one he describes as going from an Amateur to a Professional.
Very few books have a return on time invested higher than this one. If you find yourself falling off the path when working on your biggest ideas, read this book today. It’s a Zero to One book, meaning you will see the world differently after reading it. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
End Note
If you’re enjoying the Digest so far, I’d love it if you shared it with a friend or two by forwarding it or sending them here to sign up. In a world full of noise, I’m trying to make this email the highest signal one you receive each week — I hope you’re enjoying it.
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Have an epic week,
Dickie