The jacked nerd movement went viral this week. Thanks to everybody sharing my post and this newsletter.
Here’s what’s new this week.
Obvious Choice Podcast Episodes:
*If you only listen to one, make it this one.
Money
1.
I wrote 15 million words on the internet between 2011-2024.
During that period, 90% of my income came from one program and most of my reputation from one book. But if I just created that program and just wrote that book, much of the good that ended up coming from them wouldn’t have happened.
The part that’s missing from the famous Pareto Principle––the 80/20 rule where 80% of your success comes from 20% of your actions––is that you also have to do the 80 in order to figure out what the 20 is.
Most success and fulfillment is the result of 2-3 things that have outsized results flanked on both sides by years of consistently good enough actions.
2.
Choose what you care about. Obsess over it. Aggressively pursue it. You can do many things. You can get good at many things. But you will only become great if you focus on getting better at one thing at a time.
Health
1.
Reading is reading. The pressure to be reading “the right thing” stops too many people from reading. Start reading. Read what you love until you fall in love with reading.
Relationships
1.
A dishwashing machine. Central heating. The taste of fresh orange juice. The existence of the platypus. Imagine if you were from another planet with none of those things. Imagine how full of wonder they would all seem. How unjaded you would be by everything amazing in front of you.
2.
My parents have been married for more than 50 years.
I’m the youngest of four. It was a busy household. As my brothers and sister and I were growing up, my Dad travelled a lot for work and my grandparents all passed away.
By all accounts, Mom and Dad are still in love today.
“In those crazy busy years, how did you make time for one another?” I asked Mom.
“We went for morning walks.” She said.
She told me that once my sister got old enough to be home alone, my parents woke up early and went for a morning walk together, just the two of them.
“That was our only time to connect for years.” Mom said.
Groceries, house cleaning, childcare, laundry––all while trying to be the best spouse, sibling, parent, grown-up child… there’s a lot to deal with.
Making time can be hard. But it doesn’t have to be a lot and is worth the trouble.
A Few Good Quotes from a Great Book
“Sometimes what looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet.”
“The quickest way to understand someone is to look at what’s on their bookshelves. Especially if they are honest bookshelves, not the fancy ornamental kind.”
“Indeed, the willingness to be confused, I now realise, is a prerequisite for a good life.
-Matt Haig (from The Life Impossible)
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(I keep my Goodreads account up to date with what I’m reading. Follow along here.)
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Jonathan Goodman
Coach. Author. World explorer. But mostly, Dad.
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Thanks for reading. Here’s a few additional ways that I may be able to help you.
Free
Instagram: @itscoachgoodman
Podcast: The Obvious Choice
Software: QuickCoach
Paid
Book: Ignite the Fire
Course: Online Trainer Academy
Mentorship: Online Trainer Mentorship