I’ve heard, many times, from many people, that it’s not a good idea to compare yourself to others, but that it is a good idea to compare yourself to yourself. The idea is that you’re competing against younger, more inexperienced versions of yourself.

Well, I think that’s a terrible idea, and I’ll tell you why: growth is not linear. We like the idea of a clear trajectory, a predictable path forward, but that doesn’t exist.

I go through phases when I’m more energetic than others. Periods when my output is higher.

But those high output/energy “seasons” are dependent on something else – other times in my life that are more dedicated to resting and resetting, observing and preparing.

As many of you know, I have a running series living the lives of extraordinarily impactful people throughout history, and a running trend is becoming apparent: the enormous value of taking breaks and/or doing “unproductive” things… just for fun.

I had a recent realization that it’s always been thanks to the slow seasons that I’ve accomplished anything meaningful in my life.

I. In mainstream media, as well as social media, we constantly bear witness to the successes of very young people. I was just thinking yesterday about how much the Beatles had accomplished by their mid-20s.

Well, those are outliers. The average age of authors when they first publish a bestseller tells another story. So does the average age of a famous movie director when they debuted their first movie, many of which did so in their 40s or 50s (Aaron Sorkin, Clint Eastwood & Charlie Kaufman to name a few).

What strikes me about this is the extremely wide range of ages that we see people make their debuts. And of course, I’m focusing on the very best of the best here.

II. How to Want Less – please allow me to counter my previous point, which focused on debuts and successes, with the idea that that will never, by itself, lead to satisfaction. This is a wonderful read. Here’s a quote from that piece:

“Your goals are probably very different from mine, and perhaps your lifestyle is too. But the trap is the same. Everyone has dreams, and they beckon with promises of sweet, lasting satisfaction if you achieve them. But dreams are liars. When they come true, it’s … fine, for a while. And then a new dream appears.”

III. I love this idea from Hellen Keller, which I believe captures the essence of the “seasons of life”:

“I long to accomplish a great and noble task; but it is my chief duty and joy to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. … The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.”

IV. A gorgeous performance a reader of this newsletter sent me.

Music Recommendation

1) The music Tom Fox and I are putting out is picking up steam!! Thank you for streaming the music. More coming soon, but in the meantime, The Lighthouse is picking up steam.

2) My friend has an incredible series on his journey starting a band and turning it into something. I’m rooting for him.