Hey Friend 👋

Woke up at 5AM.

Sang and led worship at my church until 12PM.

Ate lunch with friends and family at Five Guys. (Freaking love Five Guys! But also, how is it so expensive!?)

Took a 2-hour walk in the park.

Laid down for 10 minutes.

Started writing Sunday Six. (and man is it a good one 😉)

It’s one of those weekends when I look up and think, “is it already Sunday night!?”

I listened to a Sunday teaching a couple months back that gave me this insight → if your soul is ever tired, 80% of the time all you need is a great nap and an awesome steak.

You know what I love about this?

It simplifies what we often overcomplicate.

When we’re tired, we often think we’re burnt out completely or need a mental health week off.

Two things that are very real: burn out and mental health.

But the reality is, 80% of the time we just need a great nap and an awesome steak.

And in fact, if we did those things when we felt tired, we would often avoid the other two things.

So if it’s Sunday, you’re looking at you’re calendar and already exhausted before even starting the week — remember, you’re probably in the 80%.

You probably need a great nap and an awesome steak. (Or in my case, Five Guys)

Let’s start there.

Sunday Six ☀️

The Deep Focus Planner ✍️

Hey, I made this for you → https://www.loom.com/share/65ff31b56be34116bb619a6029408f85

I spent 10 years testing productivity systems.

3 years using the exact system I show in The Deep Focus Planner.

3 hours crafting these templates to work for you.

And it will take you 3 minutes to steal them and use my entire system for free.

Who is this for?

People who need an incredibly simple system to capture:

• To-do’s
• Notes
• Goals
• Ideas
• Schedule

All in one basic and searchable place.

(These are Notion templates by the way — if you don’t already use Notion, I highly recommend it as your digital note taking / catch all)

Grab the Deep Focus Planner Here:

The Deep Focus Planner (Notion)

Harry Potter ⚡

I am pretty far behind on fiction novels — clearly.

I’ve been reading non-fiction for the last 10 years. I am not sure I’ve picked up a fiction novel since high school actually.

Until this year, I wanted to focus on building my writing chops.

Then a friend on Twitter told me, “You’ll learn a lot more about writing by reading fiction than you will non-fiction telling you how to write.”

Challenge accepted.

I started with a classic, The Great Gatsby. Loved it.

Now I am working through a Modern Classic — Harry Potter.

And I’ve got to say — J.K. Rowling is an UNREAL writer.

The visuals are insane.

Plus the added benefits of fiction winding down your brain where as non-fiction would get my head spinning off the rails.

I’m enjoying this season of fiction.

Next — Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

5 Habits of The Wisest People To Ever Walk The Earth 🌍

1 — Jesus prayed.

“Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” - Luke 5:16

2 — Marcus journaled.

Marcus Aurelius is most famously known from his book “Meditations.”

He shares all his philosophical thinking and pondering to himself from his time as the Roman Emperor — 161AD to 180AD.

3 — Solomon celebrated.

"A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil." — Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

4 — Buddha meditated.

"The meditator who enters the jhana, who is ever mindful, attains unbinding: the cessation of all stress." - Dhammapada, Verse 372

5 — Paul studied.

"When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.” - 2 Timothy 4:13

Prayer.
Journaling.
Celebration.
Meditation.
Study / Reading.

5 habits that have stood the test of time.

Get it?

I wrote an entire 1,000+ word post on X (formerly Twitter) here:

Jerry Seinfeld on Efficiency 💬

An all-time exchange in Jerry Seinfeld’s interview with the Harvard Business Review:

You and Larry David wrote Seinfeld together, without a traditional writers’ room, and burnout was one reason you stopped. Was there a more sustainable way to do it? Could McKinsey or someone have helped you find a better model?

Who’s McKinsey?
It’s a consulting firm.
Are they funny?
No.
Then I don’t need them. If you’re efficient, you’re doing it the wrong way. The right way is the hard way. The show was successful because I micromanaged it — every word, every line, every take, every edit, every casting. That’s my way of working.

People over-emphasize efficiency.

I had this conversation with a creative who was asking me about writing online this week.

What tools do you use to write online?

My iPad mostly.
I mean like softwares?
Oh — Notion.
You don’t use ChatGPT or anything to do a lot of the writing for you?
No. Because then it wouldn’t be my voice.
But you would get it done so much faster.
I’m not trying to get it done faster. I’m trying to write something that no one else can write. Something that leaks of excellence. Something worth sharing. I don’t care about fast. Who cares how fast you got it out if it sucks…

Be careful of the dangers of “efficiency.”

Show Your Work by Austin Kleon 💻

I read this book about 4 years ago and thought it was an incredible book. But didn’t do anything about it.

The whole concept of the book is to show your work online.

To bring people along your learning journey.

And in 2023 — I am so thankful to have shared my work every single week with you guys here on Sunday Six.

I put pen to paper for the last 10 months. I’ve pumped out 50,000 words writing these for you guys (and for myself).

I’ve been re-reading this book and even got a bit emotional thinking, “wow, I am so thankful I started showing my work”

It’s been such an amazing journey connecting with so many of you because I decided to share my work.

What about you? Will you share your work online?

Here are 3 lines I particularly love from the book:

“If you want people to know about what you do and the things you care about, you have to share.”

“No one is going to give a damn about your resume, they want to see what you have made with your own little fingers.”

“A lot of the ideas in this book started out as tweets which then became blog posts which then became book chapters. Small things, over time, can get big.”

When to commit? 💬

"Before you discover what you love: fewer commitments, more experiments. After you discover what you love: fewer experiments, more commitments." - James Clear

In your 20’s, spend time experimenting.

In your 30’s, spend time committing.

In your 40’s, spend time mastering.

In your 50’s, spend time creating a legacy.

In your 60’s, spend time teaching somebody in their 20’s.

Want to connect?

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