PROGRESSION: Here’s Your Secret to Success, How to Amp It Up, and the Oceanside Ironman Recap
May 2022
Another month is (almost) in the books! Apologies for making you wait an extra month to hear whether I beat my brother in the triathlon. For the three of you who care, here’s the race recap.
Let’s dive right in.
Books, articles, etc.
The Practice of Groundedness: A Transformative Path to Success That Feeds—Not Crushes—Your Soul by Brad Stulberg (Book)
Brad Stulberg is a writer and coach specializing in human performance and well-being. He’s the author of three books: Peak Performance, The Passion Paradox, and this one, The Practice of Groundedness. The word groundedness didn’t totally land, but I loved the book.
In it, Stulberg shares what he describes as a healthier, more sustainable model for success. Stulberg argues that while ambition is laudable, hustle culture extracts a cost. True success—the kind you can sustain over time—demands a different relationship with ambition. A healthier, more sustainable model rooted in groundedness. One that prioritizes presence, patience, and long-term values over short-term gain.
My favorite quote from the book highlights the need to pull back and take breaks rather than being always on:
If we never take ‘easy’ periods, we are never able to go full throttle and the ‘hard’ periods end up being not that hard at all. We get stuck in a gray zone, never really stressing ourselves but never really resting either. This vicious cycle is often referred to by a much less vicious name – ‘going through the motions’ – but it’s a huge problem nonetheless.
For a good recap of the book, check out Brad’s podcast interview with Rich Roll.
Here’s Your Secret to Success: Go to Sleep by Ryan Holiday (Article)
I’ve never been a great sleeper. As an investment banker I routinely worked 80-100 hour weeks and struggled to get adequate sleep. As I started having kids, I blamed them for feeling tired all the time.
This article highlights why sleep is important and how you can use it as a competitive advantage. I’ve found two of Holiday’s recommendations–sleeping with my phone in the room and strenuous exercise–particularly effective.
And if you think you don’t need good sleep, you’re only fooling yourself. “The number of people who can survive on five hours of sleep or less without any impairment, expressed as a percent of the population, and rounded to a whole number, is zero.”
Amp It Up: Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity by Frank Slootman (Book)
Frank Slootman is a hard-charging, results-first CEO. And he clearly knows what he’s doing, having had successful executive in chief runs at three different companies: Data Domain, ServiceNow, and now Snowflake. Slootman describes five steps in the Amp It Up process: Raise your standards, align your people, sharpen your focus, pick up the pace, and transform your strategy.
I loved Slootman’s candor and the point that landed most with me was his admonition to hire drivers, not passengers. Drivers are people who make things happen, who move dials, who stop at literally nothing. Passengers are those who are along for the ride. They do fine work, but they don’t move the needle. To build a great company, you need drivers.
Slootman is not without controversy, and has unpopular opinions on several topics. But if you’re looking to learn from someone who’s been there and done that, you can’t go wrong with this book.
Observations
Oceanside Ironman 70.3 Recap: How I Blew Away My Personal Best
My March email was sent days before the Oceanside, California triathlon and I shared self-doubt I was experiencing. I implored myself to trust the process. I had done everything I could to prepare. I just needed to perform.
This piece summarizes the event, highlighting how I finished better than expected. You’ll have to read all the way to the end to see if I beat my brother. 😉
Seriously, It’s Okay
It’s okay to not follow everything the media deems as important.
It’s okay to not have a take on everything that happens.
It’s okay to ignore the outrage machine and focus on things in your control.
Seriously, it’s okay.
Gratitudes
I’ve found power in regularly expressing gratitude so I’ll continue the habit. I’m grateful for the people I work with at Neighbor. We’ve assembled not just a talented team, but a group of people I admire and respect. There are few things better than doing hard things with individuals who make you want to be a better person. 🙏🙏
If you've read anything worth sharing I'd love to hear about it. And do let me know if there's anything I can do to help you.
Nathan
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