Hola Amigo,

Fill up your cup of joe and let’s go.

• This is a really interesting read courtesy of a professional colleague of my favorite university professor at Dalhousie. The man goes by the name of Jeff Swsytun and lives in Toronto as a marketing & brand consultant. I have not met him but hope to one day. This is his take on the Palessi stunt where a New York marketing agency and Payless Shoes teamed up to create a fake store re-selling Payless shoes as $649 priced luxury shoes. While this particular event is the medium for his message, his extrapolation of the stunt as an indictment of our times is rather interesting. “Today, the majority of influencers are nobodies trying to be celebrities. Influencers are close cousins to “life coaches”. These twenty-something life coaches hang out a pseudo-science shingle with zero bona fides except their shared love of not working. More often than not, they pump-out hollow, try-to-feel-good diatribes on Instagram beneath a photo of them posing in sunshine only to return home at night to a bed in their parents’ basement before crying themselves to sleep.” Harsh? Perhaps. True? I’d say so.
• A good buddy of mine in Toronto sent me an e-mail out of the blue in early January titled “Brett’s Year in Review”. I’d never received something like this. At the bottom of his note, he cheekishly wrote “See, even Tim Ferriss agrees with me” and included a link to this LinkedIn article. Tim’s message to readers is rather than create a list of lofty New Years resolutions, try doing a deep dive recap of the past year. I followed suit and found the exercise very useful. 2018 didn’t really feel like a peachy year but after doing a deep dive on the year that was, it reminded that things weren’t so bad. In fact, I was actually surprised and grateful for how many great things transpired amidst the struggles I encountered. 2018 in the books, 2019 top of mind. Perhaps doing such an activity might help you capstone 2018, for good or for bad, and shift your mindset into crushing 2019.
• Dr. Michael Gervais – one of the eminent minds and thought leaders in the sports psychology / peak performance world today. The creator behind the podcast Finding Mastery and course Compete to Create. This is a company that he and Pete Carroll – Head Coach of the Seattle Seahawks – founded to create a curriculum focused on mindset training. Traditionally, this course was only offered in corporate settings but they created an online version and had their first cohort of participants from around the globe start in the fall. I was lucky enough to be a part of this cohort and completed the jam packed 2-month course. If you’re looking to pull your headspace out of the gutter and develop a winning mentality or perhaps you’re only operating at 75% of potential and want to get to 90+%, I’d highly recommend Compete to Create. All of their team are ex-Olympians or high achievers in their own right and the curriculum is easily digestible if you’re willing to put in the work. This short clip of a project Dr. Mike undertook this fall dubbed – Project Catalina – will give you a better idea of who he is and what he’s all about.
  

What I’m Pondering / Struggling With / Grown From:

If you’re reading the Mailbags and not just reading / listening to the material but studying the materials, putting in the work, finding tidbits to incorporate into your craft, I’m in your corner all the way and betting on you. And if not, it’s never too late to start. I got beat down in 2018. An element of victims mentality started creeping into my mindset from all the perceived failures (in actuality, lessons) that transpired in 2018. If you’re struggling with your mindset, I feel you and am 100% empathetic to what you may be going through. I’ve been there. If this is you, reach out and let’s chat. If you’re not quite ready to share but are building up your courage behind closed doors, I’d recommend listening to the audiobook “Can’t Hurt Me” by David Goggins. It is by far the most powerful audiobook I’ve ever listened to. If you let it change you, it will.

Quote of the Week: “When the stake are high, do you bet on yourself? That’s a sign of inner mastery.” – Dr. Michael Gervais

With Gratitude & Fire,

– Wilkesy