Brain - The Grow30 Challenge

As we approach the new year and our goal-setting period, I came across a structure from Sahil Bloom that I believe most can benefit from. It is holistic - encompassing all fulfillment areas of our lives. It’s a short period of time - the first 30 days of the year. It also targets the smaller, foundational habits that you can use to propel yourself into a fast start for the new year. Challenge yourself to commit for 30 days, knowing that if you do so, you can expand your horizon to those larger goals for your year. Many have had success with challenges like 75 Hard - this one is more approachable in my opinion to a wider audience.

The Grow30 Challenge:

5 simple daily actions for 30 straight days, specifically designed to create dramatic progress across the five key areas that contribute to a high-performing, healthy, wealthy life.

Every single day, you will complete the following:

• Time Wealth: 30 minutes of focus work on your priority tasks.

• Social Wealth: Text, call, or connect with one new or existing friend or family member.

• Mental Wealth: 5 minutes of free-form journaling.

• Physical Wealth: 30 minutes of movement.

• Financial Wealth: 10 minutes of learning or skill-building.

By the end of the challenge, you will have built incredible momentum:

• 900 minutes of focused work will create dramatic progress

• 30 social interactions will drive new feelings of connection

• 30 journaling sessions will improve your clarity and mental health

• 900 minutes of movement will improve your physical health

• 300 minutes of learning and skill-building will set you up for new growth

Body - Be More Efficient In the Gym with Dr. Mike Israetel

One of the things I invested heavily in this year was gaining a deeper understanding of what I am doing in the gym, and how I am doing it. In the process, I sought to find the sources of information out there that I trust the most. One of those sources of information, specifically for building muscle and body composition, became Dr. Mike Israetel. Dr. Mike has a PhD in sports science and has become a key figure for science-based bodybuilding and growing muscle using data, studies, and trials.

In previous Supersets I have discussed a couple of key focal points in the gym, many of which were prompted by Dr. Mike:

• Starting the lift with the heaviest, compound movement of the day

• Focusing on the eccentric of the movement (controlling the weight down on every lift)

• Mixing in more body parts to each day (IE: Not just chest - now chest & shoulders)

If you are looking to get a deeper understanding of what you are doing in the gym, I would highly recommend giving Dr. Mike a follow on Instagram. Even further than that though is this great piece in Muscle & Fitness: “Advanced Muscle Building Methods for Beginners In the New Year”

The article does a great job breaking down Dr. Mike’s key beliefs in the following buckets, and some actionable ways you can implement them:

• Train, Don’t just ‘Work Out’

• Prioritizing Technique Over Load

• Focus On The Lengthened Portion of Movements

• The “Why” You Want to Apply This Knowledge

We all only have a certain amount of time we can commit to the gym. For the person just starting their journey, the information overload out there can make it difficult to determine whose advice to trust. If you start the new year off by implementing just a few of the tips in this article, I can almost guarantee you will see results.

I am envious of those of you who are going to get started with this knowledge in mind. I wasted many a years acting like a meathead in the gym, working out for entirely too long, and doing entirely too much work. Simple and repeatable - the Dr. Mike way.

Book - 5 Books I Am Looking to Read in 2025

Every year I set a reading goal, and so far every year that number has increased. My reading goal for 2024 was to finish 36 books. There are still a few weeks left, but it is looking like I am going to fall just a couple books short of that goal. Still, to be at a point where reading a book every couple of weeks is a missed goal feels like an accomplishment I can celebrate in the long run.

To read this many books in a year, you have to be proactive about building out the “To-Read” list. I typically save books as I see them throughout the year in a Notes section on my phone, categorizing them by subject matter. I try to keep an even balance of professional / personal development books with the more fun, fantasy, non-business reads.

In the personal development book category, I try to break that list down into smaller niche topics - leadership, motivation, fitness, finance, etc. The idea here is that instead of starting a book to start a book, I can select one based on what I deem to be the most actionable and appropriate for my mindset at that current time of the year. I would recommend this practice to everyone, but I wanted to share a couple of titles I will be looking to read this year, in case any of them spark your interest too:

1. Die With Zero by Bill Perkins - A common-sense guide to living rich in all areas of your life, optimizing your days for “max fulfillment

2. The Holy Grail of Investing by Tony Robbins - Tony has long been a financial figurehead - this book takes the lessons of top investors across all sectors to help uncover different ways the average person can invest their money

3. The AI Driven Leader by Geoff Woods - I want to understand and be on the front end of this AI revolution. This book intends to set out a framework on how to do so

4. The Pivot Year by Brianna Weist - I am a big fan of Ryan Holiday’s Daily Stoic, and this book has a similar structure. 365 days of prompts, passages, and thoughts to help you become a better you

5. Endure by Alex Hutchinson - The science and psychology of endurance and endurance sports