A traveler passed by two bricklayers working side by side.
He asked the first, “What are you doing?”
“Can’t you see?” the man replied. “I’m laying bricks.”
Then he asked the second.
The man smiled and said, “I’m building a cathedral.”

Both were doing the same work. But only one saw the meaning behind the motion.

That’s how most of us start our weeks, focused on the grind, the tasks, the meetings, the miles. We forget that every rep, every call, every choice compounds into something greater.

You’re not just “laying bricks.” You’re building the life you’ve imagined, one disciplined action at a time.

So this week, zoom out. See the cathedral. Then get back to laying bricks with purpose.

Brain - The Wisdom Journal

In a recent episode of Modern Wisdom, Ryan Holiday discussed the practice and concept that I liked of keeping a “wisdom journal” - a simple, daily exercise of reflection meant to capture lessons from your experiences, emotions, and decisions. On the tails of his new book, this practice is aimed to help us focus on thinking about mental progress on a deeper scale.

Unlike a traditional diary that recounts events, a wisdom journal is aimed to glean insight. It helps you identify recurring thoughts, emotional triggers, and patterns in your behavior that shape your life’s trajectory. This is the kind of practice that separates those who simply go through experiences from those who grow through them.

The concept, like all Ryan Holliday content, traces back to Stoic philosophy. Think of Marcus Aurelius writing Meditations—not for publication, but to better understand himself (the first example of a “wisdom journal”). Modern psychology reinforces this benefit - reflective journaling strengthens metacognition (thinking about your thinking), builds emotional regulation, and promotes intentional decision-making. In short, a wisdom journal becomes a mirror for your mind.

How to Start a Wisdom Journal

1. Create a consistent space.
Use a physical notebook or digital doc, but keep it dedicated to reflection. End your day by asking:

• What did I learn today?

• What emotions did I feel most strongly, and why? What situations triggered said emotions?

• What actions or choices am I proud of, or wish I’d handled differently?

2. Seek patterns, not perfection.
You’re not writing for grade, you’re observing trends. Maybe you notice that impatience surfaces every time you skip your morning routine, or that you make clearer decisions when you get enough sleep. Over time, those patterns reveal your operating system.

3. Revisit and refine.
At the end of each week or month, review what you’ve written. Look for repeated lessons, emotional triggers, or moments of clarity. This is where journaling becomes wisdom: recognizing the behaviors, habits, and beliefs that shape your growth. Highlight insights that recur. Turn them into guiding principles - your own evolving rulebook for life.

What to Reflect On

• Emotional control: What moments tested your patience, humility, or ego?

• Decisions: Which ones aligned with your values, and which felt reactive?

• Relationships: How did you show up for others? How did they make you feel?

• Habits: Which behaviors moved you closer—or further—from your goals?

By capturing reflection daily and reviewing it regularly, you transform vague feelings into tangible insights about yourself. You start to notice yourself, and from that awareness, you can prescribe a growth program based on what you need, not what others tell you you need. A wisdom journal isn’t about documenting life, it’s about decoding it. I aim to take action on this this week.

Body - Protein - Don’t Overcomplicate Your Diet

It’s so easy to overthink our diets. This new trend, this calorie number, this type of food. If there’s one nutrition move that creates an outsized impact though that we should put 90% of our mental energy into, it’s building every meal around protein. When you prioritize protein, everything else starts to fall into place - energy, recovery, and even fat loss.

A high-protein breakfast is one of the simplest ways to change your day. Instead of spiking blood sugar with carbs, starting with 30–40 grams of protein helps stabilize appetite hormones, keeping you full for hours. It also sets you up to hit your daily protein target early, so you’re not scrambling at dinner trying to make up the difference.

Protein is the foundation of muscle growth and repair. It supplies the amino acids your body needs to recover from training, maintain lean mass while cutting fat, and rebuild stronger tissue after workouts. It’s also the most thermogenic macronutrient, meaning your body burns more calories digesting protein than it does carbs or fats. Simply eating more protein helps improve body composition and metabolic health.

So how much should you aim for? A simple rule of thumb:

• Active individuals: 0.8–1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day

• Highly active or strength-focused: 1–1.5 grams per pound

That means if you weigh 180 pounds, you’re looking at 145–200 grams daily, split evenly across 3–4 meals.

If you need ideas to help get your meal plan centered around increased protein intake, here is a easy list as a rule of thumb:

Lean Protein Ideas

Breakfast:

• Eggs and egg whites with deli meat, ground turkey or Canadian bacon

• Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with berries

• Protein smoothies with almond butter and oats

• Protein pancakes or overnight oats made with protein powder

Lunch & Dinner:

• Grilled chicken breast or turkey

• Lean ground beef (90%+), bison, or pork tenderloin

• White fish (cod, tilapia) or fatty fish like salmon and tuna

• Shrimp, scallops, or tofu/tempeh for plant-based eaters

• Protein-forward salads or wraps with low-fat cheese and avocado

Building your meals around protein doesn’t just help you look better, it helps you feel better. You’ll stay full longer, recover faster, and maintain more muscle as you age. Every meal is a chance to feed the machine. Start with protein and let everything else follow.

Book - Foundation Series - Extreme Ownership

As mentioned in the intro, the move and focus forward is about taking action on things I have come to evolve my mindset around. As much as revisiting books and taking action on them goes for my personal life, so does reinforcing those principles in this very newsletter, and ensuring that gold information perceived as old information is continually reinforced.

I have read a lot of books in my days in the personal development and business space, and there is a shelf worth of titles that have made a profound impact on my life. My aim for the majority of future Supersets in this section is to discuss the positive impact of books that I find myself revisiting and attributing my development to often. This week, we start with Jocko Willink’s Extreme Ownership.

Extreme Ownership is a life and relationships book disguised as a military leadership tactical manual. It teaches that true leadership means taking full responsibility for everything in your world - no excuses, no blame. The core principle is simple - if something goes wrong, you own it, fix it, and learn from it. By doing so, you build trust, accountability, and a culture of discipline that drives both personal and team success.

In application, Extreme Ownership is a simple principle, but there can be no exceptions. If you put this to practice, when something negative happens to you or around you, you take ownership, regardless of whether it was your fault or not. The stories and metaphors are often linked to leadership and guiding a team, but they give us a good foundation to utilize this attitude with everything in our lives, to resolve negative situations faster and to often turn them into positive outcomes.

One of the most memorable examples Jocko shares in Extreme Ownership is the “Blue-on-Blue” (friendly fire) incident during a mission in Ramadi, Iraq. His SEAL team accidentally engaged in a firefight with another U.S. unit due to communication breakdowns and confusion. When the dust settled, Jocko took complete responsibility for the failure, despite multiple contributing factors - telling his superiors, “There is no one else to blame but me.” Instead of punishment, this act earned respect and set the tone for his team’s culture: leaders own everything in their world, which empowers everyone beneath them to do the same.

How can we apply this in our everyday lives?

• When a bad result comes through in your job - an upset customer, a missed deadline, poor communication - Instead of finding an excuse for why it happens, you own the situation. “Hey, this was my fault. I could have done “X” better, and this is how I will handle this in the future

• On the verge of getting into an argument with your partner? Maybe some of it was their fault, but some of it was theirs too? Instead of casting blame and stoking the fire, own your portion of it. Speak what you would do differently if you could redo the situation

• In a leadership position and one of your reports makes a mistake? Tell your boss that this is partly your fault too. You didn’t set proper expectations, or you should have been more directly involved in the situation

We often compound errors into worse situations because we are defensive about our involvement in the issues. Often times, we can expedite resolutions in real life if we simply live with a baseline of accountability and ownership for our surroundings. This attitude has changed my life, and can drastically improve your standing in your career, your relationships, and in your goals as well.

It’s on you. No one else. Respect and trust will follow.