🤯Unknown Unknowns #114 - Chasing Scratch

I love podcasts, and I’ve been obsessed with a new one lately.  It’s called Chasing Scratch, and it’s about two guys trying to become scratch golfers.  Don’t worry, this won’t be about golf.

Six years ago, Mike and Eli set a goal to become scratch golfers by the end of the season.  A scratch golfer is a top level amateur.  Six years later, they’re still pursuing that goal.  

I don’t listen to the podcast because I’m trying to figure out how to be a better golfer.  By their own admission, they’re not systematic, they’re emotional, they’re looking for the easy way out.  What I love about the podcast is their camaraderie, inside jokes, and movie references.

The podcast is a great example of Building in Public.  Mike and Eli didn’t have any expectations when they started out, they just wanted to hold themselves accountable and share the story with some friends.  But after six years, they have a large following.  They may not have reached their goal, but they’ve improved at golf, improved at learning, and mastered producing a podcast.

You don’t need to be an expert to share your story.  There’s actually a bunch of haters that say Mike and Eli are “doing it wrong.”  And you know what, they know they aren’t great at improving their games.  They constantly castigate themselves for doing exactly what they know they shouldn’t do - like obsess over video, tweaking their stroke.

In the below linked interview, the biggest lesson they learned was on “swing vanity” and “not playing golf swing, but playing golf.”  That is, not focusing on looking good, but on doing the things you need to do to get a better score.  Too often we think that looking good will always lead to good results, but that’s not necessarily the case.

I’d also ask, what is your willingness to look stupid in front of people on a range? I think that that held us back up until last year. We would go out there trying to work on something, but worried about what other people would think.

Note: If you start listening, I recommend watching at least one YouTube so you can put faces to names. I couldn't remember who was Team Bear vs Shark, who had the Carl Weather’s learning center, or who could sing.

🔗 Podcast

🔗 Youtube

🔗 Interview

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Discoveries:

1️⃣ Simon Sinek talks about happiness with Arthur Brooks.

A lot of people get this big thing wrong about happiness, which is they think if they get a particular lifestyle, then they'll automatically be happy. And the truth is, if you work on happiness first, then your lifestyle will be plenty good enough.

The whole point is living a life of love, of relationships, of faith, of family, of real friendships, of work that serves other people. In other words, do the things that you need in your happiness, hygiene, and then you'll succeed plenty. Happiness, first. Success, second.

🔗 Podcast: Happier-ness with Arthur Brooks - A Bit of Optimism

2️⃣ Most of us think that happiness is tied to meaningfulness.  That if you do something meaningful, you’ll be happy.  But Roy Baumeister says that isn’t the case, that in some respects happiness and meaningfulness are not only independent but can oppose each other.

🔗 The Meanings of Life

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Write of Passage

The eleventh cohort of Write of Passage is starting next month.  Write of Passage was transformational for me because it opened my eyes to a non-traditional path and introduced me to many interesting people, people more concerned with creating than status.  

Write of Passage is very expensive, which is why I’m not unconditionally recommending it.  They do have a 30-day no-questions-asked guarantee.

Write of Passage is ostensibly a writing course, but that’s not actually the reason I would take it.  Write of Passage opened my eyes to life beyond the default. I always had a nagging sensation that school>work>retire wasn’t the way Life Is Supposed To Be. If you have that thought at the back of your mind, I would definitely check it out.

When you take Write of Passage, you’ll learn to express yourself, you’ll find other like-minded people, and you’ll find validation for who you are, rather than conforming to societal norms.

The last free workshop where you can get a taste of the main course is this Thursday, Sept 21.

If you’re interested, please use my affiliate link to sign up. 

There are also a few options for scholarships, the applications are due this week, so please take a look.

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You can find more of my writing at chr.iswong.com.

Questions, suggestions, complaints?  Email me at [email protected].  

Feedback welcome.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it with a friend or two.  And feel free to send anything you find interesting to me!

Leaving you in peace,

Chris