Hey Creators,
Happy Monday from Austin, TX. There are 161 of you this week - which is down 1 from last week. I used to watch my subscriber count fluctuate and get frustrated every time someone unsubscribed. Instead, I went through and removed people who were inactive this week (people who hadn’t interacted with any of my emails since they subscribed). While this reduces the appeal of my vanity metrics (# of followers), it increases the things that actually matter (most notably, engagement).
Let’s get to it.
This week, I want to talk about Tom Brady and the power of small habits done daily.
I've been a fan of Tom since he started winning championships in New England. I know that, as a New York Giants fan, I am supposed to hate him but I can't help it - I admire excellence. I study it. I learn from it.
And - regardless of whether or not you like him - there is no denying that Tom Brady is one of the greatest athletes of all-time...in any sport.
And he just won his seventh Super Bowl last night (will he be going to Disneyland?).
After the game, Tom Brady was asked what his secret to success was.
It was stupefyingly simple.
His answer:
"Good habits done daily."
That's it.
The greatest quarterback of all-time - and one of the greatest athletes of all-time in any sport ever - said his secret to success was habits, specifically good habits done daily.
He later added consistency, commitment, discipline, and dedication to that list.
Tom knows what works.
He is obsessive about his health, nutrition, wellness, winning, and the game of football.
When he first moved to Florida where he'd be playing with his new organization, he ordered 16 footballs off of Amazon, prepared them like he would for a game, and then set them out in the sun.
When a coach came over and saw this, they, quite reasonably, asked Tom what the heck he was doing.
"It's a much different climate here than New England. I need to get a sense for how the ball will feel."
This is the essence of Tom Brady. He is obsessive about excellence.
The difficulty of moving to a new organization and taking the helm of a team that went 7-9 the year prior, instituting a winning culture, and winning a Super Bowl in the following season cannot be overstated.
It is Tom's attention to detail - his willingness to show up and consistently do the things that work - that has led to his near unprecedented success.
This is called continuous improvement: consistently doing the little things that work yields compounding interest on our habits.
Continuous improvement is a commitment to doing the small things. It means we make small improvements every single day knowing that, over time, those small improvements will lead to significant results.
This is frustratingly simple.
I know I tend to set large goals then look for ways I can make giant leaps towards that goal. I want to accomplish the goal in as little time as possible. Focusing on the small things I can do daily to reach it isn't nearly as satisfying as dreaming about all of the big schemes and dreams I have, all of the crazy big things I can do to make progress towards my goals.
But here's the thing about small things done daily:
It works.
It is a commitment to doing the small, unsexy things - to showing up every single day and doing the things that we know work - that leads to success.
What areas of your life can you make a 1% improvement in?
🏕On Creator Camp
The dates for Creator Camp are booked! Creator Camp will take place in the last week of May from Wednesday, May 26 to Sunday, May 30.
My buddy Jon has been kind enough to hold the spot for us until the end of March when our deposit will be due. If you have any questions or are interested in attending/learning more about Creator Camp, reply to this email.
Send me a reply and let me know what you're working on in your life. What area will you work to get 1% better in?
I love hearing from you all. Don't hesitate to shoot me a reply.
Make it an amazing week,
KB
Good habits done daily. So far I'm failing at adding guitar practice into my day. But I'm allowing that, because at the moment homeschooling during lockdown is taking over and so I need to find the #1 priority task and move the needle on that. Right now that's 1 YT video a week. Damn this lockdown though. Seriously. And where is my acceptance this morning? Aha. I better go and look for it.
Love the Tom Brady anecdote about the 16 footballs in the sun. Makes me wonder what small detail I leave out of my daily practice. Thanks for writiing!