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Edition #009: 🏃🏻‍♂️Ultramarathon Lessons, 2-Step Sticky Note Habit, and Florence’s Mission

Hey Risers,

Welcome to EDITION 009 of the TRY HARDER Newsletter.

Today, it’s a painfully simple habit that will help you achieve anything you want, lessons I learned about myself training for an Ultramarathon, and a hat tip to Florence Nightingale.

Save it for later. Read it now. But don’t ignore this one!!
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And if you like it, share it with a friend 🙏🏻.

Enjoy!

In this Edition: ​

Building the Business 2-Step Sticky Note Habit Building the Human Ultramarathon Lessons Try Harder Florence’s Mission

Building the Business:

The 2-Step Sticky Note Habit 🗒️

Charlie Munger said, “A majority of life errors are caused by forgetting what one is really trying to do.”

😲 Damn, that’s Charlie coming in hot and calling us all out! Freakin’ billionaires…

Have your efforts, and day-to-day activities made you forget the actual goal? 🤔
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Why are you doing anything that you do!?!?

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Preparation is awesome.

Goals are helpful.

But the only thing that matters? The reps you put in AFTER your preparation and goal-setting.

Here is the easiest way I keep on track regarding GOAL ACHIEVING (not goal setting). Maybe it can be of use to you.

Step 1: Write Your Goal on a Whiteboard

Step 2: At the end of EACH DAY, assess your work. If you COMPLETED a thing that will move you forward, write it on the sticky note and put it on the board. If not complete, no sticky note.

🛑 Don’t get creative.

🛑 Don’t pretend some tiny meaningless task is of any meaningful value.

🛑 Don’t BS yourself.

You either DID ✅, or you DID NOT ❌ complete a THING that day that led to achieving your goal.

And that’s it.

This habit has been transformational for me. I have to move some pretty damn big rocks 🪨 to move forward at this point. So most days, I don’t have a sticky note to put on the board. I may have worked on something, but I DID NOT COMPLETE IT.

You only get the sticky note once the thing is done.

I’ve been doing this since January of 2023. Last year, I only had 26 sticky notes on the board.

Do you see how this works? It can take me a week or a month to complete a THING that is moving us forward.

Sure I have a lot of work to do. But I need to distinguish the work that has to be done from the work that is moving us forward.

So enough with the prep and the goals…GET TO THE WORK!

Try harder,

JM

Takeaways:

• Implement the sticky note habit
• Be honest with what is moving you forward

Building the Human:

Ultramarathon: What I learned About Myself 🏃🏻‍♂️

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Recently, I completed a 50K Ultramarathon. I’ve never considered myself a runner, so why not tackle and Ultra and see what I learn about myself in the process? 🏃🏻‍♂️🏃🏻‍♂️🏃🏻‍♂️
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Well, here’s what I learned…

1.) I don’t like training for things. 🗓️

Don’t get me wrong. I love training. I workout 6-7 days per week. I train hard and I train hard for no real reason.
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But what I learned about myself in doing Ultra Training for nearly a year…

I don’t like training for things…

Rather, I like training and then doing things.

Did you catch the difference?
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I want to train hard and be beyond prepared for anything life can throw at me.

And if I want to randomly throw in a long endurance event or obstacle race, I can easily handle it.

But I don’t want to train with such a singular focus. For me, it wasn’t enjoyable and I feel it made me less capable; i.e. some strength loss, felt less athletic, etc.

It was nice to kill comfort and stick to a training plan I wasn’t psyched about, but in the long term I think it would back fire on me.
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I talk about this in Chapter 17 of Killing Comfort…Sometimes you can kill the wrong comfort.
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You have to understand the difference.
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​2.) My Grit > My Fitness. And that’s dangerous. ☠️

This is a lesson I have been getting a masterclass in the last few years.

My grit is more advanced than my fitness level.

I’m not special. A lot of people are like this. You may be just like me.

However, when your grit exceeds your capability, you can end up hurt.

That happened a lot in the training process. I would push beyond my capability and “tough it out” only to end up injured.

Again…I talk about this in Chapter 17 of Killing Comfort…Sometimes you can kill the wrong comfort.
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You have to understand the difference.

Takeaways:

• Be sure to kill the right comfort
• The pursuit of enjoyment in fitness is not comfort
• Don’t let your grit push you to injury

Try Harder:

Florence’s Mission

Did you know Florence Nightingale was rich 🤑?

You either know who Florence Nightingale was or you’ve AT LEAST heard the name.
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But, yeah, she was rich. Well, her family was. ​
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Do you think having a silver spoon 🥄 means you’ve got no reason to hustle? Let Florence Nightingale shatter that myth.

Born into a life of luxury, Nightingale could have easily settled into the comfortable rhythms of high society 👒. But comfort? That was for amateurs. Florence had bigger plans—a mission that would rewrite the rules of healthcare.

Florence wasn’t content to sit back and embroider pillows 🪡 while others suffered.

Armed with wealth and a relentless drive, she dove into the filth and fever 🤒 of wartime hospitals 🏥, determined to drag them out of the dark ages.

Why?

Because she saw a need—vast and urgent—and responded not with charity, but with action.

Her battlefield wasn’t just against disease; it was against complacency and tradition. Nightingale used her position to influence and innovate, transforming dusty old hospitals by introducing rigorous sanitation practices that dramatically cut death rates. Her efforts weren’t just about helping the immediate; they set the standards for modern nursing.

So, what’s your excuse?

Nightingale’s story isn’t just a call to try harder; it’s a challenge to leverage your success for something greater. She turned privilege into purpose, wealth into a weapon against widespread medical ignorance.

Take a leaf out of Florence’s book: Find your mission. Use whatever resources, advantages, or tools you have at your disposal—not for more comfort, but for a cause worth fighting for. If Nightingale could transform healthcare with a lamp and sheer will, what can you do with what you’ve got? Get going—history isn’t made by those who stand still.

Try harder,

JM

THE PODCAST

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My Weekly Effort (Content I published this week)…

Podcasts #98 & #99 can be found HERE.
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​Listen to the episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or your favorite podcast platform by searching “Better Human Business.”

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Edition #008: 📝 Crafting Headlines, Roxanne’s Warmup, and Going Beyond Van Gogh’s Ear

Hey Risers,

Welcome to EDITION 008 of the TRY HARDER Newsletter.

Today, it’s a formula for headline success, a 1978 song release that may just save your warm-up, and a deeper look into Van Gogh’s mind – which is a little easier given the missing ear and all.

Save it for later. Read it now. But don’t ignore this one!!
​
And if you like it, share it with a friend 🙏🏻.

Enjoy!

In this Edition: ​

Building the Business Crafting Headlines Building the Human Roxanne’s Warm-up Try Harder Van Gogh – Beyond the Ear

Building the Business:

The Headline Formula 📝

Headlines are critical 🚨.

Headlines are EVERYTHING in the digital aspects 🧑🏻‍💻 of your business and they are crucial to your success in most marketing and sales efforts.

You need good headlines for…

• Ads
• YouTube Videos
• Email Subject Lines
• Instagram Captions
• Blog Post Titles
• ANY content you publish

Back in the day, I could spend a lot of time writing and researching an article I was going to post on my blog. Then, when I would finish, I was so tired 🥱 of working on the piece I’d slap any title on it to get it out there.

Wrong move ♟️.

That’s like putting your steak 🥩 and potatoes 🥔 in a blender🥤 because the “presentation doesn’t matter.”

It matters.

It matters a lot.

I thought the headline wouldn’t be a big deal if the content were good enough. It doesn’t matter if a Michelin-starred chef cooked your steak and potatoes. You’re not digging in if they put that crap in a blender and pour it on your table 💩.

It is said that people’s attention span these days is around 8 seconds ⏱️, which, compared to the attention span of a goldfish 🐡, 9 seconds, we aren’t doing so hot. I didn’t look into the validity of that research, but I believe it.

I don’t think people are dumber (well, maybe). However, I think people get bombarded with content, so we have learned to decipher what we deem “worth our time” quickly.

And that’s EXACTLY what a headline does. It triggers the “worth my time” threshold in your potential customers. And that spark is all you need.

So how do we craft a good headline?

Here it is:

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I will not break each part down with a lengthy explanation; seeing it in action is much better.

First, start with your angle.

Here are example angles for selling apples 🍎🍎🍎:

🏎️ Angle Speed: There’s the guy/gal who is simply in a hurry and doesn’t really care that it’s an apple, but they need food now. [Speed (Time)]

😩 Angle Pain (decrease): There’s the guy/gal who knows that eating disgusting hotdogs from my competitor down the street will cost them either short-term digestion or long-term health problems. [Pain (decrease)]

💰 Angle Money (make or save): Lastly, there’s the guy/gal picking my apple because it’s one dollar instead of $25 for a full meal at the restaurant right next door. [Money (make or save)]

Do you see how I am selling the same thing….

To different people….

In different ways…

Rule: The best product/service in front of the right audience with the wrong headline (angle) will fail…

If I pitch a millionaire on eating an apple with how much money it will save them, they may not care. But if I pitch them on saving time, I may have a winner.

Now, it’s your turn.

Takeaways:

• Use headlines in all content you create
• Test them everywhere!
• Use the formula

Building the Human:

Roxanne’s Warmup 🥵

Who hates warming up for a workout?? 🙋🏻‍♂️

Just me…?

Well, if you’re like me, then you may benefit from trying “Roxanne’s Warm-up.”

I picked this up in a certification year ago, and I still use it occasionally when I train groups of people today. It makes the warm-up fun and really gets the blood pumping! 💦

Let’s get to the “how-to”…

I am talking about Roxanne by The Police…

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Here’s how it works…

• Start with blaring “Roxanne” by The Police
• Then do jumping jacks until they say Roxanne
• Every time Roxanne is said you have to do a burpee
• You can mix up jumping jack with high knees, running in place or butt kicks
• But EVERY TIME Roxanne is said you HAVE to do a burpee

Simple enough? It is really fun 🙂

I recommend you give the “Roxanne warmup” a try before your next workout.

Takeaways:

• Try a new ‘fun’ warmup today

Try Harder:

Beyond the Ear: Van Gogh’s Relentless Pursuit

Let’s talk about Vincent van Gogh 👨🏼‍🎨.

Yes, the guy who painted vibrant landscapes and chopped off his own ear👂.

You didn’t know about the ear thing? Well, then this is a little awkward 🐢. Google it later…

But let’s cut through the usual drama and focus on what really makes his story stick: sheer, stubborn persistence.

Van Gogh wasn’t painting masterpieces 🖼️ right out of the gate. In fact, he was a late bloomer who didn’t even decide to become an artist until his late 20s. Before that? He was failing as a salesman👨‍💼 and a preacher🙏🏻. But when he finally picked up a brush 🖌️, he wasn’t exactly a hit.

Rejection? He ate it for breakfast.

Financial success? Not a whiff.

Despite selling only a handful of paintings in his lifetime and constantly battling severe mental health issues, Vincent kept grinding. Over a decade, he produced about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings. Most of these came in the last two years of his life. Talk about a productivity spike!

So what’s your excuse? Tired? Discouraged? Feeling a bit misunderstood? Van Gogh could have thrown in the towel many times — and no one would have blamed him. But he didn’t. He painted like a man possessed, driven by a need to express and create, transforming personal torment into works that would one day be revered worldwide.

Let Van Gogh’s grit inspire you.

Pick up your metaphorical brush and paint your way through whatever mess you’re dealing with.

Because if a struggling, earless painter can leave a mark on the world 🌎, imagine what you can do with all your ears intact.

Try harder,

JM

THE PODCAST

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My Weekly Effort (Content I published this week)…

Podcasts #96 & #97 can be found HERE.
​
​Listen to the episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or your favorite podcast platform by searching “Better Human Business.”