Let’s Go!!! So Pumped You Are Here!

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What is up everyone? Hope you are all having a great week! I am writing to you from Portland, Oregon now that I am back from some travel! Last week I was in Las Vegas with the University of Portland Pilots baseball team for the WCC Conference tournament. We went 2-2 and dropped to Santa Clara in the championship on the final day. Even with not winning the championship, day 2 was an awesome experience, winning our first game in the morning and then we came back to the ballpark with a ton of energy for a 9:35 pm start time with THE PETER ALLEGRO ON THE BUMP. We ended up closing out game 2 with a dub around 12:40 am.

We didn’t win the championship but there is so much to be proud of. Especially as we hugged it out in left field post-game all I could think about was how much these guys have grown up into men! That’s what gets me so emotional, coaching guys for 4 or 5 years and seeing how much they have grown as human beings and badass baseball players. All the backstories are what pushes me over the edge.

They make me deliver some long-ass hugs, to be honest.

I could write so many freaking backstories about these guys and other student-athletes. They just freaking amaze me. I could go down the roster and have a story for each guy. That’s a lot of writing for this weekly newsletter so here’s a few, Klemp broke our skipper’s single-season hit record of 80 hits in 1991, and then Holcroft (roommates on road trips) broke it as well and ended the year tied at 83 hits. Even one of our pitchers Brink coming off of Tommy John and defining an incredible comeback story. He was straight-dealing this year and most of all in our must-win game 2 of the tournament. Even something that could be easily overlooked, is how much Matt Kelly and Eli Morse stepped into coaching roles this year! Both played for Portland previously and then transitioned into coaching positions. For me, it is cool to see them grow from coaching them as student-athletes to now they are coaches impacting others for the team/school they love so much. Even my friends who texted me good luck and sent encouragement like “burn the boats” or “every team you touch turns to gold.” Those things make me smile and make me a little teary-eyed.

People are incredible. These men are inspiring. They amaze me every day.

Well, there was your Portland Pilots Baseball update and insight into my life right now… It is time, let’s get into this week’s Ferate’s 5.

Let me know what you love, what you connect with the most, or even something confusing!

1. Applying The Running Model 1 - 2 - 1 - 3

Recently I have been ramping up my weekly running. Nothing too crazy with the majority of my work being under 140 bpm heart rate and all my runs being only nasal breathing to control intensity. The goal is to build up a ton of low-intensity or zone 2 (or less) work. Using nasal breathing or the ability to have a full conversation as the limiter.

So how does this apply to creating art? Well, my roommate Jack told me about this intensity training framework that Stanford powerhouse called “The Machine” did back in the 90s. Basically…

• moderate hard easy (2 - 1)

• moderate hard moderate easy (3 - 1)

In a phone conversation with Brad Scott, we were talking about the pull to consume and then the drive to create. It is an ebb and flow or just an absolute full-court press that I have to be careful of because of my love for learning. It is easy for me to go ALL IN on consuming amazing information through books, podcasts, and anything really and then forget… creating is over there warming up, getting ready to go into the game and I never sub them in.

Not great haha.

Sam Parr of My First Million talked about recently going through blocks of consumption and then going through blocks of deep work/creation. He shared this lesson when discussing his process for building out his new company, Hampton. Months of just research, phone calls, collecting insight. Then once you have done the work it is time for creation to shine, ya got to do something with all that consumption and take action.

So bringing it back to The Machine’s training style at Stanford. Could we follow that model? Okay for right now I am in a consumption block so the majority of my days are going to be “consume” for 2 and create for 1 then consumption for 3 and creating for 1. It gives me a blend of doing both but with a specific emphasis. Then once I have enough info I can flip into a season of emphasizing the act of creating.

2. Training For Calm. Training For Peace of Mind. Training For Peace From Mind.

Building off the running and the phone conversation, Brad shared a concise and impactful lesson that I literally can’t stop thinking about. One of those bits of guidance that’s going to be here for a while.

So simple… When training for things that may be challenging, long duration, high volume, high stress, just plain really freaking hard, etc

Keep in mind the goal of all the daily training is to train for calm.

A good question to ask when running “Am I training for calm right now?”

That voice creeps in when you are accumulating a lot of high volume low-intensity work to either stop or go freaking hard to “get something out of it” whatever that means. I have been there on an easy run and then my mind is like “Hey Ferate you should rip these next 2 miles just to see how hard you can go…”

Since this conversation, I have reminded myself out loud, many times, that the training quality we are looking for is calm.

3. Mike on the Pomp Podcast.

Could write about this for days… Loved this podcast, especially hearing Mike discuss more of the business side of things when creating music. Mike evolved from Mike Stud and has been creating killer music that I love. The thing that he is doing that is so special is creating OnlySteve’s which is a monthly subscription model to support him.

This is counter-culture because most artists sign deals, try to make money off tours, and streaming. So many lessons in this podcast about carving out your path (which is a topic I am obsessed with) and creative business ideas.

My first thought was how does this apply to other people working to create true fans? Like podcasters, writers, coaches, and people I love learning from.

Who is on your short list of let's say 3 people you would pay $9.99 a month to support, get exclusive content from them, and grow with them? I know I joined this when Danny Miranda first created a paid newsletter and then transitioned it into starting his course which is dropping soon.

4. Taylor Rooks The Danny Miranda Podcast.

This dude puts it out into the universe and then he makes it happen…

Danny Miranda this week had Taylor Rooks, Interviewer for Thursday Night Football, and her show for Bleacher Report on the podcast. She is world-class at creating space for unique interviews with the greats in sports. Three lessons that I loved from the podcast were…

1. Interviewing is like being the point guard of the conversation. There are moments of leading, following, and facilitating. I LOVED this comment because it tied in so well with the skill of interviewing and the question her dad would ask her every night before bed, “Were you a leader or a follower today?”

2. Creating chemistry & a bond. The 10 minutes before the interview are crucial, especially if you haven’t met them before. Creating a safe space where you both can connect and the guest can let their guard down. For example, in the DeMar DeRozan interview, she discussed their mutual connection with Kyle Lowry or she mentioned she attended the same Drake party that Adesyana attended as well. Touch points such as similar interests, circles, and one of my favorites she emphasized, that she is human too help create common ground.

3. Silence is a tool. Silence can be uncomfortable and a valuable tool for a great conversation. Taylor said silence at times can be awkward but when the guest gets uncomfortable they feel compelled to talk and tell you more. Through silence, you get what you want, great stories, and the guests sharing who they really are.

5. Ed Thorp (#222 Founders Podcast Episode) A Man for All Markets.

Okay, so you have to check out this episode of the podcast. This quote was so impactful because Ed Thorp is one of those guys who did both. Super successful entrepreneur that didn’t only go down the wealth path at the expense of health, life, family, relationships, and time.

This quote reminded me so much of the “Daily Deposit” concept that I have been practicing this year. Having daily deposits of investments in my health every day. Setting daily minimums for investing in my health & lifestyle performance that build up and start to compound.

If you loved any of these 5 please reply and let me know! I would love to hear what city you are reading from and which of the 5 you connected with the most!

Simply - Name, city, your favorite of the 5, & why?

Means a lot when you reply because one it moves the newsletter emails into your primary inbox so these gems of valuable information don’t get stuck in your spam but also it gives me a quick feedback loop of what is resonating! Appreciate you taking the time to check this one out!

Let’s keep making today the best day of the year, until tomorrow.

Ferate