Hi Friends,
This is a revival post and the start of me taking writing more seriously. Many of you subscribed back in 2021 because @naval retweeted me:
I have to admit, at the time I was overwhelmed and intimidated with writing a newsletter. I didn't know what I would write about or know if anyone would be interested. Loss aversion was also a large part of it, what if my newsletter wasn't interesting.. what if I lose all these subscribers?
It's not like I didn't have anything to write about. I had published a piece on fighting procrastination a few months earlier but I didn't have the chutzpah to publish it to my subscribers.
Well, that changes today with this post.
Format
The format of this newsletter is experimental for now. I don't know what will work best, but I'm optimizing for publishing longevity (the format that wins is the one that keeps me writing). Whether I'm discussing self-improvement topics or sharing results from my personal experiments, I know the format of this newsletter will evolve over time to more closely mirror my style. And, if I enjoy writing it, then those good vibes will pass on to you when you read it.
Music that makes you go
This is my “startin’ a road trip” song. The opening guitar riff, the vocals that sound like they’re blasting from a megaphone—it’s got that cool vibe I can’t quite put into words. Like McConaughey on Dazed and Confused cool.
For Your Thoughts
“No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”
Socrates
Over the past two years, I've taken muscle building more seriously and I’ve grown to understand this quote. Imagine you're a skilled carpenter but you never work with wood. No customers ask you to build a table. There is zero need for you to express your craft. You’d quickly become irritated and restless, no? All this potential sitting dormant. That's what skipping a workout feels like to me. My body feels antsy and fidgety.
But when I do workout, I feel strong. I feel the chain of muscles through my arms, back, and shoulders tightening. I am by no means a body builder but I feel substantial and capable. Every man and woman should experience that type of confidence.
A 50¢ word (aka words that say a lot with less)
Fastidious (adjective): very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail.
I pulled this word from a 2015 New Yorker piece on Jony Ive.
I've always been fascinated by the power of words. In fact, I have a strange habit: I keep a locked note on my iPhone where I collect words that resonate with me (why is it locked? Well, why not?) Among my favorites are what I call '50¢ words' – concise yet rich in meaning, they allow you to say more with less.
And that's it. Issue one for the books!
I'll catch y'all on next week's issue.
-Rahul
P.S. a reminder you can reply directly to oldmanrahul@substack.com, or you can tweet me @oldmanrahul about this edition. If you send it, I’ll read it.