Hi Everyone,

Happy Friday! Thanks for spending part of it reading The Lake Street Journal.

Just two things to share this week: goals and a great podcast.

2026 Goals

I spent a little time this week writing down the things I want to accomplish in 2026. I figured I would share them here for accountability and hopefully to inspire you to do the same.

• Run a marathon in under 3:30. I've run two marathons, but I know I'm capable of running much better times. This is the year I'm going to make it happen.

• Run a 50 mile ultramarathon. I really enjoy distance running and pushing my limits. This will be challenging but achievable, and I have a very fun looking race picked out for October.

• Write 24k words of a book. I've been working on a book idea for more than a year, and I started writing a couple chapters last year. 24k words is a totally arbitrary target, but I think it's both achievable and meaningful. That amount of progress means I'll be about 30% done with the book, and it should give me the momentum to finish it in 2027.

• Achieve two key metrics in my new business. I'm in the process of starting a new business related to my full time job. I don't want to share exactly what it is or what metrics I'm targeting, but if I hit them, I'll be able to share more details at the end of the year. Like the writing goal, this is achievable and meaningful. It won't be a smashing success, but it'll be a great start that lays the groundwork for success in 2027.

I used to spend a ton of time thinking about goals and planning how I would achieve them. I don't have as much time to do that now, but I still think it's important to have some targets in mind. Once you have the targets, you can think about the smaller steps you need to take to hit them. That's really all it takes to achieve big goals—figure out the small pieces and string them together for a lot of days.

What are you going to achieve in 2026, and how do you plan to do it?

Sebastian Junger on The Daily Stoic Podcast

I've been a Sebastian Junger fan since I first heard him on Tim Ferriss back in 2016. I loved his books Tribe and War. His documentary, Restrepo, is probably the single best piece of journalism about the war in Afghanistan. And his thoughts on national service inspired my 10,000 word essay on the topic. 

When he's on a podcast, I make sure to listen. His most recent episode on Ryan Holiday's podcast was excellent. I won't spoil the episode for you, but Junger said something that stuck with me and I've been thinking about all week.

I'm paraphrasing, but he basically said we all have three ways to be a meaningful part of society:

• We should donate blood. At some point you may need blood. If you need blood, you'll receive it, but if you haven't donated, you won't really deserve it.

• We should serve jury duty. At some point, you may be accused of a crime. If you're accused of a crime, you'll get a jury trial, but if you haven't served jury duty, you won't really deserve it.

• We should vote. If you don't vote, you deserve what you get.

Inspired by Junger, and in keeping with the theme of goals, I plan to donate blood four times in 2026.

If you enjoy the episode I linked above, make sure to listen to the second part also (which is actually where he talks about blood, jury duty, and voting).

Workout of the Week

This is a repeat of a workout I did last year. I wanted to see if I improved at all. I did 14 seconds better—not as much of an improvement as I hoped, but ya can't win 'em all.

"Uncomfortably Numb"

20-15-10

• wall balls (20#, 10')

• toes to bar

• alternating db snatch (50)

• burpees

*30 calorie row after each round

You do 20 of each, then a row, 15 of each, then a row, and 10 of each, then a row. Let me know how you do!

Quote of the Week

"Smartphones increase anxiety by increasing the illusion that you have control." - Sebastian Junger

Have a question or a comment? Respond to this email.

Talk soon,

Joe