Hi Everyone,

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

Ben Sasse on Lessons for America

Ben Sasse is a former United States Senator from Nebraska. He served from 2015 to 2023 when he resigned to become the president of the University of Florida.

In December of 2025, Sasse was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 53. He was given three months to live. Six months later, he's still alive, but he's living on borrowed time.

With that borrowed time, he's been doing a lot of public speaking. In particular, he's talking about the future of America and the challenges of navigating our current digital revolution.

I really enjoyed his extended interview on 60 Minutes, which I linked above.

He puts a lot of emphasis on the fact that politics is local, not national, meaning people should get to know their neighbors and take an interest in improving their community. If this idea speaks to you, I think you'll love the book Our Towns.

He talks a lot about the way the Senate is supposed to function—as the world's greatest deliberative body. If you're interested in that topic, you have to read Master of the Senate, which includes the best explanation I've ever seen of how the Senate is intended to work.

He also shares some poignant wisdom on living that can only come from those close to death. It sounds like his biggest regret is the time he spent away from his family, traveling for work. It's a valuable insight for those of us who are healthy and feel our time is infinite.

The last minute of the interview hits so hard. Not sure anyone—especially anyone with kids—can watch that without crying.

I hope you take some time to watch this interview. If we all act on the ideas Sasse shares, we'll have happier lives and a better country.

Memorial Day Meditation

Adam Karaoguz shared a nice piece on the meaning of Memorial Day and what we should do to earn the sacrifices made by others.

It pairs nicely with the interview I shared above.

And if you haven't yet, grab a copy of Adam's book. It's excellent.

Reminders Matter

This was an article from Ryan Holiday about the objects in his office. As a fan of his work, it's cool to catch a glimpse behind the curtain. But the bigger message of the piece is that we need to be reminded of the things that matter to us. The things that are most important.

The best way to be reminded is to surround yourself with reminders. Design your environment so you can't forget what is important.

I built a gym in my basement that I use most days. I buy every book that piques my interest and pile them everywhere in my house—on shelves, desks, end tables, nightstands, counters, and closets.

Fitness and reading are two things that are very important to me. I want them to be important to my children. So I make them an unavoidable part of our environment.

I could—and intend to—do this to a much greater extent with many other things. This piece from Holiday was a welcome...reminder...of the value of reminders.

Workout of the Week

Speaking of fitness, here's a good workout from the archives. I haven't been doing many CrossFit workouts lately. I've been more focused on running and some weight lifting. But I still like sharing my favorite workouts from the past.

This is a great conditioning workout I've done a bunch of times.

"Mikko's Triangle"

Every Minute on the Minute for 40 minutes (EMOM 40):

• 1 min row

• 1 min ski erg

• 1 min assault bike

• 1 min rest

Pick a number of calories you think you can maintain every minute for the entire workout. I usually do somewhere around 13 calories for each minute. The pros are usually shooting for 20.

Enjoy!

Quote of the Week

"The biggest divide in America will be between the people who figure out how to harness these tools of technology and AI, versus those who outsource their affections and their habits to the tools and the algorithms. For the first group, the future is thrilling. Life will be miserable for the second." - Ben Sasse

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Talk soon,

Joe