Hi Everyone,

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

Coach, I'll See You Tomorrow

This is an incredibly sad story told in an incredibly beautiful way. This is the way journalism should be. I don't think you'll regret the 15 minutes it takes you to watch this one.

Good Writing

I'm always beating the drum about the importance of being a good writer. Writing is especially important when it comes to good leadership because writing is the best form of thinking. It produces clarity, and the best leaders have clarity of thought and action.

This essay from Paul Graham underscores that point. He argues writing that sounds good is more likely to be correct because the act of making writing sound good is the process of grappling with ideas. It's a great essay, like everything he writes.

And if you're interested in further reading on writing, here's an article I wrote on why great leaders write. And four more essays from Graham on writing. Here, here, here, and here.

A Few Lessons on Showing Up

The writer Lawrence Yeo goes for a run every single morning.

He found this consistency had a bunch of benefits beyond fitness. I imagine you'd find similar results with any positive habit you do on a daily basis.

My favorite lessons from the article:

• You can make a first impression long before you meet its recipient, and the best way to do that is to show up regularly, even if you think that no one is watching.

• If you do something consistently for a long time, the people you see often are those that also exhibit that same consistency. In your eyes, this group will seem like the “regulars,” but in the eyes of most, they are individual outliers that exhibit a remarkable sense of commitment.

• Friction is at its highest at the start of any endeavor. To alleviate this, do one simple action that makes the beginning as frictionless as possible.

• When you show up regularly in one aspect of your life, you won’t be perceived as that person who’s consistent in that one particular thing. Rather, you will be seen as “the person who always shows up,” regardless of how many domains you actually show up in.

Song of the Week

I've been bumping this one on some of my runs. Probably not worthy of a grammy, but it's pretty catchy and gives me a boost when I need it.

Quote of the Week

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison

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

Talk soon,

Joe