Subscribe to my newsletter - the Step Up! You'll get an inside look into my thoughts, mental models, and ways of going about life - with the goal of helping you do the same. Take the first step and join me on this journey. Newsletter every Thursday at 4:30pm CST.
The Step Up - Volume 1: We Will Succeed
Volume 1: We will succeedIn my Welcome email, I told you my definition of success: "causing others to succeed because of your success" I start off my newsletter journey with this motto because it is the core of who I am, and it was produced during the hardest time of my life. One of my best friends, Austin Johnson, committed suicide on June 20, 2019. I can talk endlessly about that day, but I'll leave it at that for now. It was rock bottom for myself, our friend group, and his family. And even though he physically passed, I refused to ever let his name die. Coming out of that period, I had more to live for. I wasn't just living for myself anymore. I was living for Austin too. My success would be Austin's success. In my memorial post for him on my old clothing brand's Instagram (story for a different time, but he was my first and biggest supporter), that's the first time I wrote the phrase that would forever change my value system: We will succeed. Succeeding not just for your sake, but for others too. "Causing others to succeed because of your success." I'm serious about it. I have it tatted on my right wrist. That energy, that motivation for collective success - that's what drives me. That's what drives this newsletter. And I hope it can now drive you, too. We gain when we give. Empower others and help them cultivate their happiness and success, and you'll get the same 10x over. Or in the words of President John F. Kennedy: "A rising tied lifts all boats." See you next Thursday, Steppers. We will succeed, Grayson Song of the Week:
Austin and I really loved xxxtentacion and his music, and this was Austin's favorite X song. It was only a leak when Austin passed, but it got officially released 4 months later. It reminds me of Austin's emotional and caring nature, and X's vocals truly are generational. |
Grayson Stepanek
Subscribe to my newsletter - the Step Up! You'll get an inside look into my thoughts, mental models, and ways of going about life - with the goal of helping you do the same. Take the first step and join me on this journey. Newsletter every Thursday at 4:30pm CST.
Volume 4: Bias to Action My good friend Tim Miquez (love you, Tim) made a great LinkedIn post recently about initiative, and it reminded me about a concept I'm heavily invested in: Bias to action. It's simple: once you've had an idea, lean toward acting. It's very easy to continually brainstorm ideas, push back a task or project, or think about a decision for many reasons: You want all the information You want the "perfect" idea You're waiting for the "right" time You're nervous about making...
Volume 3: Fail Fast & Often "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" -Thomas Jefferson on inventing the light bulb This is one of my favorite quotes - ever. It's not defeatist. It's just a guy who knows he's on the path to accomplishment, and these "failures" are just necessary steps on that path. A lot of us have heard people say "You don't fail unless you quit. Until then, you learn." It's been said countless times over millennia in different ways: "Failure is...
Volume 2: Systems > Goals Don't focus on goals. Focus on systems. Goals are exciting and wonderful and motivational and everything good!!! Until you need to achieve them.. Then comes the frustration, disillusionment, and burnout. Goals are nothing without the systems in place to achieve them. Goals are ideas. Systems are repeatable frameworks of actions. Goals are a destination. Systems are how you get there. And life isn't a destination - it's a journey. An infinite game. You don't "win"...