A weekly brief for men building careers and families.
Hello, friends. Yes, tonight we conclude March Madness, but where one door closes, another opens. And as the greeting hinted, it’s Masters week. Which means it is also time for me to dust off the ole’ clubs and get back to my regular programming of shanks and slices. Have week, fellaz. -C
This Week’s Throughline 🏄♂
This week’s issue is about focus and choosing what actually matters before you build a life around it.
01 - The Brief 📰
What's worth your attention this week.
OpenAI cuts back side projects to “nail” core business. OpenAI is preparing a strategic reset aimed at prioritizing its core business areas—coding tools and enterprise adoption—while scaling back a range of experimental initiatives, The Wall Street Journal reported. Why this matters: If a company with seemingly unlimited resources and upside is saying “no” to things that don’t move the needle/distract from their core focus - we could probably do the same.
Stop Optimizing Your Life—It’s Making You Miserable. In a throwback article from 2020, former rocket scientist turned law professor Ozan Varol states that “Yes, efficiency has brought tremendous value to our lives, but that efficiency came with a serious cost. In maximizing convenience, we’ve sacrificed connection. No wonder we’re feeling more isolated than we’ve ever been.” Why this matters: If our focus is more about optimizing than experiencing, we could totally miss the direction and prompting where God wants to take us.
Kids Need Rec Sports To Make a Comeback. In today’s America, rec teams often aren’t considered a viable option for kids. That must change, since research says they’re ideal for the vast majority of kids. But adult profits and pride stand in the way of kids’ access to rec sports. Why this matters: If sports matter in your home, make sure both you and your kids enjoy the game and the process even if that means playing rec league.
02 - The Core 🎯
One principle to carry into the week.
THE QUOTE
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.”
THE TAKE
Most men work hard, show up, and keep doing what’s in front of them. Over time, that turns into a career, a full schedule, and a whole life. But how often do we stop to ask, “Does the thing I am succeeding at really matter?”
Of course, if the success is the areas of your personal/spiritual growth, marriage, as a dad - then yes that 100% matters.
But are the things outside of that moving you in the right direction? Sometimes it is just easier to keep going, because stopping feels risky and being busy feels safe. But it’s not. Remember - we can “win” and still end up somewhere we never meant to go.
THE MOVE
Before you say yes this week, take a second and pause. Ask yourself, “If this works, is it actually worth it?” Not just if it makes money, looks good, or earns respect, but what it costs you to get it.
Will it make you a better husband? Will it give you more time with your kids? Will it still matter 10 years from now?
If the answer is no - or you’re not sure - don’t just push harder. Slow down, and choose what actually matters.
03 - The Trait 🏆
One man. One trait worth studying.
Steve Jobs | Intentionality
What did he do?
When Steve Jobs came back to Apple in 1997, the company was all over the place with too many products, too many ideas, no focus. So he did what most leaders won’t do: he started saying no. He cut about 70% of Apple’s products not because they were bad, but because they weren’t the right ones. Then he focused everything on a few key bets like the iMac, iPod, and eventually the iPhone.
What did it cost him?
Probably a lot of good ideas with real opportunities. Also probably a good amount of short-term revenue. From the outside, I can only imagine it looked risky - like he was leaving money on the table. But from the inside, it was necessary. He knew that saying yes to everything would slowly kill the company, even if each individual decision looked smart.
(Based on Jobs’ return to Apple in 1997, when he reduced the product line dramatically to refocus the company.)
What can we take from it?
Jobs said, “Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.” Most men don’t struggle with effort, they struggle with focus. They keep adding more work, more commitments, more “good opportunities” until life is full, but not aligned. Intentionality means cutting things that could work, so you can build something that actually matters. Or as Alex Hormozi likes to put it “focus is subtraction, not addition.”
04 - The Question ❓
One question for the week.
Right now, what are you building?
Last week, the question was asked, “Where do you lose the most time on your phone?” Here were the results:
Social media scrolling 🥇
AI/random searches🥈
News/sports rabbit holes 🥉
Know a man who'd find this useful? Forward this to him.
Hold the line,
-Collier
