Deals, Dudes & Decisions

It’s BFCM week. Black. Friday. Cyber. Monday. The Super Bowl of retail. The World Cup of Ecomm. Not to be dramatic, but this upcoming weekend is probably the most important weekend of your life.*

*If your net worth is tied to a retail/ecomm biz

Here’s how we’re feeling ALL WEEK LONG:

Okay… I’m maybe being slightly dramatic. But also not. For a majority of the brands you buy from, 20-50% of their YEARLY REVENUE will occur over the span of these upcoming 4 days of Black Friday through Cyber Monday. That’s fucking insane.

A little back-of-the-napkin-math…. calculating…. that means nearly half of their yearly revenue takes place during 1% of the entire year.

Why is it called Black Friday you ask? Let’s ask Bard AI where the name comes from… Hopefully it’s cool:

*Editors note: I’m boycotting ChatGPT until they officially reinstate Sam Altman. Looks like he’s sorta back…? Idk I can’t follow this shit.

Thanks Bard! Are you sure it has nothing to do with Call of Duty: Black Ops?

Bummer.

Either way, what’s REALLY important is that you (yeah, you!) get out and/or get online & shop this weekend. Buy from your favorite small brands. It means A LOT. Seriously. It’s been a tough year & I know first hand how hard these people are grinding. Buy from small biz & support any entrepreneurs you know.

I don’t want to talk about BFCM too much this week cuz I know it’s all most of you are thinking & stressing about, so we’ll stop there. Welcome to week 7 (DAMN, week 7) of Trust Fun. Now, let’s talk about our feelings.

Dude’s Weekend Getaway

I got away this weekend. Myself & two of my best friends, Ace & Zane, went up to Maine for a creative retreat.

I know what you’re thinking. “Damn, who is this guy? A creative retreat? That’s so meta.”

Yeah. I do stuff like that.

Well, this was the first time.

Zane’s an up & coming singer-songwriter (he’s really really good, check him out), so we planned a trip where we’d write some music, create content, and most importantly, check-in with one another. And Yes. I do mean “check-in with one another” in the emotional sense.

It’s important to check-in with your friends. See how stuff is going. What’s going on that’s good? What’s going on that’s bad? Answering these questions can do wonders. Call it out. Verbalize it. Give it, whatever it is, a name. It may minimize it. It may help you better understand it. It may help you actually address it head-on.

Or even better, one of your bros may be feeling the same way. Or was feeling the same way but overcame it. One of the reasons we learn about history is so we don’t repeat it. The same goes for why we should learn about the people close to us.

It’s something that I, personally, don’t do enough. Address things. Call them out. Be vulnerable. Specifically all the dudes out there… We don’t really talk about how we are feeling. Honestly, we don’t even really know how we are feeling.

So here’s some homework for you this week: Check-in with one of the dudes this week. I bet they’ll appreciate it.

Anyways, my weekend consisted of meditation, journaling, walks on the beach & deep conversation. All 3 of us are in very different inflection points of our lives. Mid-to-late 20s, constantly moving around, lots of time spent failing, even more time spent getting back up & trying again, taking risks, fucking up, experiencing the highest of highs & the lowest of lows, etc, etc. What we realized is that all three of us still haven’t figured much (if anything) out, while at the same time, are truly able to celebrate how far we’ve come.

That’s an interesting concept. To be nowhere close to where you want to get to, but also extremely proud at all the progress you’ve made. Why don’t we do that more? You probably only get one performance review a year. You probably only “check-in” with your emotions when you’re already crying.

Fuck that. Try & catch things at the halfway point. You’re doing awesome work. You’re building cool things. You’re sexy as hell. Take a second & remind yourself of that more often.

Ok, self-reflection time over. Back to world domination 😈.

Here’s a cool thing we “verbalized” this weekend…

Just Make A Decision Already

Decision making is fucking brutal. But it’s also critical. In my opinion, someone’s ability to make decisions is directly correlated to how successful they will be. Here’s the equation I just made up right now:

More decisions = More actions = More output

How did I not go to MIT?

Simple. Right? Well, not really. When making decisions, you’re dealing with a rag tag group of misfits & clashing personalities. It’s like The Breakfast Club is playing on loop inside of our bodies.

First, you have your brain 🧠. The nerd of the group. The scaredy cat. Seeing everything in black & white. Absorbing & digesting facts, weighing pros & cons, and acting rationally. Sure, it’s vital they’re present, to assure things don’t pivot into utter chaos, but also, they’re the ones making sure the teacher assigns you homework.

Second, we’ve got our heart ❤️. The lover. The romantic. The dreamer. Always speaking in hypotheticals & adding tons of color. A high risk, high reward actor. Our heart’s guidance can be beautiful & take us down enchanted paths, but they’re also an aloof dumbass & can lead us into a burning holes of despair & regret.

Lastly, you’ve got your gut 🫀. The fearless one. The “this feels right” guy. The the gut is cool & mysterious. You trust them, but you don’t really know why. You are also ever so slightly scared of them. They’re not always right, but man, are they confident. Sorta like the new kid in 3rd grade who tells everyone what sex is.

Aligning & agreeing with these 3 misfits is how we make choices. No wonder it’s so fucking hard to come to a decision. You’ve got a nerd, an aloof dumbass & a cocky, know-it-all trying to come to an agreement. It also explains why I spend 45 minutes scrolling UberEats most nights. My heart wants a cheeseburger, my brain wants a salad, & my gut wants froyo.

No advice here. Making decisions is hard. That’s the point & now (hopefully) you know a little more as to why.

The end. Hopefully this week wasn’t too meta for you guys.

Good luck this weekend. Hope you all make lots of money (or spend lots of money).

*Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget About Me) starts playing in the background*

PS. Crazy deals already happening. Just spent an arm & a leg on some new pairs of Mugsy Jeans.