Seinfeld, Shyamalan, and the Power of Streaks
According to comedian Brad Issac, Jerry Seinfeld had strong advice for new comics:
[Seinfeld] told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker. He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day.
After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job is to not break the chain. (cited by
James Clear)
This concept, that James Clear calls the Seinfeld Strategy, is about establishing momentum. “An object in motion stays in motion” is behind this idea of setting and keeping streaks like the one that Seinfeld suggested. There’s also the element of reward that comes from marking the calendar, and seeing that the streak goes unbroken. If you’re in the pursuit of making something part of your identity, you do not need to worry about the eventual destination – where you’ll end up – you should spend far more time stacking streaks that will eventually lead you to where you hopefully want to end up.
So many of us daydream about what we could be doing – what we want our lives to look like – what we wish would happen –- and very little time recognizing that the best time to have started to build those dream lives is today.
My clients struggle with this discrepancy between dreams and action. Their actions tend to pale in comparison to their desires. Sadly, due to the growing gap in often achieving poor outcomes, many have been convinced to abandon their dreams altogether. But the dream itself isn’t the issue – no – it’s the fact that they’ve either a) attributed the dream to be the key to feeling better or b) are unwilling to do what is necessary to see that dream come true.
Millions Don't Matter
The key to feeling better isn’t actually in the dream itself – even if the dream is becoming a millionaire. Aubrey Marcus, Founder of Onnit sold his company to Unilever in 2021 and although the total figure has never been disclosed, it’s presumed that the deal was in the hundreds of millions of dollars. What happened after Marcus’s dream was realized? Nothing. He woke up like any other day, this time with a few more commas in his bank account flashing across a screen on his computer. Marcus’s dream was in the doing, not in the achieving.
The Art of Practicing Your Art
Filmmaker, M. Night Shyamalan has his own version of streaking. He reserves a safe space in his home for two hours of uninterrupted writing. Key to this pursuit is in the doing – not in the achieving. He allows himself to write whatever it is that he feels is important. Sometimes he writes something substantial and noteworthy, other times he simply “stares at a wall” preparing to write. In either outcome, the streak comes from setting aside time to practice his craft.
Why does he do this? Because the creative practice is the work, not necessarily the end product. Shyamalan realizes the value of continually stacking days of writing to hone his craft so that he can learn, unlearn, and learn again. This is how masterpieces magically appear before audiences – it comes from the days of Shyamalan staring blankly at a piece of paper, pencil in hand, and choosing to write.
One More Day on The Run
Max Jolliffe won the Moab 240 ultramarathon race in 2024. Known as one of the more grueling tests of endurance, the Moab 240 stretches across 240 miles of unforgiving terrain like deserts, mountains, cold nights, and hot days. Jolliffe famously won the race, by overtaking the lead runner with only 15 miles to go. His time: 69:22:17 – yes, you read that right – 69 hours.
Aside from the incredible feat, which is extraordinarily documented here, Jolliffe’s title was supported by a daily running streak of over 1080 days. How does a man win an endurance event like that? He creates an uncompromising commitment to running that spans over 3 years. The best part? He ran the next day to keep the streak alive.
Case of the Mondays?
OPB gets sent out bright and early on Mondays for a reason. If there was ever a day to create separation between the person you were and the person you will be, Mondays are those days. Mondays are for new beginnings and starting streaks. Mondays are for killing off compromises and for ridding yourself of rationalizations. Your first brick is laid on Monday. Your first “no” to something you know isn’t in your best interest is said on Monday, so is your first “yes” to the deposit you are making for your future self to cash in on. You don’t need to know what Sunday should feel like to know what you need to do on a Monday. Mondays are for doing the damn thing. Mondays don’t think about Tuesdays.
Mondays can be your days – and if you’re a part of this community – they are yours. The best day to begin building your dream life is today. Never miss a Monday. Now go have yourself a week!
Thanks for reading as always.
Time to win the week 🏆
See you next week :)
– J
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