Oct 27, 2023 4 min read Friday at Five: Finish Your Week Well

Friday at Five: Comfort, Purpose, and a Man You've Never Heard Of

Happy Friday, friends!

I don't know about you, but life is at full speed right now in our world. Isn't it interesting that oftentimes when we're busiest we also want to add one more thing? At least for me, a Type A Enneagram 1 driver personality, I'm always up for the next mountain to climb. Right now, that's both my next ultramarathon and some of these writing projects I'm cooking up. Lots coming.

I'm glad you're along for the journey because I'm going to need some feedback here in the next few weeks. Stay tuned.

Now on to this week's Friday at Five to help us finish the week well:

🏃🏻‍♂️ Comfort vs. Discomfort

How much of a driver is comfort for our culture? What about us personally?

I spend hundreds (and probably thousands) of dollars in pursuit of comfort. Nice furniture. Specific cars. Home renovations. Clothes. On and on.

I was sitting in my car at 5:15am with the seat heaters on full blast talking myself into what would be an eight-mile run in the cold. As I sat there, I just wanted to be comfortable. As I thought about it, when I'm at my healthiest, I don't pursue comfort. Conversely, I don't pursue discomfort either.

When I'm at my healthiest, my purpose is clear. When my purpose is clear, it clarifies whether I should push through the discomfort or intentionally choose comfort.

🤔 A Man You've Never Heard Of

Have you ever heard of a man named Cliff Young? I doubt it. And yet, he's one of my favorite people.

There's a foot race in Australia 566 miles long (not a typo). The first year it was run, in 1983, the expected finish time was seven days. That means that runners would run three marathons, sleep a few hours, and then get up and do it again. For seven days. But Cliff Young, a 60-year-old potato farmer with arthritis, shows up to the starting line. He says that he can do it in five days. Imagine a guy showing up to any running event looking like this:

He says, "I grew up on a farm where we couldn't afford horses or four-wheel drives... whenever the storms would roll in, I'd have to go out and round up the sheep. We had 2,000 head, and we have 2,000 acres. Sometimes I would have to run those sheep for two or three days... I believe I can run this race; it's only two more days. Five days. I've run sheep for three."

Well, the gun goes off, the runners run, and everyone finishes the first day plenty of miles ahead of him. Then, they wake up, and they realize: Cliff has been running all night. The man finishes the race in five days and 15 hours, two days ahead of any expected finish.

Oh, and he wasn't aware of the $10,000 prize. He splits it with the 2nd-6th place finishers, keeping none for himself.

Oh, and he didn't bother to wear dentures. They rattled when he ran.

Oh, and then 14 years later at 75 years of age, he tries to run the perimeter of the continent of Australia. And why does he have to stop? His one and only crew member got sick...

Reading his Wikipedia page and this article (where I got the inspiration for all this) is like reading a children's book on Paul Bunyan: can this even be real?

Here's the point I take away: What assumed limits do you need to rethink?

💰 Shady Rays

Every once in a while, a company gets it right.

I have a problem. I call it: The Sunglasses Problem. The problem is I keep losing my sunglasses... Over the past five years, I've lost two pairs of Oakleys. Every time I do this, I hate it a bit more. So, I decided to look for a solution.

If you are suspicious of big brands, here's a fun fact: All sunglasses manufacture and distribution is owned by one company. I used to work at Sunglass Hut. What I found out was that there's this company called Luxottica that owns all the sunglasses brands, Sunglass Huts, design, and production. So that's why it's so expensive: they control design, marketing, production, and distribution.

I wanted an inexpensive pair of polarized sunglasses of decent quality. In my search, I came across Shady Rays. What caught my eye is the warranty: damage or lose your sunglasses, and they'll replace them up to two times.

If you've ever tried to cash in on a warranty, you know how notoriously difficult that can be. But, as I mentioned, I have a problem. I keep losing my sunglasses. It happened again. I looked up my order, paid $10 for shipping (so not totally free, but still way cheaper than replacing them), and boom. New sunglasses within a week. I'm really impressed with the quality and customer service.

Because I've ordered, I've got a code that gives you $20 off. If you need a pair or two, I would recommend: Save $20

🙏 Clarity of Purpose

I've been reading from Philippians in the Bible. Paul writes about other people sharing the truth of Jesus but with wrong motives.

^"It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill... But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." - Philippians 1:15, 18

That is incredibly challenging to me. I want to check motives. Paul is content to check results. Paul's purpose was clear, so even when motives were sideways, he knew his purpose was moving forward and that was enough.

🏃🏻‍♂️ Comfort vs. Discomfort

🤔 A Man You've Never Heard Of

💰 Shady Rays

🙏 Clarity of Purpose

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