Unflinching enthusiasm (Ricky Weekly #75)
Unflinching enthusiasm (Ricky Weekly #75)
This is where I share 3 things every week with my friends and anyone else interested.
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A picture from my life:
We did a photoshoot at the Flow Club team offsite last week. There was only one photographer available in Santa Rosa so I booked her despite thinking, “her portfolio looks like iStockPhoto.” Annnnd…that’s exactly what happened. The photographer put us in some very cringe-y poses, and we nervously laughed through the entire shoot. Most of these photos will get locked in the company vault forever, but here’s a not-too-cringe one.
A thing on my mind:
The longer I go without writing, the harder it gets because my expectations get too high. So consider this issue a quick release to hopefully get me back on track.
It’s been a busy first three months of the year. We grew our team and there are seven people working on Flow Club now! I feel like these last three months with a new team were harder than all of last year, which included the first line of code for Flow Club, one small and one slightly bigger fundraise, going through Y Combinator again, and lots of recruiting. This is just how startups are, and I remind myself all the time that getting to do this at all is a privilege, so I’m grateful for the challenge.
When I’m pressed like I’ve been the last three months, I become more aware of what I need to do to stay mentally strong. At our team offsite last week, my teammates organized some activities that were simple and even gratuitous (like we did a rock-paper-scissors tournament to draw cards that randomly assigned bedrooms), but we did them with so much gusto and cheerfulness that we all had a great time. I learned that I need to surround myself with enthusiastic people to help uplift my spirit. I’m sure you know the kind of people I’m talking about. My friend Ryan is like that. He sees the best in people, is fearlessly optimistic, and naturally brightens up any room he’s in. We do a variation of the Fresh Prince handshake every time we see each other, and just like that, my day is made every time.
Another thing I need for my mental health is to stay close to people I love. Some of my closest friends have moved to the burbs and started families. We used to be able to just spontaneously get dinner, but that’s no longer convenient. We now go more than 6 months without seeing each other, and rarely text in-between. I started thinking about the social experience bundle idea I’ve written about in the past and how as you get older, you need bigger, more elaborate reasons for people to overcome the friction to gather. I’ll probably start organizing some recurring social events so that I can make sure I don’t go too long without friends. Do you do anything like that?
A piece of content I recommend:
Episode 97: Chris Paul - The Old Man and the Three with JJ Redick
I’ve started binging every episode of The Old Man and the Three ever since I discovered it. For NBA fans who also play basketball, I think this is way better than anything from The Ringer Podcast Network, ESPN or All The Smoke. JJ is one of the best three-point shooters in the history of the game and gets along with a ton of players that they’re able to get into a lot of the inside baseball stuff. For Warriors fans, you’d like the episode with Draymond Green. I’m a huge CP3 fan so I’m recommending the CP3 episode. Can’t wait for James Harden to make an appearance!
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As always, you can find out what I’m thinking in more real-time on Twitter and my essays are on my website. My primary focus (and where I focus) is on Flow Club. We are hiring and offering a $10k referral bonus + VIP tickets to SFJAZZ or Sacramento Kings game.