Sunday Sendoff #54: What You Got

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Brickwall's Sunday Sendoff

Comparison gets a bad reputation.

Most of the time, for good reason.

It can steal joy.

It can convince us that what we have isn’t enough.

This week, though, comparison did something unexpected.

I toured a beautiful old house.

It was huge.

Tall ceilings. Tons of rooms. Character everywhere. The kind of house that makes you stop and think, “Wow.”

But something funny happened on the way home.

I found myself appreciating my apartment even more.

It’s not perfect.

It’s not the quietest. Storage is…creative. Extra bedrooms would be nice. I’d love a garage someday.

But then I started thinking about everything my apartment is.

It’s where I write. It’s where I build websites. It’s where I sometimes train. It’s where my kids eat, sleep, and watch TV. It’s where ideas turn into projects. It’s where Brickwall grew. It’s where I’ve laughed, struggled, learned, and started building a better life.

It’s home.

(Not to mention I don’t have to worry about fixing things, mowing the lawn, foundation problems, moisture problems, and spending every weekend at Home Depot. 🤣)

Sometimes we’re so focused on the next thing that we forget to enjoy the thing we’re standing in.

The bigger house. The better job. The nicer car. The dream garage.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting those things.

In fact, I hope you keep chasing them.

Just don’t make the mistake of believing your life begins when you finally arrive.

Life is already happening.

Your apartment. Your first house. Your tiny office. Your beat-up car. Your budget gym.

These aren’t just places you’re passing through.

They’re chapters.

And someday, you’ll probably look back on them with more fondness than you expect.

Keep dreaming. Keep building.

But don’t forget to appreciate what you’ve already built.

Guiding Principle

Appreciate what you got, but keep striving for more.

Something to Ponder

Has your head been off in the clouds, thinking about what you don’t have?

Why don’t you come back down for a minute, look around, and appreciate all the good that’s already around you?

See You In the Arena

This week is just about over. Next week is just about here. Let’s keep building.

Brick by brick.

How to Build a Terrible Website

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I love websites.

I’ve loved them ever since I built my first one back in 2015 (remember FTP? 🤣), and I’ve built several since then.

Over the years, I’ve visited thousands of websites.

Some have made me stop and think, “Wow.”

Others have made me wonder if the owner actually wanted people to leave.

This post is just for fun—a collection of everything I’ve noticed that can make a website really, really bad.

Even if you’ve never built a website, you’ll recognize a few of these. If you’ve spent any amount of time on the internet, you’ve experienced them.

So…

You want to build a terrible website?

Here’s how.

Stuff it with ads. The more, the better. We love ads.

Have three different things pop up the moment someone arrives. Don’t let them actually see the website first.

Make it look fantastic on a desktop…and terrible on a phone. It’s not like anyone uses smartphones.

Hide important information. We’d rather spend ten minutes looking for what we came for.

Use font so small people need binoculars. Better yet, make it so small they need a microscope.

Clutter every page with as much stuff as possible. Cover every square inch.

Make it slow enough for someone to brew a pot of coffee while it loads. A food service-sized pot.

Don’t make your links look like links. Can I click this? One of life’s great mysteries.

Link to irrelevant, low-quality, or questionable websites. Guilty by association.

Treat security like it’s optional. Everybody, come on in!

Pick colors that have absolutely nothing to do with your brand. Better yet, pick ten of them.

Use fonts that are “creative” instead of readable. Is that an I or an L?

Use colors with almost no contrast. Our eyes thank you.

Add photos and videos simply because you can. Bonus points for cheesy stock photos.

Set your videos to autoplay at full volume. Nothing says “welcome” like getting yelled at.

Never proofread anything. Typos? Run-on sentences? Questionable punctuation? Bring it on.

Use HUGE blocks of text. Everyone loves reading walls of text.

Make every page look different. Consistency is overrated.

Skip the About page. We don’t need to know who’s behind the website.

Skip the Contact page. Make it a true one-sided conversation.

Ask visitors to sign up for your newsletter before they’ve even read a sentence. That’s definitely how trust works.

If you do all that…

Congratulations.

You’ve built a website people can’t wait to leave.

The funny thing is that good websites usually aren’t complicated.

They’re fast. They’re clear. They’re easy to navigate. They respect the visitor’s time.

Whether you’re building a business website, a portfolio, or a personal blog…

…or you’re just someone who uses websites…

Remember this:

Your website isn’t for you. It’s for the people using it.

Friction: Use It Deliberately

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Friction: Use It Deliberately

Friction isn’t the enemy.

It’s a tool.

Remove it, and things get easier.

Add it, and things get harder.

Use it deliberately.

You don’t rise to the level of your motivation.

More often, you fall to the level of your environment.

Design your environment.

Remove Friction

Make training easy.

Join a gym that’s close to your home or work. If you drive past it every day, are you really going to skip? Probably not.

Better yet, build a home gym (if it suits your personality). When your gym is one room away, excuses become a lot harder to make.

Make eating powerful foods easy.

Find nutritious foods you genuinely enjoy. Season them well. Learn recipes that make them taste great. Stock your kitchen with foods that move you toward your goals.

Make great sleep easy.

Live a full day. Train. Work. Read. Build. Then make your bed inviting and your evenings relaxing. Create a bedtime routine you actually look forward to—reading, journaling, or simply unwinding.

Add Friction

Now flip the script.

Make the things that hurt you harder to do.

If you struggle to skip workouts, find an accountability partner.

If certain foods constantly derail your progress, don’t even bring them into your home.

Don’t negotiate with temptation.

Make bad habits inconvenient.

Want to spend less time scrolling your phone? Delete the apps, log out after every session, or keep your phone in another room while you work.

A few extra seconds of effort can be enough to help you make a better decision.

Willpower and Discipline are Powerful. Friction Is the Multiplier.

Willpower and discipline matter.

But if you’re ignoring friction, you’re making life harder than it needs to be.

The people who consistently make good decisions often aren’t relying on superhuman discipline.

They’ve simply designed an environment where the right choice is the easy choice.

Design your environment.

Make the right action easier.

Make the wrong action harder.

Friction shapes behavior whether you notice it or not.

So stop fighting it.

Start using it.

Remove friction from what builds you.

Add friction to what breaks you.

Sunday Sendoff #53: Happy Father’s Day

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Brickwall's Sunday Sendoff

When I was younger, I thought being a father meant having all the answers.

Knowing exactly what to say. Exactly what to do. Always being strong. Always being right. Always having a plan.

Then I became a dad.

And I learned something different.

Fatherhood isn’t about perfection.

It’s about presence.

It’s showing up when you’re tired. Showing up when you’re stressed. Showing up when life didn’t go according to plan. Showing up anyway.

My dad showed up.

I show up.

And you show up.

The funny thing about being a father is that the most important moments aren’t usually the ones you expect.

They aren’t the big events. They aren’t the cool trips. They aren’t the picture-perfect holidays.

They’re the ordinary moments.

The rides to school. The trips to the park. The bedtime stories. The walks. The dinners. The bad jokes. The random conversations that turn into life lessons.

Those moments don’t seem important at the time.

Until one day you realize they were everything.

I think a lot of fathers carry a quiet burden.

The feeling that we should be doing more. Providing more. Being more.

But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this:

Your kids don’t need a perfect father.

They need their father.

The one who shows up. The one who listens. The one who keeps trying. The one who loves them. The one who is there.

Life doesn’t always turn out the way we imagined. Sometimes the picture in our head never becomes reality.

But love isn’t measured by how closely life follows the script.

Love is measured by what we do with the pages we were given.

So today, if you’re a father, give yourself a little credit.

The fact that you worry about being a good dad is evidence that you’re trying to be one.

Keep showing up. Keep teaching. Keep listening. Keep loving.

The years move fast.

The moments matter.

And when your kids look back, they’re not going to care their dad wasn’t perfect.

They’re going to care that their dad was there.

Trying.

Happy Father’s Day.

Guiding Principle

Showing up, even imperfectly, matters.

Something to Ponder

Do you beat yourself up over not being the perfect dad? Why? Why not take some time to think about all the good things you do, and all the times you’ve shown up?

See You In the Arena

This week is just about over. Next week is just about here. Let’s keep building.

Brick by brick.

Brickwall’s Most Interesting Band and Artist Names

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What’s in a name?

Not everything, of course.

Some bands and artists have bland names and great music.

Some, however, have interesting names.

Names that make you stop and say:

“What’s the story behind that?”

To be clear, this isn’t a list of my favorite bands and artists.

I might like them.

I might not.

This also isn’t a list of the most badass names.

They might be badass.

They might not.

This is simply a list of names that make me raise an eyebrow and wonder how they came up with them.

Pure “Wait, what’s their name?” factor.

Let’s begin.

The Most Interesting, According to Brickwall

Wu-Tang Clan
Just iconic all the way around. Everyone knows the name now, but imagine hearing it for the first time in the early 90s.

Led Zeppelin
Lead is heavy. Zeppelins are supposed to float. The contradiction is the joke.

Butthole Surfers
You read that correctly.

Iron Maiden
Named after a medieval torture device. Not exactly subtle.

REO Speedwagon
Named after a random vehicle from 1915. Classic rock trivia at its finest.

The Kinks
A name that got attention in the 1960s. Which, to be fair, was kind of the point.

Eminem
A phonetic version of his initials: M&M. Simple. Brilliant.

Black Sabbath
Dark. Heavy. Mysterious. It fits perfectly.

Babes In Toyland
Absurd and fascinating. It immediately makes you wonder where Toyland is.

Judas Priest
This one has everything: mystery, intrigue, and just enough danger.

Hoobastank
What does it mean? Nobody seems entirely sure.

Hole
One word. One syllable. Infinite questions.

Tool
See above.

Blue Öyster Cult
Sounds like a secret society that may or may not control the world.

Dinosaur Jr.
Where exactly is Dinosaur Sr.?

The Doors
Named after something so ordinary that it becomes extraordinary. The contrast between the name and Jim Morrison’s personality only makes it funnier.

Nine Inch Nails
Simple. Memorable. Slightly unsettling.

Queens of the Stone Age
One of those names that sounds cool immediately but gets stranger the more you think about it.

Garbage
Self-deprecating and unforgettable.

Type O Negative
At least we know their blood type.

Korn
Named after something completely ordinary. The band itself was anything but ordinary.

Lil’ 1/2 Dead
Peak West Coast rap naming convention. Instantly memorable.

You Know What’s Funny?

Is that once they become famous, they stop sounding strange.

Iron Maiden?

Yeah, that’s just a legendary band.

But imagine hearing it for the first time in 1975.

“Little Jimmy is listening to who?”

“Iron Maiden.”

“The torture device?!”

🤣

The Lesson?

You can have a bland name.

You can have an interesting name.

You can have a badass name.

You can have a ridiculous name.

All of them can work.

What matters most isn’t the name.

It’s what’s behind the name.

The music. The work. The craft. The consistency. The value.

A name might get someone’s attention.

But the work is what keeps it.

And that’s true for people, bands, businesses, websites, and writers.

In the end, what’s behind the name counts more.

The 2,630th Rep

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Everyone celebrates the first rep.

The start. The spark. The moment of motivation.

The first rep is exciting.

It’s fueled by novelty, optimism, and maybe a little caffeine.

Everybody loves beginnings.

The first rep gets posted on social media. The first rep gets announced to friends. The first rep gets a lot of attention.

But the first rep isn’t what changes your life.

The 2,630th rep does.

(Just a random number—to make a point.)

Because by then, the excitement is gone. The motivation has faded. Life has gotten busy. You’ve had bad days. You’ve gotten sick. You’ve been discouraged. You’ve questioned whether it’s worth it.

And yet…

You showed up anyway.

That’s where identity shows up. That’s where character shows up. That’s where the real work begins.

Anyone can do something once.

Many people can do something for a week. Some can do it for a month.

But very few people can keep showing up long after the novelty disappears.

That’s why the high reps matter.

They reveal whether this is a phase…

…or who you are.

Whether you’re someone who starts things…

…or someone who finishes them.

Whether you’re interested…

…or committed.

Progress rarely comes from one heroic effort.

It comes from thousands of ordinary ones.

A rep doesn’t seem life-changing in isolation.

But stack enough of them together, and they become impossible to ignore.

That’s how a physique (or anything, really) is built.

One rep at a time.

The funny thing is, nobody remembers the 2,630th rep.

Nobody celebrates it. Nobody throws a parade for consistency. Nobody hands out trophies for showing up on a random Tuesday in February.

But those unseen reps are the ones that matter most.

Those are the reps that separate wishful thinking from transformation.

The first rep is exciting. The first rep gets attention. The first rep feels important.

But the high reps?

The high reps are where people are forged.

Can you keep going when nobody is watching? Can you keep going when the music fades? Can you keep going when progress feels slow? Can you keep going when the results haven’t arrived yet?

Because eventually, success becomes less about talent and more about repetition. Less about motivation and more about habit. Less about intensity and more about consistency.

The first rep starts the journey.

The 2,630th rep proves who you’ve become.

And then?

You do the 2,631st.

Sunday Sendoff #52: Just Lay the Next Brick

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Brickwall's Sunday Sendoff

Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about the future.

My kids. Work. Entrepreneurship. Money. Relationships.

The problem with looking too far ahead is that eventually it becomes overwhelming.

Because there are too many unknowns. Too many variables. Too many things outside of your control.

And when that happens, it’s easy to freeze.

Easy to overthink. Easy to convince yourself that you need a perfect plan before you move forward.

But that’s not how things get built.

A wall isn’t built all at once. A house isn’t built all at once. A life isn’t built all at once.

It’s built one brick at a time.

One workout. One conversation. One job application. One client outreach. One good decision. One day.

That’s it.

This is Sunday Sendoff #52. Fifty-two consecutive weeks in the books. One full year is just around the corner.

That may sound like a lot, but it was accomplished the same way everything worthwhile is accomplished: one week at a time. Brick by brick.

You don’t need all the answers right now. You don’t need to know exactly where you’ll be a year from now.

You just need to lay the next brick.

Then do it again tomorrow.

And the day after that.

Eventually, you look back and realize you’ve built something pretty incredible.

Guiding Principle

When the future feels overwhelming, focus on the next brick.

Something to Ponder

What’s the next brick in your life right now? Not one way off in the future…the one right ahead of you?

See You In the Arena

This week is just about over. Next week is just about here. Let’s keep building.

Brick by brick.

Sonny the Alien: The Overwhelming Life

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Sonny the Alien

Earth Log Entry #23: Invisible Weight

Sonny and Vanessa sat curled up on the couch in the apartment, watching The Office.

Vanessa grabbed a chip and popped it into her mouth. “Where did Chad go again?”

Sonny didn’t look up from the TV. “He went up to his family’s cabin in Lutsen.”

Vanessa put the chip bowl on the coffee table. “Oh. Cool.”

After a minute or two of silence she turned to Sonny. “I cried in the bathroom at work today.”

Sonny looked over at her, concerned. “Why? Did someone hurt you?”

Vanessa chuckled. “No, no. Life just gets overwhelming sometimes.”

Sonny still had a concerned look on his face. “Overwhelming enough to bring you to tears?”

Vanessa nodded gently. “Yeah. Sometimes life just beats you into the ground.”

Sonny considered this. “But why would life beat you into the ground?”

Vanessa shrugged. “I don’t know. Stuff has to get done. And there’s so much stuff to do. Nobody cares if you’re happy or not.”

They both looked back at the TV and sat in silence for a while.

Sonny pointed to the TV. “These white collar office workers seem to be in the same plight as you.”

Vanessa laughed. “Exactly.”

Sonny turned to Vanessa and took her hand. “If anyone hurt you, I would handle them.”

Vanessa smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “I know you would, you big oaf.”

Sonny took out his Earth Log device and began typing.

Humans can carry invisible weight. I cannot see it, but it appears very heavy. Vanessa became emotional at work today despite having suffered no obvious injury. I will monitor the situation, and possibly investigate her boss.