#2101: Start Here

In my early 20s, I took a screenwriting course from Robert McKee. On the first day, he said:

You need to be an adult for at least ten years before you have anything worthwhile to say.

I thought he was just being a dick.

Today, in my 40s, I realize he was being generous.

Within six months of that course, I discovered climbing and embarked on a 25-year detour into mountain sports. Climbing led to skimo racing. Running around in the mountains went far beyond those clueless-speaking-tour themes of adrenaline and struggle. For me it was far less dramatic. It felt natural and familiar, like coming home.

Now my interest in mountain sports is less driven and more recreational. I still love climbing, and skimo racing will always be incredible Type-II fun. But physical pursuits are giving way to mental ones. As an older friend told me 18 years ago:

I could match objectives with declining capacity but why bother? Those would not be adventures that interest me. Sure, I want to do some classics later in life but I consider that desire a symptom of being done.

So today, I'm more interested in building mental muscle than I am physical. The best way to do that is through this keyboard. But the geeks say that a writing venue needs to be audience-specific. I can't just rant at random—like I used to—and expect the world to beat a path to my door. (Weird, right?)

So although I'm really only interested in one thing—the keys to building wealth in terms of time, money, and muscle—I'm going to spread out the publication of those ideas based on the most relevant domain.

Here's what I'm working on:

Redline Alpine

I coach mountain sports at Uphill Athlete and I write about it at Redline Alpine. My clients have made national teams, won ultra-marathons, bested FKTs, and set many personal records.

My goal with Redline Alpine is to share the principles and methods of modern training. Eventually, I want to put the details of my method into a book called Arrowhead Endurance.

Odd Simple

At Odd Simple, I get to get my geek on. This is my mental playground for fun ideas like, "Is there math behind habits?". Next, I'm working on a simple non-mathematical guide to Bayes Theorem. (Because everyone should use Bayes Theorem. Sersly.)

This Newsletter

This newsletter will provide summaries of Redline Alpine, Odd Simple, and the interesting resources that I consult along the way. I think by now that I—according to McKee—have something worthwhile to say.

Thanks for reading,
Scott