The 3-2-1
1st Edition
Wednesday 1st October, 2025
Welcome to the 3-2-1. Weekly documentation of what I’m testing, what I’m learning, and what’s worth examining.
Quick read. High signal. Zero noise.
3 Things I’m Testing
1. Testing whether 15 minutes earlier makes a difference.
Set my alarm 15 minutes earlier this week to eliminate the pre-school chaos. The difference is absurd. No rushing. No stress. No starting the day on the back foot. My kids got a present dad instead of one scrambling for time. I hit my desk at 9am with clarity instead of cortisol. 15 minutes is nothing. The compounding effect of starting calm is everything.
2. Testing whether elongated rest builds capability or just postpones growth.
After my Mental Breakdown at Mile 75 a few weeks ago, I told myself no racing for six months. Then my mate Rob ran an epic 110km in the Lakes last weekend. We talked. He said: “You’d have absolutely loved it, it’s a shame you couldn’t be there?”, which got me reflecting and reframing. Athletes don’t improve by taking six months off. Muscle only grows when you stress it. The brain works the same way. You don’t maintain capability through extended rest—you maintain it through consistent load. Stop training anything and watch it atrophy. Your mind. Your body. Your discipline. All of it.
Confirmed my spot at my next Ultramarathon immediately: Winter on the Downs 55 miler alongside Rob in December. This is where creating the immensely powerful Personal Boardroom proves it’s worth.
3. Testing whether writing about my learning process creates value for others or just clarifies thinking for myself (or perhaps both)
Started this 3-2-1 format to document what I’m testing each week. Writing forces me to name what I’m actually learning instead of just experiencing it. If you’re getting value from reading this, that’s a bonus. The primary value is making my own patterns visible. You can’t optimise what you can’t see.
2 Ideas Worth Stealing
1. “Ego is the enemy of what you want and of what you have.” - Ryan Holiday
Working through Ego Is the Enemy and it’s brutal. Ask yourself: are you growing or performing? Creating value or collecting validation? Working toward your vision or posting about it? Recently i deleted every social media platform except Substack because my ego wanted the applause but my mission needs the focus. Your ego wants you visible to others. Your potential wants you focused on yourself. Which one are you feeding?
2. “Systems scale. Heroic effort doesn’t.” - The Science of Scaling
Reading The Science of Scaling while building something that matters. The goal: turn this writing project into my full-time living within three years. Passion and purpose equal true freedom. This requires systems, not heroics. I’m thinking big with this project because small thinking costs the same energy. All in as above. Building the infrastructure now so the dream becomes inevitable later.
1 Question Worth Answering
Which version of yourself do you want to be—the one you are or the one you’re capable of becoming?
The work continues.
To your growth,
-Chris
P.S. I’m testing this 3-2-1 format for the next four weeks to see if it adds value. Hit reply and let me know if you found this useful. The feedback helps me decide what stays and what gets cut.
P.P.S. Building something bigger for paid subscribers—weekly mini video trainings, monthly Zoom masterclasses, community chats with questions worth sitting with. The foundation for the three-year vision. Upgrade below to join us. It’s a bargain.
P.P.P.S Found this useful? Feel free to share it below. Growth happens through sharing what works.
I also tested my elongated rests and I found myself falling back to old ways. I think rests are very important but they should not be taking up the major part of journey.