When you know the way broadly, you see it in all things
"How you do anything is how you do everything..." but its more than that.
“When you know the way broadly, you see it in all things.” -Miyamoto Musashi
I’m not sure the first time I heard it, all I remember is the “click” it made.
This idea, it's like one of those sneaky optical illusions. Once you spot it, you can’t unsee it. As I rambled on in my last profound-ish piece, the source (that mishmash of ideas, inspiration, and those "aha!" moments) is available to everyone. But the real trick? It's in sharpening that skill to tap into this treasure trove. For me, this quote became my trusty compass, always pointing towards inspiration.
When you have an idea, there is an energy that comes with it. That “why-didn’t-I-think-of-this-earlier” feeling. And yeah, a smidge of guilt. Because once that lightbulb moment happens, it feels so obvious. Like, how did no one else stumble upon this? But, spoiler alert: they would've.
I got hooked to this buzz. And by some stroke of luck or maybe sheer stubbornness, I figured out how to keep the buzz going.
Train yourself to see connections others miss.
Flashback to my elementary days, the golden age of pro wrestling. Every Monday night, third-grade me would be glued to the screen till 11 pm, tuning-in to the highest form of storytelling.
Looking back on what was so captivating about the show, it wasn’t the choreographed moves - it was this sense of unpredictability.
Picture this: a hero is cornered, outnumbered, and outmatched by a gang of wrestlers. Just when all hope seems lost *glass shatters* and Stone Cold Steve Austin storms down the ramp like a knight-in-jeans-and-a-camo-hat. Everyone in the arena (and myself sitting a foot in front of the tv) lets out a sense of relief and excitement. The “Pop”.
This feeling kept me glued to the TV every week, but it wasn’t for 20 years until I asked myself the question: How can I make my work more like pro wrestling? Not in a “greased-up-juiced-up-men-in-tights” way (sorry).
How do I craft something that gives my audience that same rush, that same "Pop"?
“Wait… you are watching someone play video games?”
In 2017 I downloaded a new video game called “Fortnite”. This game promised to be unlike any game I had ever played: 100 players would enter a match with the last-one-standing being victorious. This wasn’t the first game of the battle royale genre - but it was the first one that let players of any platform (PC, Xbox, Playstation, Mobile) play together. Oh it was also free.
Almost everyone in my circle was on the Fortnite bandwagon. It had this nostalgic charm, reminiscent of the good ol' Halo days. The real challenge wasn't recruiting enough friends for a match; it was gently letting down those who... let's just say, needed a bit more practice.
You didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that break up - at least I didn’t. I wanted to get good at the game - something very important for a 26 year old married man. I searched YouTube for tips and tricks to improve. I was “farming wood” (technical term) in my sleep - similar to if you play tetris too long. I had watched all the videos - I needed more! Enter Twitch.
Twitch was a live-streaming platform that allowed anyone to broadcast themselves playing video games - a concept that was previously very foreign. “Why watch someone else play when you could play yourself?” An otherwise good question if you don’t apply the logic to someone watching LeBron James when they have a hoop in their driveway.
Twitch was different than YouTube. YouTube featured edited videos, highlights and structure. On Twitch, gamers would play for sometimes 8 hours straight, showing their audience their true skill and personality. As Twitch grew, these creators also grew - as well as their stream’s production quality. What started as a dodgy stream on a laptop webcam - transformed into a multi-cam production. A production based around “being good at a free video game”
“Hey Mike, who gives a fuck?”
Well, here's the kicker: Twitch underscored a powerful idea. The notion that anyone could “broadcast”, be unapologetically themselves, and not stick to a script. It's about authenticity in a digital age. You didn’t need a big production house or multiple staff. You needed yourself and a computer.
If platforms like Twitch can revolutionize how we consume content by celebrating raw, unfiltered experiences, how might this shift our perceptions of what's "real" in other areas of our lives?
Since I lost most of you, let’s talk about weight lifting
You may not be aware, but you are reading the substack of someone who ran for nearly 800 yards and 9 touchdowns as a JV football player. Insert Uncle Rico gif here.
You could say my athletic accolades are (well) behind me. Despite that, I go to the gym daily. This is time for me to “relax” and to not worry about anything besides the music I’m listening to, how much weight to add or subtract and what my next exercise will be.
Now, for someone who touts the zen-like qualities of weightlifting, there's a part of me (perhaps the pro-wrestling part) that's hell-bent on upping my bench press. I have no aspirations to be in a power-lifting meet, but you wouldn’t know that by watching my workouts. I lift like I’m still trying to take advantage of my D3 Football eligibility.
There was a famous power lifting coach by the name of Louie Simmons. He founded a private gym called Westside Barbell - basically the NWO of weight-lifting. A cast of misfits and outlaws that the broader audience wanted to see lose, but they never did.
Simmons was an evil genius at drawing inspiration from diverse sources. He'd get his hands on Russian and Bulgarian weightlifting manuals, even translating them, just to glean their secrets. And he didn't stop there. He delved into physics, breaking down the essence of weightlifting to its core: moving heavy stuff, or as Sir Isaac Newton would put it, his Second Law.
Boil it down, weightlifting is all about defying gravity, accelerating a load against its pull. Simmons had this lightbulb moment: what if you could "turbocharge" gravity? Picture a golf ball free-falling from above your head. Now, imagine that same ball being sling-shot downwards. The weight remains unchanged, but the acceleration? It's on steroids. Newton's third law chimes in here: every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Simmons' epiphany? If you can make the weight plummet faster, you can boost your strength.
“Hey Mike, who gives a fuck?”
When you are lifting weights with bands, the band is pulling the hardest when its the most stretched. This is by design as you are in a bio-mechanical advantageous position. This is where you are strongest. As you lower the weight and move through the exercise, the tension on the band loosens and you return to the force of plain-old gravity. How can you use this concept in other areas of your life?
How can you make things more difficult when you are at your strongest, but easier when you are at your most vulnerable?
Still with me?
Life, in all its unpredictability, offers lessons at every turn. It's about recognizing the patterns, drawing parallels, and applying insights from one niche interest to another. From the digital landscapes of Fortnite and Twitch to the weight benches of Westside Barbell, the key is to train our minds to see the broader picture, to find the "Pop" in the mundane, and to constantly challenge our perspectives. Look for these connections, even if you have no intention to act on them. Because when we truly understand the way broadly, we begin to see its reflections everywhere.