Hey -
I put something out today that I've been sitting with for a while.
Episode 7 of Against the Fade is the most personal episode I've done. It's about something I avoided for twenty-five years, something I thought was a crutch, and what happened when I finally stopped running from it.
Here's what's in this episode:
The Story
In early 2020, I moved across the country with my wife. Started a business. COVID hit. The business failed. I fell into a depression that scared me. I had therapy, discipline, awareness, a wife who loved me. And I was still sinking. Because the operating system underneath all of it was broken.
The Myth
Self-reliance has a shelf life. Even Emerson, the man who literally wrote the essay on it, knew the wall needed a foundation. Self-reliance is a load-bearing wall. But it's not the foundation. And most men don't figure that out until the wall starts to buckle.
The X-Factor
Faith is the floor underneath the mental valley. Not a religion, a denomination, or a set of rules. The willingness to believe your life has meaning beyond what you can produce. That there is something bigger than you. And that surrendering to it is not weakness. It's the first real act of strength most men will ever perform.
The Payoff
I don't work on my faith so I can feel better. I work on it so I can be better. For my wife. For my family. For the men who listen to this show. Giving without a foundation burns you out. Serving without a source drains you dry.
Listen now:
If this one hits, send it to one man who needs to hear it. You know who he is.
Don’t fade.
— Jonathan