Short letters, sent a few times a week, on mindset, psychology, and how high-caliber people think. If you're into that, it's free to subscribe.
Negotiate yourself up, not down
From the Desk of Calvin TrieuUnexplored Letters Internal Memo A quick reminder for the middle of the week. Standards aren't something you set once and move on from. They're something you either reinforce daily or quietly negotiate away. Early in the week, it's easy to feel inspired and clear. You reflect, you recommit, and you tell yourself that this time is different. That clarity feels good on a Monday. Almost automatic. Midweek is where that clarity gets tested. This is usually where people start to slide, not dramatically, but subtly. A rep half-finished. A conversation avoided. A task delayed. A decision softened just enough to feel reasonable. You quietly start to convince yourself to drift back towards what's comfortable. But standards aren't defined by what you do when things are convenient They're revealed in the small moments when it would be easier to let them slip. Thoughts for the remainder of the week Pay attention to where you're negotiating. Not where you're struggling, that's different. Where you're bargaining with yourself about effort, presence, or follow-through. Those moments matter more than the big ones. If the standard you set on Monday only exist when conditions are perfect, it's not a standard yet. It's preference. See if you can carry it cleanly through the rest of the week. Quietly. Without needing anyone to notice. Talk soon. Much Love. Calvin PS - If you want help tightening this gap and building standards that actually hold under pressure, you can book a call with me here. Follow me on social: |
Unexplored Letters
Short letters, sent a few times a week, on mindset, psychology, and how high-caliber people think. If you're into that, it's free to subscribe.
From the Desk of Calvin Trieu Unexplored Letters What I've Been Reflecting On I've been sitting with something this week. Q1 is over. And I've been asking myself honestly, did it go the way I thought it would? January 1st I came in swinging. New state, new city, rebuilding my business from scratch, starting my PhD, training for a marathon, signed up for my first ultra. The ambition was there. The hunger was there. But so was the crack in the system. What I didn't account for was that I was...
From the Desk of Calvin Trieu Unexplored Letters What I've Been Reflecting On Nothing Is Impossible. Your Doubts Are. Somewhere between the alarm and the first cup of coffee this morning, a thought crept in. Maybe it was about the week ahead. Maybe it was about the thing you keep saying you're going to do. Maybe it was that quiet voice that said "you're already behind." That voice isn't telling you the truth. It's just loud. I was watching a Navy SEAL talk about how he made it through BUD/S,...
From the Desk of Calvin Trieu Unexplored Letters What I've Been Reflecting On What you avoid grows teeth There’s something I need to admit. I haven’t been writing these letters. The last one went out at the end of January. Before that, I had built an eight-week streak I was genuinely proud of. Every week I showed up, wrote, reflected, and sent something into the world. Then the rhythm broke. And the strange thing about avoidance is that it doesn’t sit quietly. It grows teeth. For the past few...