Reflections On The First 100 Episodes

100 episodes in 100 days. One commitment that has changed how I approach both fitness and life.Photo by Tim Wildsmith on UnsplashHey there. It’s me, Kore. And today marks the 100th episode of Exercising Self-Control: From Fitness to Flourishing.Back on July 11th, I posted the teaser trailer for this podcast with a short description of what I had in store for you. Eighteen days later, on July 29th, came the very first episode and my commitment to publishing one episode every day for a thousand days in a row. That mission has been my North Star, and honestly, it’s taught me more about consistency and transformation than I expected.Three Lessons LearnedHere’s what I’ve learned over these first 100 episodes:First, the power of showing up daily changes you in ways you can’t predict. Just as in fitness, where one workout seems insignificant but 100 workouts transforms your body, this daily practice has shifted how I think about commitment and growth. As I’ve shared in past episodes, consistency may start with discipline and effort but it ends in a shift in identity. I’m now someone who publishes daily. The work has worked on me as much as I have worked on it.Second, your past efforts are a resource you can draw on today. These first 100 episodes have largely been drawn from personal notes I’ve kept over the years: handwritten notes I went through one by one, sometimes randomly, sometimes grouped together for those multi-part series that you’ve experienced; electronic notes I kept and moved from Google sheets to Evernote to Amplenote and so on over the years. I’ve also referenced old videos and other projects that I’ve done. What struck me was how much wisdom we accumulate without realizing it. Every thought, every reflection on life, fitness, and personal development becomes valuable when you commit to sharing it consistently.Third, this podcast journey is literally demonstrating its own philosophy. The goal has always been to help you use exercise as the foundation for transforming your entire life. Well, that’s exactly what’s happening for me. This daily practice has become the foundation for my own career transformation. I’m transitioning from working as a fitness trainer to becoming a one-on-one coach, helping people wherever they are in the world apply these principles to their lives.With that little segue I’ve got some plans going forward.The PlanThe daily commitment continues but my approach will require some change in strategy. I’ve been putting as much as four and a half to five hours into each episode. It’s also been less at those times when my notes were basically intact and just needed to be less meandering since they were personal thoughts that I was just writing for myself. But dedicating that many hours to a single episode isn’t sustainable if I want to help people one-on-one, which is my new focus.Going forward, episodes will be more off the cuff, more impromptu. I’ll be putting less production effort into each individual episode because I’ll be putting more energy into the bigger picture (i.e. working with individuals one-on-one to implement these ideas in their lives). This episode is an example of that shift: just me, riffing, letting you know what’s happening, and giving myself a little celebration with a shorter episode.I do have some loose ends to tie up, particularly finishing what I introduced in the episode To Be Effective Use The Power of One where I gave you a bird’s-eye view of how to be effective using one purpose, one principle, one skill, one system, and one task. That’s coming up and will require more organization because I want to wrap that framework up properly for you.What’s Next?Beyond that? Well, tune in and find out. But here’s what I can promise: every episode will continue serving the same mission—helping you understand that the virtuous self-control you develop with your exercise practice isn’t just about getting stronger physically. It’s about developing the principles, skills, and systems for becoming who you choose to be in every area of your life.The first 100 episodes laid the foundation. I appreciate you being part of the journey. Now let’s see what the next 100 will bring.That’s it for today. Catch you next time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stoicstrength.substack.com