Mastery = Freedom

THE SIMPLE NEWSLETTER - ISSUE # 047

In this edition of The Simple Newsletter, I’m sharing some raw reflections on what happens when life collides with business—and how simplicity and mastery have become my anchor in the middle of it all. Recent events reminded me that while business isn’t always easy, it can be made simple when we commit to focusing on just one thing and getting really, really good at it.

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ADAM'S THOUGHTS:

Shit can hit the fan really, really quickly—in life and in business.

That’s been true for me lately. My partner’s recent health struggles hit me harder than I expected. Of course I’m worried about him. But I’m also worried about our business… which makes me worry about me, and my family.

That’s the thing about life when you’ve built something meaningful: everything is connected. And the more connections you have, the harder it becomes to identify where the weak link in the chain might be.

I’m not saying Tom is the weak link—far from it. This is just the analogy.

This is exactly why I’ve leaned so deeply into our core philosophy: Business is simple. It’s just not easy.

Simplicity reduces variables.

Fewer variables mean fewer failures.

Fewer failures mean fewer things to fix.

When you get really good at a few things—hell, even better, one thing—you step into mastery.

And when you walk into a room knowing I am the best at this, you carry a kind of freedom no amount of money can buy.

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ADAM'S LESSON:

As we start thinking about 2026, let’s choose one thing to master.

I’ve done this for years. I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. I do New Year Projects—year-long commitments to mastering one idea, one skill, or one discipline.

One year, it was pattern recognition. I wrote down every pattern I noticed—daily, relentlessly.

Another year, it was breaking a sweat every day—figuring out my fitness rhythm and physical challenges.

A mastery project doesn’t need a finish line. It doesn’t need a clear metric. It doesn’t need a definition of “done.”

Mastery is the work itself.

It’s consistency without a finish.

It’s effort without an endpoint.

It’s devotion without a deadline.

And here’s the secret: mastery is never done.

That’s what makes it mastery.

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CLOSING THOUGHTS

My mentor, Eric Tom, had a sign on his desk that read:

“I have not yet arrived.”

This—from the youngest member of the MetLife Hall of Fame.

That’s mastery.

Not the achievement…

but the understanding that the journey never ends.

-Adam

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