Today’s episode is going to be the last one for a little while. The podcast form of this episode will be a little more detailed than the article! Check out the podcast here and on all podcast platforms!

The reality of being a parent is that you only get one summer with a baby. My son is already eight months old, and this will be the only summer I get with him at this cute age.

So, I have made the decision to take a break from this blog for the summer. This doesn’t mean I won’t be posting at all, it just means that I will not be writing and publishing podcasts and articles every Monday and Thursday.

This endeavour has been a lot of fun, and I really enjoy doing it. I’d be lying if I said I have not been a little discouraged with the lack of audience lately. But hey, that’s out of my control. And honestly, I believe a lot of that has to do with the fact that some articles have been rushed.

I’m writing this Wednesday evening, and I knew I had to have an article ready for tomorrow morning, but I didn’t have a topic in mind. I didn’t have the proper inspiration. So yeah, I could babble about something and search for prompts, but that wouldn’t be my best work.

I looked back at some of the analytics, and the articles and podcasts that have done the best and brought in the most traffic are the ones that I really get to deep dive into. Surprisingly, the more personal ones also tend to garner the most readership.

So going forward through the summer, I will return to write when I feel inspired to.

Starting this blog was an exercise that I wanted to do to eventually get me to the point where I could write a self-help book. I feel like I have a lot of great content that will be the starting points for the said book.

Going forward, I have a bunch of goals for the upcoming summer that I want to accomplish and grow into.

I want to read more books. I want to make new friends. I want to exercise more. I want to cut my debt down. I want to book more gigs. I want to really emphasize healthy habits.

I know I have to make those goals more specific to accomplish them, and that’s something I will do right now.

READ MORE BOOKS

My fiancee and I went to the public library today, and I felt an energy shift within myself. Being around all those books made me feel like I’ve been missing out on something that I thoroughly love and enjoy. I have a stack of books I’ve purchased at thrift stores, found in little libraries around the city, and checked out at the library. While I don’t have as much free time as I used to have when I was a single man, I still have plenty of time to apply to reading. Instead of doom scrolling on my phone, I should be reading.

So I hereby declare, that I ,Trinity James Ralph Potratz, will read a book bi-weekly beginning in June by replacing my bad habit of doom-scrolling on my phone with reading.

MAKE NEW FRIENDS

I have a lot of great people in my life. My best friend and I got to hang out for an hour this past weekend, and I wish I could see him more. However, he lives pretty far away and it’s hard for us to find time to hang out together. My cousins don’t reach out to me and I don’t really reach out to them anymore, so I think it’s time to make new friends.

There are many group activities all around the city, and maybe it’s time for me to attend events and start doing activities that I enjoy with the hope that I will find like-minded people to do them with. I’m a new father, and I’m certain there are other new fathers around that I could relate to.

I always have been thinking about starting my own Nobody Is Gonna Save You support group, where people who are interested in bettering themselves get together. Kind of like an AA for like-minded self-improvement-seeking people.

EXERCISE MORE/BE HEALTHIER

The Dad-bod is strong with me nowadays. While I definitely have body dysmorphia (according to many people in my life), I know I could be in better shape. Sure, it’s not in the cards for me right now to go back to my favourite gym Orange Theory Fitness, but I have everything I need to get in shape. I have a treadmill. I have weights. But I also have a pantry and that has been a problem.

Being a first-time father at my age has made me think about mortality, and I do not want to leave this world too soon. I want to watch my son grow up and have a family of his own, so I gotta take care of myself. I need to find the discipline to stop eating garbage, make healthier choices, go to the doctor appointments and stretch and stretch and stretch.

I declare that I will allow myself only one day per month to splurge on what Joe Rogan calls “mouth pleasures” (Not as dirty as it sounds, as it just means enjoying some sweet treat or greasy treat.) and instead stay within healthier eating habits. I will research foods that will keep me full and come up with a “dog-shock-collar” system to prevent cravings. Hey, I quit smoking and drinking, so quitting donuts and fries should be much easier.

I will be certain to do three legit hardcore workouts in a week. I already have the workouts planned out, I just have to use my free time to execute them.

CUT MY DEBT DOWN

It feels like I’ve been talking about paying off debt for a long time. Hey, the cost of living is high right now, and I don’t believe in quitting living whatsoever. I’m a pretty responsible spender, and I don’t particularly live outside of my means, but it is true that I could be doing more to pay off my debts.

So, I am going to make it a rule that any extra income I make from anything outside of my day job earnings, I will directly use it to pay off debts. No longer will I take half of it to take my family out to dinner. It all goes toward debt. That is final.

BOOK MORE GIGS

I gotta hustle more. Plain and simple. Playing music is the thing I was born to do, and when I go more than three weekends without playing some sort of live music, I feel shitty. It’s like I’m letting the world down.

Before I started dating my fiancee, I was completely supporting myself by playing live music. Granted, I was living with my Dad rent-free, but the bills I had were covered by my music. How did I do that you ask? I hustled. I emailed and visited every single venue that I could find. Over half of them didn’t respond to me. Another half of that weren’t interested, but 25% of them is better than none of them.

I am willing to travel wherever to put on a great show for whoever will have me. I know what I’m worth, and frankly, I have never not been asked back for a second show ever. Any venue or company that has hired me has always been satisfied, so I know I can do that more.

CHEERS TO ONE HELL OF A SUMMER

This summer is going to be the best one in my life. I’m putting it into my affirmations and I’m going to live it the fuck up!

Nobody is gonna save you, so go do it yourself!