Finding Opportunity in Disappointment

Dear friends,

Good morning from the woody mountains in Boulder, Colorado.

Damn, I love this place.

I am finally on the trip that my friend Nathan and I have been anticipating since we were freshman. We are here, doing the thing.

It is wild doing a thing and living in a thing that you have been thinking about for such a long time.

In these rare situations, many people feel as though they have to control everything to make their reality as close to their expectation as possible.

They set this trap for themselves, defining the experience’s success and their own happiness by the difference between their expectation and reality, hoping to minimize it.

What I have learned so far on this trip in these moments that I didn’t expect is that it is there, in the unexpected that we learn the most, that we have the most to take away.

When something goes astray, I trust that it is for the good. This was what was supposed to happen. This is not bad, it is opportunity.

These moments that you didn’t predict, they are opportunities for things to happen that you could’ve never dreamed of.

Sometimes beautiful things are cloaked in disappointment until they reveal themselves.

When I was falling on a boulder a ton and getting frustrated, I let go and decided to walk around. That is when I met a super cool dude named Steven.

When we couldn’t find any way to cross the river to get to the boulder we wanted to go to, we got to hike more through a beautiful canyon.

My advice for anyone is to trust in life. Don’t try to be all controlling because life will push back; instead, go with it. You will love it.

I love my life.

Thank you everyone for tuning into this newsletter, I will see you here next monday.

In the meantime, check out:


The Grateful Podcast:

I have a podcast where I interview people much smarter and more qualified than me talking about how you can live a more purposeful life full of gratitude and ambition. 
I release episodes every Monday where I go over a lesson I’ve recently learned.

Every Wednesday and Saturday I release an episode with a very cool guest. 

You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or find the video version on YouTube.

This week’s episodes:

Monday: Episode 80 where I sit in the trees and talk about learning through experience and finding true joy.

Wednesday: Curiosity Is Your Superpower — Jon Bassford on Purpose, Innovation & Inner Peace | 81

Coaching:

If you’re ready to take action and need guidance, I’d love to help.

I have limited space available so if you’re interested, book a free 15-minute call with me to discuss your dreams and how to start making them happen. 

You can shoot me an email at [email protected] where we can get scheduled.

Make this week rock. Thank you so much for reading this; I’ll see you next week.

Gratefully,

Jack Wagoner