The Beautiful Absurdity of Trying to Make It
an ode to the trenches, and how to navigate them.
The last few times we’ve spoken, the focus has been on the incoming changes in the American economy in 2025, and how the environment is favorable to creation and new business, as well as psychological frameworks to help us succeed.
We’ll stay in this lane today, with a look at how trying to “make it” in the modern era looks, and why there’s a beauty amongst the madness.
Let’s dive in.
“We’re all gonna make it, brah”
(That’s an ode to the recently deceased Bodybuilding.com forums, the only place you could find homemade supplement regimens that were literal scientific breakthroughs, all while people argued “how many days are actually in a week” in a separate thread. It also gave us Zyzz, the OG fitness influencer, who started a movement that still exists today. You sort of had to be there. U Aware?)
First things first, if you’re not trying to “make it” rn, wyd?
In this context, “make it” means achieving personal and financial goals.
We’re on the verge of what could likely be a Golden Age to make things happen for yourself.
I recognize this could be off-putting to some, or some of you maybe have hit a point where you’re satisfied with your progression ( I salute you).
For those of us that haven’t yet, for lack of a more appropriate term, it’s “balls to the wall” time, and this is for us.
It’s “waking up with bloodshot eyes, driving home from the gym with your home address in the GPS so you know when to turn because you’re so fried, 100+ unanswered in the iMessage inbox” season.
It’s the furthest thing from glamorous. It’s also the furthest thing from enjoyable.
It’s also beautiful.
“The Trenches”
The colloquial phrase for grinding these days is “being in the trenches”.
I have to be honest- I don’t totally love the phrase, as blasting email campaigns or content or cold calls is a far cry from the brutality of actual combat, but I digress.
Moving on, it’s a fact of the matter that he trenches are a necessity.
There’s simply no avoiding them.
Obviously, the goal is to make it out as soon as possible and attain whatever it is that means a lot to you- but you’ve got to get down and dirty first.
This is naturally going to be physically and mentally taxing, so what is the antidote to such arduous activity?
The answer is simple- situating yourself in the best position to move forward, and a healthy dose of gratitude.
The Trenches of Old
We’ve all seen the Al Bundy meme, and it isn’t wrong.
People will see this and point to its accuracy, and lament the comparative ease of attaining a “normal” life in times past.
This isn’t healthy or the right way to look at it.
Sure, before hyperinflation and a global recession and then a global pandemic, there was a “healthier” macroeconomic environment for the average American consumer.
Those times aren’t coming back anytime soon.
Yes, things are looking up as we have touched on, but it will be different.
So while the Al Bundy’s of this world did have a more attainable normal life and a more manageable COL, they also didn’t have the massive opportunity of the current day.
This is very exciting.
Modern Trench Warfare
The current landscape of professional and personal progression is dominated by something I call “hyper communication”.
Winning in the present day is defined by speed and communication, and we have an abundance of tools of which to achieve this with.
Telegram, Discord chats, Whatsapp, infinite remote work automation tools (shoutout all of you out there “jiggling”, I oddly respect it).
There’s the entire social media ecosystem that we’ve come to know so well, and the game is now largely digital. (I affectionately refer to my PC that I’m writing this very article on as “My Entire Life”).
Working can become location independent, based on your business or vocation.
Markets have gone global.
Decision makers and colleagues have become a call or a click away.
There’s also a legion of ways to “make it”, such as content, e-commerce, remote sales, social media, taking your day job and scaling it…the list could go on.
It’s unusual, it’s unique, it’s unprecedented..and it’s ours.
Succeeding in the mud
We can glean all we can from fitness bro’s “Full Day of Eating” reels and “Day in the Life of a Gazillionaire CEO” clickbait YouTube videos, but at the end of the day, all we know is our own experience. I’ll do my best to share mine in a way that’s as raw and authentic as possible. (One of the most admirable traits of Substack as a platform is the preference for authenticity over polish)
Let’s go through life in the “trenches”, but not before we get some necessities out of the way to set ourselves up properly.
Select your Loadout
Ok, clearly I’ve been running around Nuketown a lot this week.
Much is made on Tik Tok and IG about being “hydrated, moisturized, and flourishing”.
This is actually the correct way to go about it.
While there’s that temptation of the “earned nobility” of grinding ourselves into dust and wearing our work ethic on our faces (in some cases, an inevitability), self-care should actually be of the upmost importance on your journey.
A proper diet as well as taking care of the body, skin, and mind will make you 10x more productive than giving into the temptations of Uber Eats or the drive-thru line (more on that in a bit).
Ideally, having 3 or 4 go-to easy meals dialed in and prepped, as well as a quick AM/PM skin routine will keep you looking professional, energized, and feeling better about yourself.
Also, don’t be afraid of the performance enhancers, but use with caution.
I’m not talking about doing tren cycles or crushing up lines in the office a la a 90’s Long Island boiler room.
Rather, nicotine and caffeine can be your best friends.
Zyn’s are probably your favorite top performer’s productivity enhancer of choice. *Not medical advice* but I find a few (okay, more than a few) 3mg blasts can keep you locked in and sustained for major blocks of deep work.
(Even Emily Sundberg of Feed Me -probably the Substack gold standard- has posted about Zyn)
Like I said- the trenches don’t last forever. Use what you can to power through, but if you find yourself veering into “crushing up Adderall” territory, you’ve gone too far.
Also, 2025- we’re gonna normalize the guys going to Sephora. You get over the nonsensical “bro shame” of being a VIB real quick when you see the benefits of it in your daily life.
Don’t Step on Landmines
I’ve written at length about the temptations of modern life and the ease at which we can live, so I’m not gonna bang on about that again. Just know that avoiding the Uber Eats, binge-watch marathon, being high on the couch for 12 hours on DraftKings on football Sunday common pitfalls becomes doubly important in this era.
You make it out the trenches and you can build the biggest man cave ever, who am I to tell you what to do? (Although, I do find them kinda cringe).
I’d say the best “release” during this time period would be social interaction- you can go insane without it, and it’s healthy and necessary to see other humans outside of working environments.
Keep Your Soul Intact
I’ve made this mistake a bunch of times.
Traveling so far down the rabbit hole of trying to figure things out and accomplish something that you lose your “human element”.
If we lose ourselves along the way, what’s the point of it all?
While it’s not great to bedrot the fyp or binge watch every top 10 show on Hulu, try and keep a pulse on what’s going on out there. (Twitter/X is fantastic for this)
If you start to lose yourself, you’ll know- or in my case, someone will tell you, like this snap I received a few months ago:
Yeah, not great.
(We actually have very little in common, V-tapers notwithstanding)
I took this as a bit of a gut punch and a sign that some changes were in order- but hopefully you’re able to avoid getting to this point altogether.
What we’re working on
Let’s look at an all-time favorite leaked internal e-mail before I get into my own current lifestyle:
After all, who am I to extoll what works in the trenches if I’m not out here beating myself up, too?
The Day Job
AKA “If I’m awake, I’m working” if you’re in commercial real estate like me.
Recently, I’ve spent some time down here in Florida, looking to expand my brokerage business to two states. This probably would’ve been far less feasible even ten years ago, given bureaucratic redtape and the like.
As I alluded to early, this age of hyperconnectivity and communication lends itself to having a greater market share and thus, more opportunities to make things happen.
This gameplan can go for pretty much any field, even those that feel “location locked” such as those in the medical field.
The proliferation of the digital economy makes sole proprietorship more attainable than ever before. Licensing and regulations, though important, are generally an afterthought that easily sort themselves out. Be wary of the temptation of using that as an excuse.
Throwing Content Shots out into the Ether
Writing John from Long Island, tweeting, recording Elevated Thoughts with my guy Elevator Charles (and hopefully Michael Marro soon, too), the odd Tik Tok here and there- while I haven’t gotten the traction I’d like yet, that isn’t stopping me from shooting my shots.
This is probably the part of the modern era I love the most- any single piece of content you toss out into the zeitgeist has a chance of taking hold and resonating.
Just these past two weeks I’ve watched a friend’s spouse (in her 40’s) spin up a Tik Tok account about makeup, and by the end of her first week, she was doing lives with Jeffree Star.
Is this rocketship style success common?
Obviously not- but why not throw your hat in the ring?
Crypto
Cringe all you want, it’s the times.
We’ve hit the point now where not paying attention to crypto is foolish, stigma be damned. I’ve had a hell of a time this week slinging Solana memecoins around, and made some friends and money along the way.
Now, if you’re new to the space, I would advise for a responsible allocation of funds into established coins with use cases. There’s a bunch of great writers on here that are far more comprehensive than I in this space that you can learn from.
Personally, I’d point you in the direction of Arbitrage Andy.
I’ve gotten to sorta know him a bit in his subscriber chats, and I find the he and his community to be very knowledgeable and on the forefront.
While trading memecoins is really for the degenerates who know what they’re doing, the craziest moment of the week was definitely driving to Wawa for my precious Zyn’s (2 for $8 in FL, just saying) and watching my “$GOON coin” holdings go up thousands of dollars.
Sometimes the trenches are a lot of fun.
(Also, “Goon” doesn’t refer to a 4th liner with a preference for fighting majors anymore, if you didn’t already know that)
Real quick note on that actually before I move on- can we keep the sanctity of our beautiful Substack?
Pls.
Putting it altogether, and a mental note
There’s no doubt that pouring yourself into multiple endeavors can really suck. Sometimes you stare into the abyss and wonder what it’s all for, and other times you get discouraged by a lack of progress. I know these two emotions intimately. Luckily, there’s a way to look at it that I find helps.
Ready Player One meets the end of Wall-E
It might be harsh, but it’s also reality- the bulk of the population is just not doing trench type activity.
It’s woofing down fast food, scroll scroll scroll, and gambling.
We’re hurtling towards a bizarre reality that is the amalgamation of the two movies in the above tagline. It’s just the nature of the modern beast.
Even if you have the worst professional day- deal dies, patient complains, you get sued, content gets demonetized, whatever it may be- take solace in the fact you had the guts to take your shot and put yourself out there.
There’s an awful lot to be proud of in that.
On Gratitude
Sure, times are not the easiest they’ve ever been right now. We can point to a million different statistics, like COL stats or the advanced age of homeowners.
You wouldn’t be wrong.
However, it’s also the time in which we have the most artillery at our disposal.
We’re a short video or article away from virality, a well-executed idea away from a brand, a buy order away from a homerun trade.
The deconstructed permission structures coupled with a multitude of avenues to explore makes the modern age of grinding rife with opportunity, (albeit extremely unconventional).
You’re only a few seconds away from being able to take another swing, with access to support networks and information like never before.
There’s a lot to be thankful for in there.
“What if….”
It’s only natural to wonder if this is all for naught, if the moment is never going to come. I think we all struggle with these thoughts.
History would tell you that almost everyone that metaphorically banged his or her head against the wall long enough, got what they wanted in the end.
Sometimes you have to win through attrition.
There’s a common meme that goes around the “money twitter bro” community (Usually accompanied by Pinterest shots of a blonde and a Lambo, but you can skip that part) which states:
Instead of asking yourself what happens if it doesn’t work out, ask yourself - what if it does?
I actually really love that, and it’s the correct framework to use.
Envisioning the “beating the game” can be the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel during the particularly challenging moments.
(Also, just had to say it = 911 GT3 RS and a brunette > > >)
Anyway.
In Closing
I hope you enjoyed this look into the “trenches” and the modern quest for success. It’s no doubt that these times are unique, and it takes a ton of effort to properly navigate the landscape like never before in history.
However, with the proper allocation of focus, resources, and energy, to quote Zyzz-
“We’re all gonna make it, brah”
The modern journey is new, it’s absurd, it’s ever-changing.
Chasing your goals and dreams, however, has been around since the dawn of time- and it’s a beautiful thing.
Just imagine how good it’s gonna feel when you win.
I’ll see everyone in the mud.
<3
-John Abbate
17-22.11.2024
The goat