An Excellent Wknd [25.51]
Some thoughts on entering the cave
Hello, hi, 👋
Happy Sunday to you, my friends. This one’s coming at ya later than usual because … I forgot it was the weekend. (Welcome to the holiday season!)
Let’s get it into it.
ENTER THE CAVE
There’s a cave in your life. You know it’s there. You’ve been avoiding it for years, maybe decades. Cold air seeps from its entrance. The scent of something you’d rather not face.
As our friend Jamison Price reminds us, inside that cave lives your dragon - the shame you’ve never named, the addiction you’ve managed to hide, the fear that runs your decisions from the shadows. The secret you hope no one discovers. The truth about yourself that you refuse to acknowledge.
Most of us spend our entire lives walking past that cave.
We stay busy enough, successful enough, distracted enough that we never have to step inside. We build elaborate systems of productivity and achievement that keep us perpetually moving, never pausing long enough for the dragon to catch our scent (or for us to catch its scent).
But here’s what we miss: the dragon isn’t just guarding your shame. It’s guarding your identity.
Every great myth knows this. Between you and the life you were born to live sits a beast. You cannot reach your treasure - your true self, your actual purpose, your real freedom - without facing what you’ve been running from.
This is why transformation never starts with technique or strategy. It starts with honesty. The kind that strips you bare. The kind that makes you admit in the silent moments that the person you’re pretending to be isn’t the person you actually are.
After all, you cannot conquer the dragon you refuse to face.
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🎧 Why Confidence Is a Choice, Not a Feeling (w/ Laura Ianello)
Exploring why confidence isn’t something you wait to feel - it’s something you choose through your actions, especially when the stakes are highest.
❤️🔥 The Daily Chase
Brief, focused essays delivered each weekday morning to Chase Club members.
#161: Permission to Waste Time
#163: Lead Where You Stand
#164: Enter the Cave
On Tuesday, we’re kicking off our Five Factors Year in Review series with Part 1, covering Training and Nutrition.
We’ll recap our biggest lessons, surprises, and shifts from the past year - what worked, what didn’t, and what we’re carrying forward into 2026.
Until then, keep on chasing.
🤙🏼 Patrick
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