“Charlie Rogers, you are an Ironman”
After just over 11 hours of racing, nothing sounded sweeter. At that moment I was on my 4th and final lap of the marathon. I’d turned into the home straight, rang the first timer bell and opened up my arms to celebrate the last few moments of an epic day, week, month and year.
I’d just spent the morning and afternoon navigating a mosh pit of a two lap 3.8km swim, overcoming 3,500m elevation and 34kph winds for a three lap 180km bike and finishing myself off with a four lap suffer-fest of marathon. Even as my stomach started to cramp and my legs wobbled like jelly, I knew I’d earnt every right to be jogging down the red carpet. It was the crowning moment in 2 years of dedication to the sport. And will be forever etched into the back of my skull not only for the sheer challenge of the day itself, but for the type of person I’ve had to become to even toe the start line in the first place.
15 hours of sport every single week for 2 years. A 270 day training streak. Getting up at 6am Monday through Sunday. Turning up for sessions on days when I’d rather do absolutely anything else. And sacrificing nights out, chilled weekends and time with loved ones to get me there.
I was relentless. On a level I’d never experienced before.
And now, it’s over.
The epic journey is complete. I’ve dropped the one ring into Mount Doom. And we’re into the part of the story they never write: what happens next…
The Ironman Epilogue
After the line had been crossed, the medal had been hung and the pizza had been eaten, a wave of emptiness followed. Sure, my body was exhausted and the DOMS that next day were the worst I’d ever experienced. But, so too was my mind. I’d been so focused on working toward this one moment for so long. And now it was finally over I felt nothing.
For 2 weeks I dropped all of my habits: I barely exercised, I didn’t meditate and I ruined my sleep schedule as I let myself free-fall into spontaneity. Even when the moment came to think I couldn’t. Conjuring thoughts was exhausting. And in some ways it was kind of peaceful. Without a worry for the future or a concern about the past, I could just be present.
I had expected to be tired. And I knew it would take 4 weeks to get my legs back after a marathon. But, this was another level. The lack of motivation, craving for randomness and desire to do nothing was crazy.
It would take me a reconnection to nature and people to bring me back any semblance of self. But, luckily I had just the event already in the diary…
A 3 day weekender with 10 of us from the Mastery In Your 20s community to go camping together in the South Downs. It was the last thing my exhausted self wanted to do. But, somewhere deep down I knew it was necessary.
And what a weekend it turned out to be!
We paddle-boarded in the reservoir, meditated at a Buddhist monastery, made smores round the campfire and most importantly, connected with one another through hours of conversation until late in the early morning.
It was truly beautiful.
And meant that each of us left as friends.
Having shared an emotional openness that not even our mates of years past had ever seen. It was the exact experience that I, and every other community member there, didn't know we needed in our lives.
It brought back my spark, refilled my cup and got my brain whirring once again as we took the not-so-small decision to split the newsletter from the community to create the space for something new…
Which means all 594 of you here need a little update…
Going forward the Mastery In Your 20s newsletter will continue to be about the intersection of the future of work and the future of careers: where multipotentialites with many interests earn through portfolio work while navigating their increasingly squiggly careers.
However, the community will become a separate entity called the Undefinable Community. It will be a space for us multipotentialites who look beyond occupational labels - encouraging curiosity and diverse thinking. It will be for people who are continually distracted and passionately motivated. Emotionally open, acting with purpose. We’ll be London-first, focusing on in-person experiences to amplify the depth we felt on that weekend away.
We’ve already got 19 members and are starting to build the foundations for what is already an exciting menu of experiences - from co-working days to tug boat jacuzzies. We’re currently capping new members at one per week while we define who we are (ironic, I know). So, if you are interested in applying to join, drop me a reply to this email and we can get a call in to see if you’re a good fit.
Which means that going forward I’ve reduced the paid membership here to the lowest it can be at £5 per month or £50 per year. This will give you access to all my Diary posts (like this one, which will be only for paying subscribers), the ability to jump in the conversation in the comments and help keep the other posts free for everyone else. While I’m aiming to add a few more benefits in the future, It’ll mostly be a token of appreciation for the work I do.
So, if you like Mastery In Your 20s and enjoy reading these diaries (you must do if you’ve read this far) please consider sparing a coffee a month to help me cover some of the costs associated with writing here for 5 hours each week.
Thank you for all your support over the last 15 months. It means a lot. Especially for those who continue to open these posts each week.
Here’s to 15 months more. With increasingly better writing every Friday.
See you next week.
Wow. Congratulations Charlie. Can't understand why you do it, but admire you for succeeding at everything you set your mind to!