Cold Notes
So the other day I was unpacking the last few boxes from my move and found an old journal from about a year ago that I used while working in a freezer. The cover was a little beat up. Pages a bit worn. Moisture from the cooler had gotten to them. It's funny to think back on those times. How much of my job was just silence. I'd clock in, say hey to a few folks, then make my way to the back. I’d get a download from the morning and afternoon crew about how the day went and how my next 10+ hour shift might go. Some days it was good. Some days it was bad. But every day it was work.
The noise from the industrial compressors running in the background was relentless. I'd wear my AirPods just to drown out the drone, but it wasn’t music that kept me company. It was audiobooks, philosophy, and lectures. A lot of lectures. Looking back I probably could have spent that time learning Spanish or Japanese (my two favorite languages), but in a way I learned a language: life. How to understand it, listen to it, and speak it.
Enter the journal.
One of the speakers who influenced me the most was Jim Rohn. In nearly all his lectures he advocated for journaling. Writing everything down. Everything. And that's what I did. Every day. Conversations I had with people. Moments of inspiration. Hell, going through this notebook, I found a couple of grocery lists, sketches, recipes, and dad jokes! But one thing dominated the pages: things I knew I didn’t want to forget. Whether I heard them in passing, read them, or just felt inspired to write them. And when inspiration hit, off came the gloves, out came the pen and pad, and I'd just write. So I thought I'd share some of those notes from the cooler. These are the quiet truths that kept me centered in the cold:
"Goals are signposts. Purpose is the road."
"Start is the goal made visible."
"Don't bargain with outcomes."
"Work to a standard, not for applause. Let results speak."
"Choose pace over push. Patience over panic."
"Consistency isn't a promise—it's proof."
"Serve where you stand. Measure by what gets better because you were there."
"Hold a dream big enough to outlive you. When the work is bigger than you, time stops being the boss."
"Let it change today—how you move, what you practice, how you treat people."
"Stop asking, 'How long will it take?' Start asking, 'How deeply can I serve?'"
"Keep your voice louder than the crowd's noise."
"Silence teaches. Listen."
"Rest. Step back. Breathe. Return."
Starting this Saturday, I'll take a quite a day and dive a little deeper into what it meant for me. Hope you’ll follow along.
