🤑 A Reading Goal That Could Get Expensive

In this week's P.O. Box:

The P.O. Box Book Club & Book #1
Stream roundup: Divisional Round prep
On my radar: Vote for us
On tap: Off to California

Last week I wrote about my goal to read more in 2024 and the habits I’m going to build to make it happen.

Part one of the plan is underway (no more phone before bed as of Tuesday), so now it’s time to launch Part two:

📬 📚 The P.O. Box Book Club

By the start of the 2024 NFL season, my goal is to read 15 books. Maybe that sounds like nothing to you or maybe that sounds impossible, but it’s the sweet spot of aggressive and attainable for me.

It averages out to two books per month between now and September, assuming I get one under my belt in January (more on that one below).

Here’s my plan for staying on track:

Giveaway: To further incentive myself not to slack, I’m going to offer a negative freeroll to you guys. If I don’t hit 15 books by kickoff, I’ll give away $250 to a P.O. Box subscriber for each book I’m short (e.g. If I only read 10 books before the start of the season, 5 different subscribers will win $250).
Weekly updates: I’ll use this newsletter as a vehicle to share which books I’m reading and document the progress throughout the offseason, which will help keep me accountable.
Suggestions/recs: I’m hoping/guessing some of you would like to join in along with me, so it would be fun to curate a selection of both fiction and non-fiction books that we’d all enjoy reading and discussing.

If this sounds like something you want to participate in (or you just want that sweet, sweet giveaway EV), fill out this form so I have your name and reccs:

PO Box Book Club Form (Giveaway + Reccs)

I’m trying to pull every possible lever here (new habits, accountability, incentives) to ensure I stay committed to this specific goal.

I specifically like the “book club” concept because you not only get shared accountability with others, but it’s also more enjoyable to have other people to discuss with.

I’ve done it a few times with Patrick Laird and Davis Mattek and we had a blast breaking down our thoughts on a show.

A few years back, I ripped off a handful of fun non-fiction books with my college buddy Cam where we simultaneously maxed out a few Gmail threads as we swapped thoughts along the way.

Hopefully, we can re-create that kind of vibe with The P.O. Box Book Club.

Speaking of which, here’s where I plan to start. Once I round up suggestions via that form, I’ll start announcing the next book with more advance notice…

Book #1: Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results by Shane Parris

I really like Shane’s podcast (The Knowledge Project), so I wanted to give his new book a whirl.

Shane is a super sharp, former spy who shares his playbook for clear thinking and better decision making.

I’ve already found myself highlighting multiple passages. Here’s one that stood out, especially for us edge seekers:

“Doing something different means you might underperform, but it also means you might change the game entirely. If you do what everyone else does, you’ll get the same results that everyone else gets. Best practices aren’t always the best. By definition, they’re average.”

🕛 Divisional Round Top Plays & Spicy Pick ‘Ems. The Badge Bros join me to break down Battle Royale strategy for the Divisional Round on Underdog Fantasy and build out some Pick 'Em entries. Topics discussed: how to attack the 6 game slate, scroll down gems, and the top plays at QB, RB, WR, and TE.

Here is our full pick ‘em card if you want to tail:

💎 Divisional Round Hidden Gems. On Fantasy Life, I wrote up two QBs to target and a TE situation to exploit in drafts.

☣ Pat Mayo Weighs In On The DFS Hot Stove. Pat returns to continue the discussion on layoffs in the fantasy space, the differences in marketing from the DFS sites, the future of the space, niche products and the value of a customer, and exclusivity in DFS.

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🏆 Fantasy Life roundup. Recapped the big Packers upset and top fantasy performers from Wildcard weekend, got hyped about Green Bay keeping the upsets rolling, and covered the potential return of Mark Andrews.

💪 Swolecast: Draftkings Divisional Weekend picks. The episode where we learned which team Dare Ogunbowale plays for.

☕ Wildcard Weekend DFS Recap & Playoff Sweats. We recap Super Wildcard weekend, including a 2nd place in an Underdog Fantasy contest. We go through numerous contests such as the Battle Royale, the 3rd and Short, and Da Bomb, as well as review our pick ems entries.

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🚢 Playoff Sweats, An Epic Pick 'Em Saga & Nerd Battles. We fired up a special playoff edition of the Ship Cast for Bucs/Eagles. Mike Leone drops by to recap our sweats in the FFPC Playoff Challenge and talk spreadsheets with Kerrane. We go on an emotional rollercoaster with our Pick 'Em entries. Kyle Dvorchak joins in the third quarter to explain why the fish always get there. And Ben Gretch deletes an apple.