The farmer in debt, lying awake at night, can, if he listens, her it gnaw. If he owes nothing, he can hear his corn grow. Robert G. Ingersoll It must be the way I was raised, but I’ve always hated … Read More
DJ Podgorny
People > Experiences > Things
Regret minimization has been my path to individual freedom.
"Find what you love and let it kill you." Charles Bukowski
Life is short. Distractions are plentiful. It’s easier than ever to lose sight of what’s important through hedonic pursuits and the steady flow of numbing dopamine our consumption elicits.
I think everyone can be happy and healthy. But, not without work. There are no free lunches in the universe. Every action has a reaction.
I want to help people find the work they are willing to die for. We all have it. It is out there. But we must labor to find and cultivate it.
Freedom is within the grasp of anyone willing to pay the price to attain it. I hope this site can guide you through that torment. Because I’ve lived it. I know it’s hard. But, trust me, it’s worth it.
I want you to think for yourself. Call out me out on my bullshit (there’s plenty of it). I don’t know everything. But sometimes I think I do.
I’m human. I fight my ego and emotions daily. And I loose a lot. But, I try to get better daily. Hopefully, we can do so together.

Why I Spent a Year Living in a Van
Recent Creations
Whose Thoughts Are These?
Last Fall, one of my best friends sent me this Tweet: I was shook. Because – aside from throwing my health to the wayside – I pretty much live my life in accordance with the beliefs laid out in this … Read More

7 Things I Learned from Sober October 2019 + November’s Challenge
Another Sober October has come and gone. Insert cliche about how fast time goes here. At the beginning of the month, I set out to not only challenge myself to complete sobriety for a month, I also added some other … Read More

My Dead End Job: How I Became Self Employed (Part 1)
When I graduated college, I was beyond excited to start my career. I had succeeded in the academic world – earning both good grades and various extracurricular awards – and thought the same principles would net similar adulations in my … Read More

Sober October 2019
More than four years ago (man, time flies), I did a pursuit of individual excellence and wrote about it here. This was one of the most transformative months of my life and I vowed to repeat the challenge consistently. Alas, … Read More

75Hard: 3 Undeniable Truths I Uncovered
For those of you who are not familar with the work of Andy Frisella, The MFCEO Project or 75Hard, I suggest you check out the podcast now. It is, hands down, the best raw business and life advice podcast I’ve … Read More

The only two habits you need
Life is chaos. The unexpected happens everyday. Health scares. Relationship dynamics flip overnight. Money evaporates into thin air. All of these things occur frequently and disrupt our seemingly stable foundations. And they are all out of our control. I believe … Read More

How I Think About Moving
I moved back to Chicago a little over a year ago. And, as I’m coming up on my one year anniversary in my current apartment, I’m starting to wonder how long I will stay. On one hand, change is exciting. … Read More
Momentum
Momentum I had been on a hot streak for the last few weeks. I had my diet dialed in. I hit my workouts. I’ve been extremely productive in my career and hitting all-time highs with my podcast. In other words, … Read More