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Hey there Visionaries!

The world feels like it's spinning faster every day. Major events drop daily. Online division has never been sharper. Tech evolves at breakneck speed.

But here's the thing I keep coming back to: my life gets sweeter by the day.

Good friends. Strong relationships. Healthy family. A tight community. And me, just trying to make sense of it all while sharing what I learn.

This week? I stepped into the arena.

Why You Should Give All the Cares:

• Arena Battle Scars: What 1,300 angry comments taught me about leadership

• Fire & Ice Festival: DJing in 35-degree weather while people sprint between fire altars

• Mutual Aid Night: Building offline survival libraries and chicken tractors

I Got My Ass Handed to Me This Week

Not physically. But emotionally? Strategically? Yeah, I took some serious hits.

So here's what went down...

I came back from Palm Springs last week. Hadn't heard about the Minneapolis ICE agent shooting. Logged online and saw the internet was on fire.

Instead of immediately picking a side and jumping into the rage cycle, I did something different.

I recorded my entire research process.

20 minutes showing exactly how I:

• Gathered facts

• Cross-checked sources

• Ran everything through a fallacy detector

• Watched how both sides were spinning the story

• Used AI tools and the 3,000-year-old Trivium Method to separate signal from noise

Then I posted the video. For free. (988 views!)

The result? A viral storm. 1,300+ comments. Most of them PISSED.

And a crash course in the difference between logic and humanity.

When you enter the arena, you get hit.

I received some incredibly valid, constructive feedback from thoughtful people. I'm listening to you. You're helping me improve.

Then there were the hecklers in the grandstands.

The name-callers. The trolls throwing tomatoes.

I realized their opinions simply don't matter.

They aren't in the arena. They aren't trying to build anything.

They're just trying to tear things down.

You can read all about it in my My After-Action Report Here.

After the first 150 comments, I chose to walk away.

My new brick phone helped a LOT.

Instead of constantly peeking at angry comments, I focused on:

• Cold plunges

• Saunas

• Walks with friends

• Ping pong (my new favorite flow state hack)

Having the self-discipline to walk away and let people argue amongst themselves?

That was huge for my mental health.

If you want my full opinion on the shooting? You'll have to catch me around a fire.

Fire & Story Festival: Where Staying Warm Isn't Guaranteed

Speaking of fires...

January 22nd I'm performing at Fire & Story festival where you literally have to EARN your warmth.

I'll be spinning in 35-degree weather while people sprint between fire altars just to keep their blood moving.

I'm opening Thursday evening thanks to Paper Whale for putting it on.

If you're anywhere in the Northwest, this 3-day festival is one you won't forget.

The sculptures and set designs took all year to build. Fire breathes through metal. Light dances across ice.

It's art you experience with your whole body, not just your eyes.

Mutual Aid Group: Building Offline Resilience

Our mutual aid group meets tonight. We're covering three things:

1. Survival Tablet Concept: An offline tablet with thousands of PDFs in a Faraday cage with solar panel battery. If everything goes sideways, we have a library to reference.

2. Chicken Tractor Plans: For the group's food production.

3. Bulk Food Storage: Simple systems to get started with long-term food security.

If you want to start your own mutual aid group, I've got a course in development. You can grab it at a low price while I'm still building it out.

Podcast Blitz

I've been making the rounds this week:

• Killer Carl's Podcast

• Tinfoil Tea Time (recording tonight)

Keep an eye out. You might see me popping up in your feed.

Life in the Chaos

My wife took on farm sitting this week. She's managing like 40 animals at the place where she keeps her horses. Chickens, goats, horses, the whole operation.

I'm helping out with that while keeping my own work going.

The world is busy and complex.

But here's what I keep coming back to:

You can build a life that minimizes the turbulence.

With how chaotic things are, you can set up systems, community, and resilience that fortifies you and your family.

That's the work I'm focused on. That's the work I hope you're focused on too.

Cause we don’t know what’s coming in 2026

Today’s Takeaways:

1. Arena Lessons: When you step into public discourse, you will get hit. Take the bruises, learn the lessons, keep showing up.

2. Critics vs. Hecklers: Listen to constructive feedback. Ignore the tomato-throwers in the grandstands.

3. Community Resilience: Build systems that fortify you when the world gets turbulent.

The world is changing fast. But your life doesn't have to feel like chaos.

Build community. Build resilience. Build systems that hold you.

Stay grounded and free,

Joshua | The Holistic Tech Wizard

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