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🔥Key Takeaways 🔥
You can’t rewrite the past, but you can choose who you become next.
Growth only matters if it’s aligned with the people you’re trying to serve.
Life is understood in hindsight, but it must be lived through forward action
Whatever Happened, Happened
If you were a fan of Lost when it originally aired on ABC—or if you’re like me and watched it years later on Netflix—you might remember a character named Daniel Faraday.
Faraday shows up late in the series, and while he’s knee-deep in physics, time travel, and island weirdness, his biggest contribution isn’t a chalkboard equation. It’s a simple line he keeps repeating:
“Whatever happened, happened.”
What he meant was this:
There’s no version of the story where they go back and undo the past. They always went back. It was always part of the loop. There’s no original timeline where things went differently.
And honestly, that’s a pretty good metaphor for life.
I’m sure Faraday was about to say his famous line…
Most of us waste an unbelievable amount of energy replaying old scenes:
The job we stayed in too long
The time we didn’t speak up
The season we drifted through
The years we weren’t as present as we should’ve been
We keep thinking that if we revisit it enough—regret it enough—we’ll somehow rewrite it.
But that’s not how life works.
Whatever happened… happened.
Not in a fatalistic, “give up, nothing matters” kind of way.
But in a freeing way.
Because once you accept that the past is fixed, you finally get to put your attention where it actually does something:
On your next choice
On your next conversation
On your next morning with your kids
On the man you’re becoming—not the man you wish you had been sooner
You can’t go back and break the loop behind you.
But you absolutely get to break the one you’re in right now.
And that’s the whole point:
Yesterday is closed.
Tomorrow is wide open.
And today is the only place you get to steer the story.
A Small Favor
I’m doing a little recalibration behind the scenes.
Campfire Gentleman has grown more than I expected this year. That’s exciting — but it also makes me want to make sure I’m building the right thing.
If this newsletter has helped you — even in a small way — would you reply with one honest sentence?
What has it helped you think differently about?
That’s it. One sentence.
No pressure. No fluff. Just clarity.
And if you’d be willing to let me share your sentence (first name only) sometime on the website or social media, let me know that too.
When it all clicks.
Why does business news feel like it’s written for people who already get it?
Morning Brew changes that.
It’s a free newsletter that breaks down what’s going on in business, finance, and tech — clearly, quickly, and with enough personality to keep things interesting. The result? You don’t just skim headlines. You actually understand what’s going on.
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Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
Meaning is revealed in hindsight, but life demands action without full clarity.
Until next time—
🔥Keep the fires burning,
— Clay
P.S. I’d rather grow Campfire Gentleman through real connections than algorithms.
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Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links. That means if you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you. I only share products and services I genuinely believe add value and align with the mission of Campfire Gentleman