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Morning—Clay here.
Welcome to Campfire Gentleman, where we focus on what matters most: family, purpose, growth, health, and simplicity—the Core Five that guide a meaningful life.

I’ve spent a lot of time talking about how we plan our time. This week, we’re shifting to how we spend our attention.

Because here’s the truth: not everything meaningful in life is obvious at first glance.

Some things take time to reveal their worth. Some of the best moments, best conversations, and best discoveries don’t make the highlight reel. They’re the deep cuts.

If you’ve been living life on shuffle—jumping from task to task, conversation to conversation—this one’s for you.

Let’s dig in.

Play the Deep Cuts—Not everything meaningful in life is a hit

Some of the best things in life—just like those deep cuts—don’t show up in the first 30 seconds.

At the beginning of 2025, I made a quiet commitment to change the way I listened to music.

Nothing dramatic. Just this:
One album a month. Start to finish. No skipping.

If you're around my age, you probably remember buying CDs at Walmart or Target. And if your parents were anything like mine, they weren’t handing you $100 to go stock up on new music. You had to be selective. Intentional. When you finally picked up a new CD, you wore that thing out.

You didn’t bounce between songs and artists like we do now with streaming apps. You listened—start to finish. Over and over again.

And because of that, you heard the songs you’d probably skip today. The ones buried at track 7 or 10. The ones that didn’t make the radio. The ones you couldn’t wait to show your friends.

And sometimes? Those songs ended up being your favorites.

What I’ve realized is that when I stopped listening to full albums, I stopped discovering those unexpected gems. I might’ve been missing out on some of my favorite artists’ best work—just because it wasn’t popular enough to rise to the top of a playlist.

So this year, I made a change: one album a month, all the way through. No skipping. No shuffling. That wasn’t all I listened to—but it reshaped my listening habits.

And sure enough, I’ve already found songs I never would’ve heard otherwise. A few have even become all-time favorites.

But more importantly—it changed the way I thought about more than just music.

It made me wonder:
🚨 What else in my life am I skipping over? 🚨

Not because it’s hard.
Not because it’s unimportant.
But just because it doesn’t give me that instant payoff.

How many conversations have I missed out on because it felt easier to scroll my phone or start another show on Netflix?

How many friendships never deepened because I kept things surface-level, quick, efficient—like a playlist of small talk?

How many meals have I passed over because I didn’t want to try the thing I couldn’t pronounce?

How many hobbies never got a second chance because I didn’t feel great at them right away?

How many books are sitting on my (virtual) shelf because the first chapter didn’t grab me?

How many meaningful moments am I skipping—just because they’re a little quiet at first?

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We all love the hits.
The comfort food.
The things that feel guaranteed to “work.”

And that makes sense. In a busy world, convenience is king.

But some of the best things in life—just like those deep album cuts—don’t show up in the first 30 seconds.
They take time. They unfold slowly.
They require a little patience.

You’ve got to sit with them.
Not flip past them.
Not assume they’re boring.
Just give them space to surprise you.

Because sure—sometimes the deep cut is forgettable.
But other times? It’s the one that sticks with you.

Your Move:

Where in your life have you been skipping the deep cuts?

This week, try staying with something a little longer.
Don’t skip. Don’t swipe. Don’t bounce to the next thing.

Pick one album. One book. One conversation.
Give it time to breathe.

You don’t need to overhaul your whole life.
You just need to stop living on shuffle.

Until next time—
keep the fires burning.
– Clay

Worth Your Time

If you’re digging Campfire Gentleman, check out a few other newsletters I actually read and recommend. No fluff—just solid stuff from like-minded guys trying to build something that matters.