Welcome to "Throws from the Porch"

Welcome to “Throws from the Porch”, a blog melding the worlds of disc golf and Stoicism. Let me introduce myself first, and then we can move on to a greater explanation of what this will be.

My name is Kaleb, I’m a disc golfer, podcaster, marketing professional, and award-winning writer. I’m 880-rated (currently), co-host of the Hanging Loose Disc Golf Podcast (which you know if you’re reading this?), marketing director for a couple car dealerships, and I took home two first place finishes in the 2015 Iowa Writers Guild for column writing and news piece. That was nearly 10 years ago at this point, so I apologize if my writing is a bit sloppy. I do write fiction, specifically horror novels, but I keep those mostly private. I will NOT be using AI to write these, so rest assured!

Anyways, onto Throws from the Porch. I tried my hand at making this a podcast, but it was so much work to put out a shite product and no one listened. Well, a couple of you did, and I appreciate that. Either way, this feels like a format best for a blog/newsletter, and I think that’s how we’ll keep it–Hanging Loose for the silly goofy stuff, Throws from the Porch for the more serious stuff. EZPZ.

Throws from the Porch is a personal project of mine, completely separate from the podcast. In theory it’s meant to meld the world of the Stoics and our world of disc golf, to hopefully provide perspective and ease your mind. Personally, I read about the Stoics on the daily. Their perspective has helped me gain perspective on my own life, specifically in terms of dealing with imposter syndrome, motivating myself to be a better husband and father, and to not react when things (the Stoics LOVE to generalize to “things”) inevitably go awry.

I know this blog entry is a little dry, so I will leave you off with my favorite Stoic quote, one that I think about on the daily to try to keep some perspective on my responsibilities when it comes to how I perceive things.

“Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.” -Epictetus, in the "Enchiridion"

There are several translations of this quote but they all mean the same thing–we are not troubled by outside events, rather, we are troubled by our opinions about those events. Most things, if not all non-personal transgressions, are objective to you and you have no control over them happening. How you react to them determines your character, the events do not care how you feel about them. Why be mad at the world? As if it cares.

Take that how you will. Maybe you think it’s drivel. Maybe it’s obvious. I definitely didn’t make the connection to disc golf, so you’re thinking, “what a waste of my time”. Perhaps. Either way, if you’re reading this, I hope you stick around for the next one.

Oh, and check out the Hanging Loose Disc Golf Podcast if you want to experience something that has nothing to do with this. Sign up for the newsletter!