Sincerely, Jacob

Reflections on South Africa:

When I planned this trip, there were two reasons I chose South Africa to start.

It made sense for me directionally, moving up through East Africa from there, as I’d jump over to West Africa afterwards.

It is the most developed country on the continent, which I thought would be a good easing in.

Six years ago I visited South Africa for the first time, but other than creating relationships with elephants, I did and saw nothing else.

This time I travelled over 1,200 miles from Cape Town to Kruger National Park and visited seven of the nine provinces.

My takeaways:

Safety - statistically South Africa ranks high in crime. For 99% of visitors, the nature of your trip along with some universal travel safety guidelines means you will not encounter any crime. For the 1% (backpackers, risk takers, etc.), you too can be safe with a little more planning. It is worth it and then some.

Value - For someone that’s a milder traveler, South Africa is a great choice. The country is massive and boasts options to do and see anything - history, nature, wildlife, hiking, luxury, cities, vineyards, and so on. The enhanced infrastructure make it a smoother go than some other countries, along with a near universal English.

History - Apartheid formally ended thirty years ago, but the effects still loom ever present due mainly to corruption (not my opinion, but that of the many locals I asked). Whether you visit the Apartheid Museum, tour SOWETO, or research independently, you will have a fuller and more informed experience if you understand the insane history this country has gone through.

Locations - Most people’s South African trip is Cape Town, Johannesburg as a stopover, and wildlife parks in the Greater Kruger Park. Nothing wrong with that - but there’s so much more to see/do, and it’s easy access.whether via rented car or bus transport.

I’ll return to South Africa intermittently my entire life, if for no other reason than to visit “my” elephant Shungu. Next time I’ll come in the summer, as I want to see the GREEN.

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Quitting

I posted a reel on this yesterday (send it to your friends, @jacobtempler everywhere).

From our childhoods onwards we are taught to not be “quitters.”

Generally speaking that’s a good bit of advice, but of course we can’t stay committed to everything we’ve ever initiated.

How do we discern good quitting from bad?

I heard a perspective from either Jocko Willink or Alex Hormozi that considered quitting to be acceptable in light of new information. If for example you set out to run a marathon, but tear your ACL… new information. If you set out to run a marathon but don’t feel like it anymore, you’re quitting.

What if I start making a video and decide I don’t like it? Am I quitting? Not always so easy to tell.

Fundamentally the most valuable tool to determine if quitting something is right is going to come from one of the universally most powerful tools in life - honesty.

You know.

You know what’s right and wrong.

You know what the higher you should do.

Whether or not you live out that internal voice is up to you.

And if by some chance you don’t know - my DMs are open.

Sincerely,

Jacob

P.S. First time riding a motorcycle taxi this week… terrifying and thrilling.