If you fail, congratulations...

most people don’t even try.

This one is pulsing throughhhh me.

I think it’s partly because I’ve been hitting some milestones lately - things I’ve been working toward for a long time - and it’s interesting when you finally get there. Because you think there’s going to be this big moment of relief, like, okay, I made it. But at least for me, it never feels that way. It’s more like, okay, what’s next?

That’s the part I don’t think people talk about enough - the emotional hangover that comes with progress. You fight so hard for something, you think the achievement itself will fill you, and then you get there and realize… you’re already on to the next mountain. That’s how my brain works. I could hit a hundred wins and still zero in on the one thing that could’ve gone better. I’m always asking myself: Where can I be sharper? More disciplined? What’s still missing?

It’s not even from a place of lack anymore. It’s just how I’m built. But I’ve been learning to hold both - that drive and that gratitude - at the same time. Because lately, I’ve been seeing how the fruits of your labor really do start to show up. Slowly. Sometimes quietly. But they do.

Whether it’s a career breakthrough, your business growing, the dream apartment, the person you prayed for - things start to happen when you stay consistent and don’t give up. Not luck. Just return from your efforts.

I’ve had to really zoom out and reflect on that this week. I had to revisit my entire story - the past six years - and it brought up everything. The fire, the fear, the mistakes, the pivots, the heartbreak, the rebuilds. I’ve lived so many lives in one lifetime already. And telling that story again felt like reliving it - like activating all the energy from those seasons. There are parts of it I used to wish didn’t happen. I used to look back and think, why couldn’t it have been easier? Why couldn’t my path have been more linear?

But now, I can see it differently. I can see how every single detour, failure, and loss was the foundation for who I am now. I can see how much I’ve tried. How much I’ve given. How much I’ve refused to quit.

And honestly, that’s something I’m proud of. Because trying is rare. Really trying. Most people spend their entire lives avoiding risk. They want to win without playing the game. But if you’re out here actually trying - risking rejection, risking failure, risking looking crazy for what you believe in - you’re already in a different category. You’re in the arena. You’re building character. You’re stacking evidence that you can fall and come back stronger every single time.

I look back now and realize, I’ve failed forward a hundred times. I’ve rebuilt from zero more than once. I’ve cried myself to sleep and still shown up the next day with a clear face and a plan. And that’s what I mean when I say, if you fail, congratulations. Because you’re doing what most people will never have the courage to do.

Every time you try, even when it doesn’t go how you pictured, you’re collecting proof that you can handle life. You’re building the muscle that separates those who dream from those who live it. And at some point, all those attempts - all those little messy tries - add up to something real.

That’s what I’ve been feeling this week. That slow click of things coming together. That quiet confirmation that it’s all been worth it. It’s not the outcome that changes you - it’s who you become in the process. You can’t outpace your own growth. Every delay, every detour, every “failure” is just preparing you to hold what you’ve been asking for.

And this part - this is what’s been sitting in my mind since this weekend - I listened to a really great podcast with Matthew McConaughey, and he said something that stuck with me. He was talking about how we’re always out here trying to find ourselves. Like, we’re chasing this version of who we think we’re supposed to be. But the truth is, you don’t really find out who you are by searching for it - you find out who you are by finding out who you’re not.

That hit me hard. Because it’s true. You learn who you are through the people you outgrow. Through the jobs that drain you. Through the ideas that fall flat. Through the seasons that humble you. It’s not sexy - but it’s real.

So for this week: start trying more. Start saying yes to the idea that scares you. Start the project. Ask for the raise. Post the video. Make the call. Fall on your face. Stand back up. Because the more you try, the more you learn who you’re not - and that’s exactly how you find who you are.

And at some point, it does click. It does get easier. It does get better. You realize that every failure was never really a loss - it was just redirection.

And if you’ve been around here for a while, you know that every BRÛLÉ collection carries the same energy. This Friday, I’m dropping CORE - a release that’s exactly what it sounds like: a return to the essentials.

The Winn Pant is back - re-cut in our softest terry cotton yet.
The boxers, your favorite layer, return just in time for winter.
The Lana and Luca, now in grey modal, join the rotation.
An all new crewneck - vintage inspired.

CORE is about the pieces you reach for first. Think Calvin in the 90s - but BRÛLÉ-coded.

A new drop. Coming Friday, October 24. Happy Monday. Here is the MOOD for this week. You know who loves ya.

X,

KB