Hey Broken Homie,
Quick one this week. But it might sit with you.
So we got to talking about Dragon Ball Z. We never did a full episode on it but man, thinking back on it now hits completely different.
When we were kids, we watched DBZ for one reason. The fights. We’d rush home after school, sit way too close to the TV, and lose our minds when somebody finally powered up.
That was the whole thing. Who’s stronger. Who’s about to transform. Who’s gonna scream the longest.
kids watching dbz
But watching it back as grown men? We were missing the actual point the whole time.
⭐ Back then we thought transformation took forever. ⭐
Every power-up was three episodes of screaming. Charging up while the planet’s about to blow.
As kids we ate that up and somewhere along the way it taught us that change works the same way. Grind, suffer, wait, then you level up.
But look at when Goku first went Super Saiyan. It didn’t come from training. It came the second he stopped doubting whether he could.
The power was already in him. He just finally let himself believe It. We didn’t catch that at nine years old or teenagers.
We were too busy cheering. But that’s the lesson …. the transformation wasn’t earned in that moment. It was allowed.
Then there’s Gohan.
As kids, Gohan kinda frustrated us. The boy was stronger than everybody and just… wouldn’t tap in. He’d hold back, hesitate, wait until things got bad enough, and only THEN show out.
We didn’t get it back then. We get it now. Because that’s us.
Waiting for the right moment. Waiting until we feel “ready.” Waiting for permission to be the person we already see in our heads.
But waiting doesn’t get you ready. Waiting just teaches you how to keep waiting.
Every day you put off becoming who you’re trying to be, you’re really just practicing not being them.You don’t power up into the new you. You just stop holding back.
Here’s the part that means the most though.
As strong as Goku ever got … Super Saiyan, God form, all of it ….he never won a single big fight alone.
The Spirit Bomb only worked because everybody put in. Every friend, every stranger, every hand raised to the sky. The strongest dude in the universe still needed his people to be at his best.
And that’s exactly where we are.
This newsletter, this whole Collective runs on energy people give it. A read. A forward. A reply. That is our Spirit Bomb. That’s how this thing stays alive.
So here’s our ask, and it’s small.
If this hit you today, send it to one person who needs to stop waiting on themselves. One hand to the sky. 🙌
And if somebody forwarded you this…. subscribe so you catch the next one. Free, every Friday, no algorithm deciding if it reaches you.
One more thing — pull up to the inner circle. 📲
We’ve got a Broadcast Channel on Instagram and right now it’s a small room, just a handful of us who actually pull up. That’s kind of the point.
In there we drop stuff that lives nowhere else: exclusive show art, behind-the-scenes audio clips that never made it to any episode, polls, and conversation starters straight from us.
No algorithm. No noise. Just the people who really rock with us.
It’s early. The ground floor is open. Come get in before it fills up:
Catch up on the shows too:
— Double D, Staffman & Aaron
After-School with Friends Collective
Detroit, Michigan
You’re getting this because you signed up at afterschoolspecialpodcast.com — and we love you for it. 🔥