It's 9AM
Be the weird thing
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I started using It’s 9AM as an author newsletter
Except my regular newsletter, Hey it’s Chris had evolved
Yeah, I still talked about writing books and stories
And I still included links to free books and then audiobooks
But…
I started talking about stuff
My life growing up
My life after going overseas and coming back
My life about my small town in LA and how it’s dying
Lower Arkansas for those out of the know
I talked about cooking and hiking and running and grit
Training and building a small business
I leaned into politics and leaned right back out
Because people tried to box me in on the left, on the right
And missed that I was hardcore in the middle
Some folks got mad because I said things like, all politicians are criminal
Despite all the evidence supporting it
I mean, if you made 174k a year, but built up a 30 million dollar net worth in 3 years
The IRS would come calling with the FBI and the SEC to lock you up and throw away the key
So I shifted away from my personal line of thinking about these criminals we allow to “lead” us
And by lead I mean rob, steal, take,
Straight into AI
Sure, you hear all about it now, but 3 years ago, we were just starting the AI conversation
And that made folks mad too
Robot girlfriends and robot housekeepers and downloading our memories into a droid so we could live forever
or at least until the battery ran out
But, as it turns out, I had enough to say that I could turn it into a daily newsletter
Partly for me, partly for you and all the way into the nostalgia and grit and don’t quit mindset
That has gone out and will continue to go out
I hope
People tell me they read it daily
Which is great
And I can tell when I touch on something that folks remember with fondness
Which is great
And I occasionally still ruffle a few feathers
Though a lot of the anger went in other directions as soon as folks learned I’ve got too many things to do to respond to outrage
Besides, what does it matter what one guy says about anything
You can find contrarian opinions to mine on just about everything
I don’t wear black tee shirts if I can help it
But there are folks who only wear black
Is the world a better place for it?
Fuck no, it’s a freaking tee shirt.
I like peanut butter melted next to my scrambled eggs sometimes
And while I will suggest that particular combination to anyone in It’s 9AM
I’m not going to hold it against anyone for saying “Gross.”
I will be bothered by the responses that tell me, “Eggs are murder!” and “Peanut Butter exploits the nuts!”
For only as long as it takes me to see and smirk, and then close out and move along with my day
Probably writing new words for the next day’s It’s 9AM
Or working on a story
Or working on an audiobook
Or working on a plan for more
Because it’s always bigger, and better and mo’ faster
Always trying to be just a little bit more than I was the day before
More patient
More forgiving
More ambitious and more compassionate
Which is how I’m framing the next year we’re rolling into
More
Of all of it
Every Day.
Let’s Get After It.
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The clock is ticking.
It starts the same way every morning. You wake up. You drink the coffee. You look at the day ahead.
And you have to make a choice.
You can let the day run you. You can get lost in the noise of the news, the chaos of the timeline, and the excuses that pile up like laundry.
Or…
You can Get After It.
For years, I’ve been meeting you right here. At 9 AM.
We’ve talked about everything. We’ve talked about growing up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where we were so poor we couldn’t afford the “o” or the “r”—we were just “PO”. We’ve talked about running 100-mile races on broken legs. We’ve talked about the hard truth that nobody cares about your excuses.
I’ve collected those conversations. The lessons learned from failed businesses, the wisdom of depression-era grandparents, and the stubborn refusal to quit.
I’ve put them all into one collection titled: IT’S 9AM.
Why This Collection? Why Now?
Because the world is noisy. And sometimes, you need a reminder that the simple things are the things that save us.
I’m not a guru. I’m a guy who has failed. A lot.
I decided to run a 100-mile race and suffered. I decided to start a small publishing business and almost went under—more than once. I’ve worked in corporate suites and I’ve worked the night shift in a warehouse for $20k a year when life kicked my teeth in.
But I kept writing. I kept moving.
This book isn’t about how to get rich quick. It’s about how to get rich slow—in experience, in memories, and in resilience.
Here is a Taste of What You’ll Find Inside:
The “Fast, Cheap, or Good” Rule: My Papaw was a carpenter who taught me you can pick two, but you pay for the third in sweat equity and luck.
The Secret to Weight Loss (and Life): It’s the most effective formula in the world, and we all ignore it. Eat less. Move more. Drink water. Why do we complicate the simple stuff?
The 100-Mile Mindset: How to keep going when your body is broken, using the simple rule: “Two is one, one is none”.
The “Make a Plate” Philosophy: Why serving others—literally making a plate of food for the ones you love—is the ultimate act of leadership and love.
The Truth About “The Good Old Days”: Why nostalgia for 1979 is a trap, and why the future (robots and all) is actually full of promise.
Ass in Seat: The unglamorous, unsexy, absolute only way to get a novel (or any dream) finished.
It’s About The Process, Not The Outcome
I used to think it was about the finish line. The big check. The viral moment.
But I realized something while writing these essays. I love the process.
I love the early mornings with a cup of joe. I love the smell of rain that reminds me of a Saturday morning in 1979. I love the grind of figuring out how to turn antique bricks from a collapsed building into a paycheck.
This collection is for the builders. The runners. The writers.
It’s for the people who know that “Good Job” is for something you have, but “Good Work” is for something you do.
Join Me at the Start Line
Whether you’ve been reading the Substack since day one, or we’re just meeting now—this is for you.
It’s a reminder that no matter how many times you fall down (seven times), you get up (eight).
It’s a reminder to eat the street tacos, buy the plane ticket, and write the book.
Because unless we figure out how to upload our brains into nanobots, we all have the same last sentence in our biography: The End.
You don’t have time to wait.
Grab the collection. Pour a coffee.
And Get After It.
— C. Lowry
P.S. Inside, I also finally admit the truth about why I will never, ever eat at Hardee’s again. You’ll have to read the book to find out why.