It's not about how many times we fall; it's about whether we get up again. Whether we dare to step back in the arena and put up another fight.

Being in recovery, I know the struggle all too well. Few of us get things right the first time. Or the second. Or the third. Fourth Time's a Charm is my ode to perseverance. We must get up and fight no matter how many times or far we may have fallen.

To expound upon this idea, I started a Substack, which I publish bi-monthly. Here, I share my second love, writing, and I detail what things were like, what happened, and what they are like now. I also delve into the ups and downs of starting a business, the accompanying wins and losses, and various miscellaneous topics of everyday life.

As someone who wears their heart on their sleeve, I aimed to create a tone for the brand that embodies this idea. One that is authentically and unapologetically me. One, people can relate to. I was determined to weave my story into the fabric of its existence and use it as a voice of hope. This led me to the idea which became my trademark stitch. The four Xs with a square around the fourth X that you see above. Fourth Time's a Charm.

Sewn into every Joseph Martin hat, it is a reminder to me, and all who trust me with their hat-making needs, to never quit fighting. Some days, we may get knocked back a step or two, but we must get up, put one foot in front of the other, and chase our dreams with reckless abandon. No matter what. 

 

 

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

- Theodore Roosevelt, "Citizenship in a Republic", Paris 1910