FOCUS ON THE PRESENT

The Milwaukee Bucks forward - Giannis Antetokounmpo - is a two time league MVP, 6 time All-Star, one of the league's most decorated athletes, and is recognized as one of the most humble players in the NBA. 

TWENTY-ONE YEARS LATER

This week I sat on my balcony looking down about forty stories at the 9/11 memorial site. I then looked up some 94 stories to the top of One World Trade Center with the tip just barely recognizable in the clouds. I decided that I finally felt prepared to visit the September 11th Memorial Museum. It had been just over 21 years since the day that seemed to change so many people’s perspective on life, safety, family, community, and the future. I decided it was the right time to bring my family to experience what in small part I had experienced while living in New York decades earlier on that day.

Four Lessons From a Conversations With Michael Phelps

This past week I had the opportunity to interview a man with my partner that definitely thinks differently. Michael Phelps earned himself 28 Olympic medals in his career - 23 of which were gold - on his way to set 39 world records during that time. No other Olympic athlete has even come close to that level of performance.  

GET YOUR GO BAGS READY

The ninth tropical storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season has formed and is currently picking up strength in the central Caribbean Sea. As news of the storm builds and threatens to make landfall, most begin preparing their homes and their family in case they need to mobilize quickly for the storm.  

SHAPE YOUR FUTURE. CRAFT YOUR OUTCOMES.

There’s something beautiful about walking the grounds of a University. Besides just the manicured lawns, the architecturally interesting buildings, the well planned landscape, and the wandering pathways, it is the energy in the air.

TAKE OFF YOUR BLINDFOLD

Remember those childhood backyard games of pin the tail on the donkey? Or those parties where someone brought the pinata? It was always a bit comical to watch your friends walk around in circles or swing aimlessly in the air while blindfolded - clearly without any spacial recognition or idea of where they might be.  

BUT FIRST, LET ME TAKE A SELFIE

This week I was flipping through some old photographs. No, not swiping through photographs, but actually flipping through some old photographs that I had in a cabinet under my bookshelf.

FIND DIFFERENT

Why do we  gravitate towards people that are like us? We often find ourselves in rooms and on teams with people similar to ourselves. Why?

I Love That Pain In My Side

I went out for my long weekend run this morning at 6:00am. At exactly 6:04am I began to feel a pain in my side. I thought to myself, “man, there is no way I’m going to get through these 15 miles if I’m hurting already.” Naturally the thoughts of the marathon a couple months away crept into my mind while I continued to run through the pain.

THAT’S A GOOD LOOKING BACKPACK

… The true definition of durability is the ability to “withstand wear, pressure, or damage; able to exists for a long time without significant deterioration in quality or value.”

COME ON. BE HONEST

Honesty is a non-negotiable for me. Relationships are built on trust. It doesn’t mean that relationships are over when mistakes are made or bad judgment is used. But honesty is the non-negotiable. Whether it’s a big deal or a little deal, a big mistake or little mistake, a big opportunity or little opportunity, a big win or a little win - honesty is key.

A LIFE LESSON FROM YOUR PELOTON

“Excuses are like junk food - they are always there when you need to grab something.” - Matt Wilpers

START WITH THE END IN MIND

… I don’t specifically love puzzles. I may not have the patience for them. But I love what they represent. The four of us around the table, searching for the right piece, laughing about nothing, complaining about how ridiculous the puzzle might be, or perhaps having a deeper discussion that comes up purely because we are all together. This particular evening no one was super excited about the puzzle.

WE ARE AT THE STARTING LINE

I’m just over three months away from running the New York City Marathon. This month I’ve added in some endurance runs to go along with my interval training as I prepare. An endurance run should be about two times as long as your typical run. I’ve been getting out for 10-12 miles early in the morning on Sunday to begin to build up my endurance. After all, I’m going to have to stretch that to 26.2 miles by race day. At first I started to really feel some pain at mile 8 or 9. Then it didn’t start until mile 10 or 11. This morning it didn’t start until I hit mile 12 or 13. Im building that endurance.

DO THE WORK

We are going to keep it simple today. Why? Because we have a tendency to over-value complexity and under-value simplicity.

JUST RAISING A FEW CHICKENS OVER HERE

This week I lost power at the farm so had no internet and no ability to make outbound calls or receive texts for a few hours. I decided to take a book and go up to the chicken run to hang out with them.

CONSISTENCY OVER INTENSITY

We all have a propensity for intensity. We like giving it our all. We love bursts of energy. We love the feeling of accomplishment at the end of that 12 hour day. We feel like we left it all on the field after that all-nighter. It makes us feel like we moved the needle. It makes us feel like we made progress and gained a competitive edge.  

ENGINEERING vs DESIGNING

Things don’t always turn out as we intend them to. When they don’t, it’s easy for us to be disappointed. Disappointed in the situation, the results, ourselves.  Why? 

JUST TAKE A SHOT

Someone let me know that the NBA playoffs were happening this week. Needless to say, I haven’t watched a single basketball game this season but it did bring me back to the days when I was a New York Knicks fan. (For those that follow basketball, now you know why I haven’t had any reason to watch the game for the past 20 years). 

JUST THIS ONCE

Excuses start early in life. At least they did with me.  Why isn’t my room clean? Why is the laundry still in the dryer? Why isn’t the trash taken out?