I saw an interview by one of my favorite authors today, Stephen Pressfield, where he highlighted what I believe to be a critical and often overlooked point.

He says a lot of people think life is short, but life is actually long.

He goes on to explain that he didn't even get his first book published until well into his adult life,

making the point that people at 24, 34, 54, 64, 64, they think they've won or lost.

And they've got a lot of game left to play.

And this message, it does a few things.

I think first and most obviously it creates a kind of calm.

Like, okay, I can take some of the pressure off myself. Life isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. I'm not doing so bad. Sometimes we lose that perspective. We forget that the best things

in life evolve over time. Often not an avalanche, but the chipping away of a stone until the statue reveals itself.

As frustrating as it may be, clarity is often an evolution.

And the second thing is, it plays a role in defining what success means.

If games are won in the second half, as they frequently are,

then we learn not to define ourselves by the outcome of the first quarter.

But more importantly, to put ourselves in position to win in the fourth, the score at halftime is not defining.

It's a treasure trove of lessons and information and data that can be tapped into to get the result that we ultimately want.

And I often think of running in South Florida where, you know, I joke that I don't sit at the beach, but if you run during the day, you know, you kind of get the best to both worlds.

A little bit of sunshine, you get your workout in, but the obvious disadvantage, especially in the summer, is that the heat is taxing on the body.

It's more challenging to run under that sun.

And what I find is that when I push my pace right out of the gate,

right from the start, push my physical boundaries,

the second half of the run is a nightmare.

Always, I'm dragging, you know, speed isn't even a factor.

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