The greatest way to increase your value to yourself and others is through reading.
You could just stop reading this post now and go grab a book to read instead.
But I am going to drop some new reading knowledge on you that is worth 90 seconds of attention.
Why Should You Read?
Bill Gates reads about 50 books a year. Or about a book each week.
Warren Buffett famously reads about 500 pages per day.
Lin-Manuel Miranda bought the book Hamilton to read on vacation in Mexico.
So read books that expand your thinking and your knowledge base.
Read to understand how things work.
Read for inspiration, motivation, and all the other great ations.
Read to understand how successful people became successful.
Read about what worked in the past in your field of expertise.
And read to learn what is changing in your field, so you can surf that change, rather than get pummeled by it.
Read to improve your writing and expand your vocabulary.
Read to develop your focus and your patience for long-term goals.
But most importantly…
Read To Separate Yourself From The Pack.
Despite all of the mental nutrition and long-term success that sprouts from reading, a new study just released by researchers at the University of Florida and University College London (which sounds like the fakest British school name ever) found that reading for pleasure among Americans has declined by 40% over the past two decades.
In 2004, 28% of Americans said they read for fun.
In 2023, only 16% said they read because they wanted to.
It is not lost on me, or the researchers, that Facebook launched in 2004 and the iPhone was released in 2007. Together, social media and smart phones may be accomplices, killing reading softly, like Roberta Flack or the Fugees.
This all means that people who read books have a greater competitive advantage now than ever before.
However, this is massively skewed by the avid readers.
In fact, estimates reveal that between 25-46% of adults READ NO BOOKS each year.
And the median number of books read annually by adults is only about 4. That’s how much the average person hates paper cuts.
Which means there are fewer and fewer people after the pot of gold at the end of the Reading Rainbow.
There are fewer people who are willing to do the slow, steady, yet transformational work of knowledge gain through reading. While others are settling for bite-sized bits of video, podcasts, and tweetable wisdom served by algorithms, readers are accumulating broad and deep knowledge that helps make them more capable, valuable and irreplaceable.
The new study also revealed that those who do read for fun are spending more time doing so. Because while haters gonna hate, readers gonna read.
And in the era of artificial intelligence, it is the humans who can contribute more than the machines that will be in greatest demand.
Key Takeaway
Now more than ever, reading is your great competitive advantage. Your self-directed education makes you a valuable and irreplaceable resource. It improves your thinking. Which drives smarter decisions and actions. And it draws other people to you who want to tap into what you know.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Last week, I talked to my friend Ashley Skubon about her fun wine-focused business in Austin, Texas, called Snooti. Ashley and I worked together at Engauge. The first time I met Ashley, she said, ‘My name is Ashley, by the way.’ So naturally, I asked her if she was related to any other Bytheways.
I had seen through social media that Ashley and The Snooties had introduced some exciting new offerings recently, and I wanted to get the scoop.
During our conversation, she said something that has stayed with me.
As she told me the story about the big idea she recently launched, she shared that she felt that she had been playing small ball.
Which is a way of saying that she hadn’t been thinking big enough.
In baseball or softball terms, small ball is a careful approach that focuses on small opportunities for singles, walks, bunts and stolen bases. But when you play small ball, you are not swinging for the fences. You are not hitting home runs or grand slams. And AC/DC won’t sing songs about you.
The small ball mindset can keep you in the game. But it will also prevent you from recognizing when a home run opportunity is perfectly teed up for you.
Remember, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth are American legends for their home run hitting prowess. While Brett Butler, the all-time leader in bunt hits, is the baseball player most likely to be confused with a character from Gone With the Wind. Or Grace Under Fire.
It is easy to buy into the safety of small-ball thinking. It keeps the lights on. It allows you to live to fight another day. But it doesn’t change the world. It won’t change your fortunes, your career or your tax bracket.
Key Takeaway
If you find you are playing small ball in life, in your career, as an entrepreneur, leader, innovator or artist, it’s time to carve out time to think bigger. Consider the smash hit opportunities right in front of you. See the benefits of your big swings. They can change your trajectory and your life in an instant.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
This spring, I began a Misogi Challenge. These are demanding personal challenges that push your limits in order to develop character, confidence and self-reliance. Win or lose, they create great stories that make your obituary a more interesting read.
Such challenges are meant to push your outer limits, with a high likelihood of failure. The 2 basic rules for a Misogi Challenge are that they should be really, really hard. But you are not supposed to die. I have found that there is plenty of room for suffering within those boundaries.
To bench press 300 pounds. Because it is hard. And it’s a nice round number. Especially the two zeros at the end.
To bench press 315 pounds. Because this is three 45 lb plates on each side of the bar, and it looks freaking awesome.
To bench press 335 pounds. Because this was my maximum bench press when I was an 18-year-old high school student. Today, I am 52 years old, and have a white collar job that requires practically no physical labor beyond keyboard tickling.
To live to fight another day. Because I also want to be smart and not push myself to an injury.
This past Sunday, I made my final push to complete my Misogi Bench Press Challenge. #punalwaysintended
I took on the final challenge in my home gym, with my 3 teenage mutant children Ava, Johann and Magnus as witnesses. Not only did I want them with me to spot me, but I knew that having my kids in the room watching would provide additional motivation. And I needed all I could get.
If I succeeded, I would be setting a great example of hard work, determination and personal accomplishment for my kids. If I failed, I would be showing my kids that sometimes we set lofty goals for ourselves, and we fall short. But it’s the attempt that matters. It isMan In The Arena stuff. Which is also Woman In The Arena stuff.
I started with a 10-minute warmup on my Matrix elliptical machine. Then I stretched well. I believe that my commitment to warming up and stretching before my workouts has been key to my performance, injury prevention and longevity. My body still works and feels mostly the way it should. And I still have most of my original factory parts.
So I readied myself for the goal weight of 335 pounds. This was the weight that I had been focused on for months. It would answer the question, ‘Can you be as strong at 52 years old as you were when you were a high school kid, training during the peak of your high school career?’ I was a strong 18-year-old kid. I was the state champ in the shot put. I was the New England Champion in the discus. And I never saw another kid in my high school bench 335 lbs or more.
To hit that same weight 34 years later was a daunting task. But a major win if I could do it. Because coming up just 5 lbs short of the mark would mean that I wasn’t quite as strong as I was at 18. Certainly understandable. But also a bummer to lose the competition with my 18-year-old Zubaz-wearing self.
I prowled around the room, yelling motivation to myself. I have always been my own best hype man. I worked myself into a lather in a process I call Summoning. The basic premise is that we all have some maximum physical capability. The key to acheiving the maximum physical performance is to summon as much of your capacity as you can. So I summon as much energy, focus and fury as I can. It may be a little embarrassing to see on film, but it has always driven results. So I go with it.
I had Limp Bizkit’s Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle)on 11 in my AirPods. This is my go-to bench press song. Something about the lyrics (Breathe In now Breathe out, Hands up now Hands down…) feels highly appropriate for bench pressing. Plus, swear words get me hyped. (Sorry, Mom.)
I lay down on the bench, gripped the bar, and twisted it until it felt just right. I counted aloud, 1…2…3! And hoisted the bar off the red Rogue rack. I lowered the fully-loaded bar down to my chest and pushed with everything I had.
And the bar began to rise off my chest.
I knew I had it.
I began to yell as I pushed the bar through the full range of motion.
My kids didn’t even get a chance to yell encouragement at me, because I was yelling at myself. And the bar was obviously moving north.
I locked out the top position, re-racked the bar, and went freaking nutz-o!
I was so hyped I just kept yelling, and celebrating. I grabbed the hands of each of my 3 kids who were spotting me. Johann, then Magnus then Ava.
Then I turned and yelled at the camera. It was a Seven-Yeah Celebration. Like Usher would do.
I was so freaking hyped!
I had set a high bar for this Misogi Challenge.
And I met it.
With all 3 of my kids as witnesses.
And 2 cameras rolling, to catch the result, win or lose.
But I knew I hadn’t hit my limit. So I decided to try one more attempt. This would be above my goal weight. So I turned to Ava, my most experienced offspring in the iron arts, and asked, ‘Should I go for 340 or 345 lbs?’
Without hesitating, she said, ‘340. You always tell me to make sure I get the lift, rather than stretching too far.’
So she served up the good advice I had been dishing out. And I took it.
Now I was playing with house money. Plus, at that point, I had happy-hype coursing through my system.
5 minutes later, with Black Sabbath’s Iron Man sawing through my AirPods, I lay down under the bar, again. I un-racked the bar, lowered it and pressed. The weight moved. My kids blasted me with encouragement. I pushed at full strength until I had locked out the weight. Then I re-racked the bar.
I was instantly flooded with my favorite feeling: MaxHap. It’s the term I use for maximum happiness. It’s my version of self-actualization. Or flow. Or euphoria. It’s the drug that Huey Lewis was seeking. And I still haven’t found a negative side effect.
Everything had gone right. I set and met a hard goal, with a high chance of failure. Then I exceeded it. Which meant that I can say definitively that I am stronger at 52 than I was at 18. And I was 6 feet tall and 215 pounds back then. And headed to the University of Wisconsin to throw for the Badgers. Yet somehow, 34 years later, I was still pushing myself. That’s some crazy train stuff, Ozzy!
But even better, I experienced this with my kids. They were all in the room where it happened. They saw me attempt something hard and succeed. They saw me working towards my goal for months. They saw me fail reps along the way, but I kept on going. They saw the focus, determination and craziness that I tapped into to rise to the occasion. They were there to encourage me. And to catch me if I failed.
That was an amazing experience.
Now I am done with this challenge. I have banked the results in my list of life experiences. It has bolstered my confidence and my belief that I can handle hard things. So I move forward, mentally stronger than I was before I started. Which is the whole point of the challenge.
Key Takeaway
Push yourself to do hard things. Stretch your limits. Test yourself. Make commitments to yourself that are hard to keep. Then keep them anyway. It will build your confidence and self-reliance. It will toughen you up. The work and the suffering and pushing past your past limits make you feel alive and ready for anything. Give yourself a Misogi Challenge. Because when the world becomes too comfortable, you need to seek out discomfort to grow and experience life more deeply. Make it a regular part of your life. It will help you live a life worth talking about. Which means that whether or not you win or lose your self-challenge, you win at life.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
If there is one defining factor of how the world works today versus any other time in history it is speed.
Today, everything happens faster. Not just Jimmy John’s. And Tinactin.
Communication technology has advanced from mail, to email to Slack and texting. Information arrives instantly.
News can be reported with a tweet, just seconds after it occurs.
You can stream practically anything you want to watch on demand, anytime.
AI has squeezed the gestational period of our research, discovery, query and analysis down to a mere burp.
So Why All The Slow Motion?
Yet, with all of the technology enabling us to move at Lightning McQueen-speed, I am constantly surprised by how slow many organizations move.
Nearly all technological friction has been taken out of our systems, yet human friction is still ubiquitous. K, why is that?
Human decision making, prioritization and hesitation still kill momentum, push deadlines and slow progress to a snail-mail’s pace.
The Weaponry, the advertising and ideas agency I lead, was launched 9 years ago, and the urgency of the social era was baked into our DNA. Because in the social era, opportunities come and go in a flash. In the social era, you must harvest social opportunities during the very short season when the opportunities are ripe. This can be as short as a few seconds, but never longer than a couple of days.
One of the mandates for our organization is to operate with the urgency of social media. Move quickly. Jump on opportunities. Thwart threats quickly. Move faster than other organizations. It was programmed into our genomic code from the start.
When we present timelines in our proposals, we share aggressive timelines, and note that this timeline only works if the client can keep up, and turn approvals around within our reasonable, but not generous, turnaround periods.
Yet as much as we hear about how important the work we do is to our clients’ success and how they want to get it done quickly, organizations can rarely keep up with their own ambitions. They are simply not built for speed and urgency.
While not all windows of opportunity close as quickly as social media does, all opportunities are finite.
When you fail to get your advertising in market in time, you also fail to drive sales during that time. For seasonal businesses, that is revenue lost forever. For non-seasonal businesses, it means your sales slide later in the year or into the next year. When you delay decisions, your overall revenue numbers for the current month, quarter or year are lower than they should be. That’s a loss. And an avoidable one.
My friend and client Bob Monnat, Senior Partner at Mandel Group Inc, shared some insights with me about one of his organization’s best partners. He revealed that they are great partners because they are always pushing them to move faster, to decide quicker, to get the work done so that they can ultimately turn their projects into cash-flowing assets.
Never lose sight of the reason businesses exist. They are created to make money. And time is money. The quicker you move, the more money you are likely to make.
Key Takeaway
Move faster. Today, advanced technology means that the slowest part of the process is the humans who have the most to gain. Slow actions and slow decisions cause wasteful delays. Identify the bottlenecks and pinch points in your process. Then attack them. Address your delays to help move your organization faster so that everyone can enjoy the success of speed. It is today’s competitive advantage.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
I composed my first email message when I was a college student. It was my second or third year of college at the University of Wisconsin. I wrote the email to my parents from the computer lab at college. Because back then, almost no students in my socio-economic subdivision owned their own computers.
I was awestruck by the idea of this new technology. It would allow me to send a written letter to my parents, but without having to find a sheet of paper or an envelope. I wouldn’t have to buy a stamp. Or lick a stamp. I wouldn’t have to find a mailbox. Or lick a mailbox. And I wouldn’t have to wait a week for them to get the letter. They would get it instantaneously! This was some kind of magic from the future. And I couldn’t wait to try it out.
But when I went to write my first high-tech email letter, something went wrong.
I quickly filled the small field provided for the message with my first sentence. Then, as I continued to type, the new words pushed the old words out of the field. It was very confusing. But, hey, this was magic mail. And I was just a regular human. So I figured I wasn’t supposed to fully understand the wizardry.
I stared at the email for a long time, trying to understand what was happening to my message. But finding no good explanation, I eventually poked the send button and sent my magic mail into the ether, hoping it would land as promised inside my parents’ home computer in the woods of Norwich, Vermont.
The next day, when I received a reply email from my parents, I realized what had gone wrong.
I wrote my entire email letter to them in the subject field.
Looking back, it is easy to laugh at that mistake. It is easy to say I was a dufus. Or a doofus. (Both of which are dictionarily acceptable.)
But I find inspiration in this story. Because it serves as a reminder that when you try new things, you will be bad at them. Or at least as bad as you will ever be.
But just because you are bad at things at first doesn’t mean you will be bad at them forever. In fact, the only way to greatness is to travel through badness and mediocrity. It’s like traveling through the wardrobe into Narnia.
My first email experience demonstrates that by trying, experimenting and exploring, you grow and expand your capabilities. You have to be willing to try new things to accomplish new things. You have to be willing to be bad to become good. You have to be willing to make mistakes to make yourself great.
I am now 9 years into leading the advertising and ideas agency, The Weaponry. And I can draw a direct connection from my willingness to try to ride a bike, to my willingness to try to write my first email, to my eagerness to try to launch a startup business. They are all plunges into the unknown. They all involved missteps, mistakes, mistypes, or mispedals.
Here’s The Recipe:
You try.
You mess up.
You learn.
You correct.
You try again.
You improve.
You try again.
You improve again.
And you just keep trying.
Forgive my braggadocio, but today, I am freaking good at writing emails. I can fill in the To, CC, and BCC fields like a boss. I can write a subject that will tell the recipient why they should want to read the email. I can craft a clear, concise, compelling and occasionally comedic message. And I write that whole message in the body section. I can add an attachment. I can change the font size. I have a standard signature that includes my name, title, office location, and website address. My email also lets people know that I wrote a book called, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? And that I publish Adam’s Good Newsletter. Which is a newsletter that I send out regularly via email. Boom!
Key Takeaway
Don’t be afraid to try something new because you think you will be bad at it. You will be bad at it. At least as bad as you will ever be. But that is the price you pay to achieve greatness. You have to humble yourself at the beginning of the process. Which helps you appreciate your growth and ultimate success. The learning journey is the life journey. So learn as much as you can. It’s how you create the most rewarding life.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them. And if you want to show off your email skillz, send me a note at adam@theweaponry.com.
Over the 4th of July weekend, I completed a circle tour of Lake Michigan. My wife Dawn, sons Johann and Magnus, and I took 4 and a half days to circumnavigate the lake clockwise, starting in Milwaukee. Which is on the southwestern shore of the Great Lake, 90 miles north of Chicago. But a world away in terms of traffic, cost of living and pizza.
On our adventure, we saw a lot of new things. New cities and towns. New parks and National Lakeshores. We took new ferries and boat tours. We crossed new bridges. We explored new islands. Who knew there was so much new to know?
We also needed to eat, drink and do a little shopping. In the process we found many establishments that were mostly empty and easily accessible.
But we found other establishments with long lines out the door and down the sidewalk.
The places with the long lines still have my attention as I return to work at The Weaponry, the advertising and ideas agency I lead. Because generating long lines of eager customers should be the goal of those who create, run or contribute to successful businesses. And it should be the goal of every brand that offers products or services.
Today, I encourage you to think about creating lines out the door for your offerings. Here are the 6 things that help create long lines that people are happy to stand in.
6 Factors That Create Lines Out The Door.
1. Quality products. Offer products that really work. Things that are well-made and do their jobs well. Products that take care of business will take care of your business. Like Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
2. Great Service: Take care of your customers. Make them feel that their needs and expectations are met, their questions are answered, and their time is respected. Treat them like that boyfriend or girlfriend you really want to keep. But don’t make out with them. Unless that’s part of your service. (I hope it’s not.)
3. Great Value: Make your customers feel like they get more than they paid for. Or more than they would get for the same dollar spent somewhere else. This does not mean your offering is cheap or inexpensive. It means every penny is well worth the investment.
4.Great Experience: You want your customers to feel that the whole experience was interesting, fun, worthwhile, memorable, and story-worthy. It wasn’t just a transaction. There was something more to it. It felt different than other seemingly similar transactions or purchases. It was worth doing again. It was worth telling others about. It was something you are proud to have done. Even if you can’t fully articulate why it was so great. Even if you are a fully articulate human.
5. Scarcity: This means that what you offer isn’t easy to find. There is no easy substitute. It means that people are willing to make additional sacrifices for your offering. They will wait and trade more of their time in order to get what you are offering. They are ok suffering inconveniences like standing in line. Or sitting in a waiting area for their opportunity to enjoy your offering. Because nothing compares to you. Like Sinead O’Connor said.
6.Esteem: Some offerings are so good that they transcend mere preference and become part of what can be considered esteem experiences. This means that you get additional social credit for having experienced the offering.
Examples:
People who saw the play Hamilton in its first year.
Consider these 6 factors when crafting your offers. They will push you to develop things that are beyond compare. Beyond substitute. Things that are rewarding to experience. Things that are hard or impossible to find anywhere else. They lead to offerings that command a higher price and are still worth every penny, Marshall. And they leave customers feeling like you did a great job taking care of them.
It’s a winning recipe. It is how brands thrive. It is how startups become stalwarts. It is how you grow revenue, profits and envy. It is how you create momentum. And competitive advantages. It is how you build a moat around your business. It is how you generate talk value, word of mouth advertising, referrals, 5-star ratings, and repeat customers.
That’s how you create lines out the door.
Key Takeaway
Never settle for good enough. Push for greatness. Continually look for opportunities to improve your offering, your experience, your value and your uniqueness. If others copy you, innovate again. You can’t create advantages or envy with commodity and parody offerings. Your goal should always be to create lines out the door, and be able to charge a premium to your competitors. Better yet, innovate your offering to the point where there are no competitors. There are just customers lined up out the door.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Last week, my son Magnus wrapped up his 3-year run as Magnus In The Middle School. It culminated with a graduation service on Wednesday evening. My friend Dr. Matt Joynt, the Super Duper Intendent of the Mequon-Thiensville School District, spoke at the ceremony and gave the graduating 8th graders five great pieces of advice. And since I am in the business of passing along the good advice I have heard, here is the High 5 from Dr. J.
Dr. Matthew Joynt, Superintendent of The Mequon-Thiensville School District and Dropper of Knowledge.
Do More Of What Works For You. I love this. To me, this means figure out what works for you in the broadest sense. The routines. The preparation. The responses. The flossing and deodoranting. It means spending your time in areas that offer you a strong return and doing things that build your confidence and drive good outcomes.
2.Make a plan for handling challenges. Challenges will always come. Like Cold & Flu season. In fact, life is one long hurdle race of interesting challenges. So expect them. And have a framework for working through them ahead of time. Develop a philosophy for dealing with them. (I repeat ‘This Too Shall Pass” a lot.) Keep advisors and supporters you can turn to when times get tough on speed dial. Or at least keep them on speed text.
3. Praise Your Base. And Show Your Gratitude. None of us does this, whatever this is, on our own. We all have people who support our success. It is important to recognize those who help you succeed and to show gratitude for what you have. And thank your tribe for tribing with you.
My son, Magnus, and his certificate of high school eligibility.
4. Choose a trusted adult and commit to talking to them about anything. This is strong advice for young people. Developing a trusting relationship with an adult can be one of the greatest relationships and advantages of your life. There are parents, teachers, coaches and bosses who want to help you succeed. They have already experienced many of the things you are going through, or will go through. Having that kind of resource in your corner is a huge help. Even if you don’t have an actual corner. But adults should so the same. Find someone 10 years older than you who you can talk with regularly. They can give your perspective from a decade down the road. That is a valuable resource. Kinda like Google Maps, but better equipped to eat food and drink beverages with you.
5.Thank your community. It is important to recognize that schools are supported by the community. This is through taxes, votes, volunteerism, attendance and a variety of other methods. It takes a village to create and support the schools that support your growth and development. Recognize the efforts and commitment of those in your community to your success.
However, students aren’t the only people supported by their community.
I recognize the variety of communities that support me. As a parent, I recognize that my local community helps support my children’s education and development. As an entrepreneur and business owner, my community of clients, partners and advocates support me and my team in a wide variety of ways. As an author, blogger and newsletterer, my community of readers, including you, provide valuable support through your time, attention, purchases, endorsements, recommendations and feedback. As a track coach, a strong community of athletes, parents, fans, coaches, trainers, administrators, officials, referees and media support my efforts.
Thank you to all of you who help support my efforts. You are much appreciated.
Key Takeaway
Thank you, Dr. Joynt, for sharing this good advice with our kids. But commencement speeches are not just valuable for the graduating students. They offer great advice and reminders for everyone willing to listen. So do more of what works for you, make a plan for facing challenges, praise your base, find a mentor, and thank your community. It’s timeless advice that will compound in value over time.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Two weeks ago, my daughter Ava and I traveled an hour and a half to attend a Wisconsin high school sectional track meet in Neenah, Wisconsin. (Which is near Pinta and Santa Maria, Wisconsin.)
The meet was the last stop before the state championship meet. I coach 2 athletes who were competing that day in the shot put and discus. Both throwers, Terron ‘And On’ McCall and Luka ‘Ivanarock’ Ivancevic, finished in the top 3 of both events and qualified for the state meet last weekend in La Crosse. Which makes this story a prequel to the post I shared earlier this week about the state meet.
However, just before the shot put was set to start, after all of the throwers were fully warmed, hyped and ready to rock, a thunderstorm rolled in, like a Garth Brooks song, and forced a 1.5-hour delay in the competition. Boo.
This was double boo for me, because I had to leave the meet at 6pm, no matter where we were in the competition. It was my son Johann’s 18th birthday. And we had a family dinner celebration back in Milwaukee.
Terron and Luka, after taking 1st and 2nd in the shot put and second and third in the discus. They qualified for the state meet in both events. Fun Fact: behind Luka’s head, you can see part of the sign for Neenah’s school mascot: The Hot Pockets. Their school song is simply the Hot Pockets jingle.
When it was clear that I would miss the boys’ shot put competition, my daughter Ava and I left the shelter of the shiny new Neenah High School and headed for the parking lot to jump in our Expedition and hurry home from our northern expedition.
However, between the school and the parking lot, I spotted two familiar faces. One belonged to my college track teammate Scott Hammer. Hammer coaches at West Bend West High School, which is in our conference. So I see him regularly throughout the spring. His son Carson is a great 800-meter runner and qualified for the state meet in the 4 X 800-meter relay.
The other familiar face belonged to Josh White, another college track teammate, and one of my roommates for 3 years of college.
My University of Wisconsin track & field teammates Scott ‘Hammer’ Hammer and Josh ‘Slosh’ White. (In college, everyone had a nickname. Hammer’s was pretty obvious.)
It had been a few years since Josh and I had seen each other. Following huge smiles and hugs we quickly caught up. We said funny things to make each other laugh. We have a lot of funny history. I shared that Ava would be living just a block from our old off-campus house in Madison next year.
We then told Ava a story about the night we threw our first college house party, and how the cops showed up at our door at 4am, telling us there had been noise complaints.
But the noise complaints were not related to the party, which was long over, and very underagey. The loud noise was my roommates and I singing loudly, and repeatedly as we tried to leave the perfect answering machine message on our house answering machine. It’s fun to be around someone with whom you have so much shared history. It’s also fun to spend time with someone who remembers answering machines.
But of course, our time was short. Ava and I had a birthday dinner to get to. As we said our goodbyes, Josh said, ‘It was so good to see you. Even just 5 minutes together was awesome.’
We had to hurry back to Milwaukee for dinner and fun with Johann, the newest adult Albrecht!
As we pulled out of the parking lot and pointed the car south on I-41 towards Brew City, I kept thinking about what Josh said. ‘Even just 5 minutes together was awesome.’
He was right. And I am so thankful he said it. I asked Ava if she remembered what Josh had said before we left. She remembered it word for word, just as I had. We both reflected on the power of that statement.
Reminder
You don’t need a lot of time to catch up. You don’t need a lot of time to have a positive impact on someone. Or to make progress on a challenge, or to make something important happen. 5 minutes well spent can create magic.
In 5 minutes you can:
Catch up with an old friend
Make a new friend
Have a career-altering interaction
Make Minute Rice
Discover the key to unlocking a problem
Connect important dots
Make a big decision
Learn an important lesson
Have an aha moment (And write Take On Me.)
Start a flywheel spinning
Have a breakthrough
Say your are sorry
Tell someone you miss them
Ask for that thing you really want and get it.
Do that simple thing you have been putting off for too long
It only takes 5 minutes to do something that has a major impact on your life, career, or the lives of others. Meaningful reconnections, introductions, breakthroughs, discoveries and actions can happen in a flash. Never underestimate the power of these short blocks of time. Life and success are not built on hour-long blocks. They are built in meaningful moments. Take advantage of those small opportunities, and they can positively impact the rest of your life in big ways.
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This past weekend I joined 17 athletes and 5 other coaches from Homestead High School in Mequon, Wisconsin, as we competed at the 130th edition of the Wisconsin State Track & Field Championships in La Crosse. As we left for the meet last Thursday, I could not have possibly predicted how the story was going to unfold over the next two days. At least not without a DeLorean and a flux capacitor.
We knew we were going into the competition with a strong team. While most teams at this level have a few star athletes, typically in similar events, we rolled into La Crosse with a wide load of talent. We had athletes competing in the 110-meter hurdles, 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 300-meter hurdles, 800-meter run, long jump, high jump, shot put, and discus. Plus, we had elite teams in the 400, 800, and 3200-meter relays. (I also just set a personal record for most times I have written the word ‘meter’ in a single sentence.)
So, How Did Homestead Do?
It all depends on which lens you use.
Our relays were top shelf. We won the 400-meter and 3200-meter relays with blisteringly fast times. We grabbed second place in the 800-meter relay, behind a team that broke the state record. In fact, believe we also broke the previous state record in that race, but in the name of speed, I am not double-checking that fact so that I can finish this post quickly. #IWannaGoFast
Our hurdler, Jeridon ‘It’s a Beaut’ Clark, finished 6th in the 110-meter hurdles and narrowly missed the finals in the long jump.
Senior sprint star Sean ‘OMG’ O’Byrne took 8th in the 100-meter dash.
And Senior Terron ‘The Terror’ McCall, whom I coach, took 6th place in the shot put.
Terron on the podium for the shot put.
Together, those remarkable results helped the Homestead Highlanders boys’ team grab the State Runner-Up Title. And those were all great reasons to celebrate and be very proud of our team achievement.
A Second Perspective
However, through another lens, the meet was less satisfying.
You see, we lost the state championship by just 1 point.
Boo.
While the relays went great, the 6 races in 2 days demanded a toll on our top two all-star sprinters Sean O’Byrne and Lucas ‘Show No’ Mersky. Their selfless performances in the relays helped score valuable team points, but impacted their ability to rack up individual points and personal accolades. Sean was just .03 seconds from picking up an additional point, and .05 from picking up 3 more points. And Lucas’ specialty, the 200-meter dash, came at the end of the meet. And like The Giving Tree, Mersky had already given all he could for his team.
The Squad in the parking lot at Homestead High School, just before we left on our 3-hour drive to the other side of the state.
Now, we find ourselves looking through the results at what might have been…
We were just one height away from scoring in the high jump.
We were just 5 inches from scoring 1 point in the long jump.
The Throws
And then there were the throws. These are the events that I coached along with Jake Kroll.
I was extremely proud that Homestead was the only team with 2 throwers in the shot put finals. Junior Luka ‘The Big Red Machine’ Ivancevic finished 9th, just 9 inches from 8th and that valuable additional point. But Luka had been sick all week and gave all he had. In fact, he was the highest-placing non-senior and will come storming back for a great showing next year.
Then there was Terron McCall. Terron had been nursing a strained right pec muscle all week. In fact, he didn’t throw any actual implements last week until Thursday morning to help his injury heel.
On his first attempt, he had a big throw that landed foul, just left of the sector line, and smashed into the 59-foot marker box. For context, had that throw landed fair, it would likely have earned him a top 3 finish. (Even though he isn’t Finnish)
On his second throw, he hit 55 feet even, good enough for 6th place. Unfortunately, the throw re-aggravated the pec injury. And despite a run to the medical tent and an attempt to tape the shoulder to protect the injury, the 3rd attempt confirmed he could no longer continue in the competition.
Just before the finals began, I had to inform the judges that Terron, who was sitting in 4th place at the time of his injury, would have to drop out of the competition. I don’t ever remember having to pull the plug on an athlete in competition. And I hope I never have to do it again.
When the competition was finished, Terron’s best throw sat just 7 inches off the extra point we needed to win the meet.
We’re happy to leave La Crosse with La Hardware.
Luka and Terron both qualified for the discus on Saturday, too. Luka went hard to try to make finals, but in his go-big-or-go-home mode, he fouled 2 throws and missed making the finals.
Terron showed up like a champ. Despite the injury to the muscle most vulnerable in the discus, he attempted 2 ultra-light warm-up throws, which clearly bothered him.
But rather than withdraw from the competition, Terron decided he had to take one attempt in the competition. His competitors, teammates and many of the coaches and fans in attendance knew his situation. The crowd held their collective breath as Terron stepped into the circle, and launched into a full force attempt at a miracle ending. But it was not to be. The pain was to much to complete the mission. The discus fluttered out of his hand and Terron immediately grabbed his right pec in pain. And his senior track season came to an end.
Terron’s best throw of the season of 184’3″ broke the 15-year old Homestead High School Discus Record. And anything within about 20 feet of his best mark would have won us the state meet.
Through this lens, the meet felt as if we missed a golden opportunity.
Me, Terron, and Luka fueling up for the meet.
However, There Is A Third Lens.
While we lost to De Pere by just one point to finish second, we also beat another team by just 1 point. Yes, the top 3 teams in the state scored 46, 45 and 44 points. Arrowhead Union High School, the defending state champ and a perennial top finisher, came in 3rd place. While the winning team and the runner-up both get trophies and recognition on the podium at the end of the meet, 3rd place simply gets a long, quiet bus ride home.
So through the ‘At Least’ lens, every point mattered. Every point by every athlete earned us a very special and memorable award experience that provided a cap to a fantastic season. Through that lens, we were thankful for all of the effort and didn’t take a single point for granted.
Key Takeaway
There are several different ways to look at everything in life. Each lens tells a different story. Use each lens as needed. Some perspectives will instill confidence, some provide satisfaction, and some sting and drive you to improve. They all have their time and place. Remember, the human is the most complicated of all machines, requiring highly nuanced tools to perform at its best. Always tell yourself the story you need to hear in the moment.
Thanks to the 2025 Homestead Boys Track Team and coaches for a remarkable season. I was proud to play a small part in this great season. And I can’t wait to see what we can do next year.
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At least not any meaningful goals that stretch your current skillz and abilities.
Now, for the good news:
You can do something every day to make meaningful progress towards your goals.
Boom!
When you have a clearly identified goal, you can clearly identify actions that will help you make progress towards that goal every single day. Even if you are not single. Or ready to mingle.
If you want to get in great shape, you can make time each day to lift weights, do cardio, eat well, or get good sleep. All of which are steps towards your goal. Even the sleeping part. (How sweet is that?)
If you want to write a book, blog, newsletter, song or screenplay, you can write a few lines every day. That’s how it is done. (And it’s how the 27 lines of this blog post ended up in your eyeballs.)
If you want to start a business, you can work on your offerings, plan your business, map out your next steps, put some money away, talk to other entrepreneurs, or read relevant books every day. That is the business of developing a business.
Recognize that your goals are destinations. You can make progress towards them every day through productive actions. And when you arrive at your goals, you’ll be happy that you started taking those daily steps. Because simple daily steps get you to the finish line.
Key Takeaway
Today is a great day to make progress towards your biggest goals. Make the small investment of your time and energy today that will compound with your small investment tomorrow, and the day after that. Start now. You’ll thank yourself tomorrow.
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Adam Albrecht Blog 