about obsession

hey friend,

I was at my son’s track meet this week, watching the 800m.
two runners, shoulder to shoulder in the final 50m, both exhausted, both on the brink.
I could see the fight in their eyes. The tension in their strides.

then the last 25m happened.
one runner suddenly relented, gave the other guy the win.
honestly, I got emotional…

I yelled for him to keep pushing…didn’t even know the kid.
but he went from sprinting to almost walking.
it wasn’t about losing, it was about giving up.

the obsession we need to succeed is in the effort we put out.
not the outcome we achieve.

that’s the difference obsession makes.
you fight until there’s literally no fight left.
you don’t hand over the final 25m.
you don’t hand over anything.

my boys know one rule about sports:
I don’t care if they win or lose, score or miss.
but they will give 100% until the final whistle.

my hope is that rule slowly weaves its way into their lives.
who they are.
who they will become.

that’s the core of obsession.
you commit.
you go all in.
no plan b, no “save it for later.”
if you’re after mastery, business, sports, art, you bring that final-25m intensity.

no matter what.

where are you letting up in your own race?
where do you see the finish line and decide, “eh, that’s enough?”
it’s time to crank it up, not coast.

push through, give it everything.
that’s what makes you unbeatable, even when you don’t come in first.

try harder,
JM