To all of you who’ve given yourselves to something important:

I don't know what circumstances you're facing today.

The challenges you're up against or the setbacks weighing on you.

But I know this: for 99% of us, it's way too early to become pessimistic.

Setbacks can feel permanent.

And this acute problem can easily feel like destiny, especially if you stare at it too long.

But pessimism ISN'T the way.

OPTIMISM is.

Now, I'm not talking about blind hope.

Optimism truly is the best way forward.

The optimist...

I went to the beach last week.
No to-do list.
Slept in.
Swam for hours.
Played with my kids.
Read fiction.

Now I’m back, and I think it might’ve been the most important week for my business all year.

Rest isn't a break from the work.
Sometimes, it IS the work.

One standard I set with many of my clients:
Don’t look yourself up on social media.
Especially in-season.

Why? A few reasons.

First, ‘fan’ is short for fanatic.
Everyone posting about your performance is, by definition, a fan.
That doesn’t mean they’re qualified. It means they’re emotional.

Second, not all commentary is worth your attention.
Cynicism often passes for insight.
But don’t fall for it.

There’s a big difference between feedback and fear.
Between a real critique
And someone hoping you’ll fold.

It ...

AI may be the future.
But it's not how we move forward.

AI can plan your workout.
Write your outline.
Track your progress.

But sending the hard email?
Picking up the phone to apologize?
Getting back up after the loss and trying again tomorrow?

Trusting your gut. Honoring that deep desire. Risk looking foolish. Holding hope without proof.
I could go on…

These don't compute.
But they're what make us human.
And for most of us,
They're the only way forward.

What will you do today that makes no sense to...

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like standing on the sideline
of a big-time college football game, I’ll tell you:

It’s mostly an exercise in watching grown men wrestle with reality.
And they tend to fall into one of two camps.

In one camp:
The coach who’s constantly unraveling.
Anger. Profanity.
Yelling at the play, the athlete–reality itself.
Nearly all his energy is spent resisting what’s happening.
And honestly?
No one’s better for it.

In the other camp:
It’s like watching a seasoned sai...

There’s a strange phenomenon in sport:
Bronze medalists are often happier than silver medalists.

It’s called counterfactual thinking.

Bronze thinks, “At least I made the podium.”
Silver thinks, “I almost won.”

I once coached an Olympian who won gold… but in a relay.
"So it didn’t count", or so he told me. (Really?!)

Just last week, a current NFL player told me he feels embarrassed to talk about his job.
Why? He’s never taken a snap on Sundays.

Never mind that three franchises have paid him to w...

Courage isn’t the absence of fear.
It’s the presence of vision.

This is one of my favorite cognitive reframes. I come back to it often—especially with clients who feel overwhelmed.

Because sometimes they’re buried in doubt.
The challenge feels too big.
The odds too narrow.
The leader above them seems impossible.
The NIL landscape is chaotic.
The timing, the market, the pressure—none of it ideal.

When these stories come up, I let them finish. I don’t rush to solve or redirect. I just listen.

I think a lot about the work people do that no one assigned.

The other day, I (Kevin) was listening to Hamilton in the car with the kids, and I couldn’t stop thinking: No one asked Lin-Manuel Miranda to write this.

He just did it.
He read a biography on vacation and followed the spark.

This morning, I was drinking coffee from Cometeer—a company that flash-freezes great coffee into little frozen pucks. It’s delicious. (They sell Intelligentsia—my favorite).

Anyway, I kept wondering: Who asked ...

(this piece is written by our founder, Kevin Knox)

When I was a kid, I had a kind of superpower.

I’d have a dream—something big.
Play in the majors.
Fly a fighter jet.
Become a dad. A speaker. A leader.

Not tomorrow dreams.
Someday dreams.
The kind that require time, effort—
and growing into someone new.

Anyway, here's the superpower:
I’d find a quiet spot.
Sit real still.
Close my eyes tight.
Clench my fists.
And then I'd whisper to myself:

“From now to then.”

That phrase became a portal—
...

I can picture this all falling apart.
I can see the failure. Hear the critics. Feel the embarrassment.
Oh wow. Let’s not do it.

But I can also picture this working.
I can see the through line. The lives changed. Why it must be done.
Oh wow. We have to do this.

Funny, isn’t it?
It’s never the good outcomes that keep us up at night—only the bad ones.

The stories you tell shape the future you live in.
It's your choice which ones get airtime.