Strive to be Great
A story of failure.
Another month has passed. I missed out on my goal for March of 100 pages per day. I finished at 2,945 pages for the month, an average of 95 per day. I was so close. Saturday, I got up early and knocked out 100 pages before the sun rose. By the afternoon, I was within 200 of hitting a pace of 100 per day.
However, Oliver had his first Track Invitational. I was excited to see him run. When he was a young boy, he and I would run together around the neighborhood. He’s always had a knack for pacing himself. When he was in grade school, we did a fun run event, and he beat all the other kids by several laps. At football tryouts, the coach told him he should run track; at baseball tryouts, the coach told him he should run track. It’s like everyone could see his gift but him. Kids…
Oliver’s only event of the day was the mile, and he was in the third heat. He joined the team late and hasn’t run competitively before. He didn’t seem too worried. The day before, we were chatting in the car, and he told me his goal was to set a time to build on. He wants to get his time sub 5 minutes, but the best he has done so far is 6:25ish. He had a positive attitude and a good strategy.
I was surprised to see how many kids ran at one time. Oliver started out of the blocks slowly, but he picked his way through the pack until he found some space behind the lead group at the 6th spot. He was steady in 6th until the last lap. On the first turn, Oliver jumped to second, but by the second turn, he was back to 6th. On the straightaway, Oliver’s tenacity showed. One by one, he climbed the ladder, by the third turn, he was in second, but he still trailed by a wide margin. In the last turn, Oliver turned on the jets, and by the midway point of the last straightaway, Oliver had taken the lead.
He finished at 5:15ish, which was by far his best time yet. Although the boys in the first heat all finished under 5 minutes, so he still has some work to do. He doesn’t seem to care; he is excited about the challenge.
Sunday, I was still in range of my goal. I got my 100 pages in, but I didn’t want it enough to catch up. I spent some time with the kids and helped Vanessa around the house. I think I fixed a washing machine at one point. LOL. Sunday night, I had dinner with a group of friends. My good friend Doug turned forty. He is a very important person in my life.
When I was struggling as a new father and stepfather, Doug stopped by my office to talk one day. He stayed for about an hour, and before he left, he invited me to Park Valley. And because he did, I built a relationship with Christ. Besides that, Doug is one of the most consistent and kind people I have ever met. When I first started going to church, I did not model myself after Jesus; I modeled myself after Doug. LOL. He carries himself with a quiet confidence that commands respect. I, on the other hand, sometimes come off with a brash egotism that’s hard to admire—but not easy to dismiss, either. I wanted to improve, so I followed those who helped me.
On Monday, I was still behind, but the goal was in sight. During the day, I audibled a few chapters of ReaganLand while working with my wife at Hardhits. When I got home, I read some more, but I had other things to do. Then, at 8, I hosted the Uncap the House Space on X. Thank you to those who joined, and for those of you who didn’t, you can listen here.
I had a great time on the Space with Walter and Roger, but instead of reading afterward, I spent time with Vanessa and went to bed. While it’s disappointing not to hit the goal for the month, it’s not the end of the world. Even though I have only hit the goal once in three months, I have finished 20 books so far and have good chucks read of 3 or 4 more. That’s a win.
People ask me all the time why I have this ridiculous goal of reading 100 pages per day. The truth is, I want to be great. Great leaders have certain things in common; most notably, they are voracious readers and supported by great people. When I look around at my life, my wife, my kids, my friends, I see greatness. I am just trying to keep up and be the best version of myself.
Peace and Love,
Jeff Mayhugh