Who are you?

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." - Unknown

The Thing About Apple Trees

A thing has happened over the past few weeks.

Most of my runs happen in the early morning before my family gets up. This was even more true as I trained back to ultramarathon logging over 40 miles per week consistently last fall. I've had several of those weeks this year as well.

Both my three-year-old son and two-year-old daughter know when I look a certain way that I've been on a run.

They say, "Daddy schweaty... Daddy go on run!"

But last week, my son asked me to go on a run with me. And it wasn't just toddler talk. He actually wanted to go.

He ran .25 miles!

A couple of days later, he ran .4 miles! (And almost threw up his chicken nuggets...)

It's a simple thought for the week: we spread whatever we are.

This is certainly true in parenting, but it's also true in marriage, at work, and in life.

I've far too often brought a bad attitude into our home that my wife picks up on.

Research suggests that if you sit near a high performer at work, you'll perform better. If you sit near a low performer at work, you'll perform worse.

The apple tree teaches us that we are actively growing from our DNA whatever we are, and then that DNA spreads to the area immediately surrounding us.

So the question naturally follows: What are you? And what are you spreading?

Running - I'll be out all day at Little Mulberry Park tomorrow (April 6th) on the horse trails. If you're local, come say hi! There'll be a chair in the parking lot with the words "Beware the Chair" written on it and a cooler full of snacks. I'll loop through that lot every hour or so.

Don't take my snacks.

Want to connect?

Reply to this email.

Follow me on X.

Catch me on Strava!

Subscribe for more.

Just run one mile... because one mile inevitably turns to two... Then, to three... And before you know it, you're running further than you ever dreamed. See you on the trails! 🤙🏻