Friday at Five: Hatchet Granny

Happy Friday, friends! So I've been writing 5,000-8,000 words a week on a book I hope to release in the first half of next year. The goal is to be done with the rough draft at the end of this month and the self-editing by the end of the year.

I want your feedback! Which title and subtitle would you be most apt to pick up off the shelf:

• Ask: Solving Complex Problems and Building Healthy Relationships through Great Questions
• Great Questions: Asking Better Questions at Home, at Work, and in Your Own Head

What resonates with you more? Send me some feedback.

Now on to this week's Friday at Five to help us finish the week well:

🤔 Carrie Nation

There's a little-known woman in history named Carrie Nation. Carrie was a major face in the temperance and prohibition movement in the early 1900's. At that time, consumption was a large problem in the country, with the average adult consuming 1.5 liters of 80 proof liquor per week.

Carrie described herself as "a bulldog running along at the feet of Jesus, barking at what He doesn't like."

Her hate of alcohol flowed from the death of her first husband, who died of alcoholism two years after their wedding.

Carrie had a reputation not just for opposing alcohol but for going into bars and places serving beverages and attacking them... with a hatchet... This is where she earned the nickname Hatchet Granny. She sang and prayed as she did such.

Imagine a woman in her sixties stumbling out of a bar absolutely covered in beer, holding a hatchet and a steely-eyed face. That was Carrie.

She paved the way for Prohibition, which lasted about a decade and helped create networks of organized crime more than anything else.

By the end, there were signs all over bars in America saying, "All nations welcome except Carrie."

Here's a few thoughts from the life of Carrie:

• Be careful not to assign your decision to something because of negative emotion as the right decision for everyone.
• If you see a problem, go all in.
• As you go all in, remember: the solution might not be what you think.

✍🏻 Thankfulness

For years, I've started my morning the same way: listing out three things I'm grateful for. This could be as small as iced coffee and a full night's sleep or as deep as a great marriage or job I love.

I would challenge you: For the next week, start your morning with a short list of what you're grateful for.

Here's why this is so important to me:
>This trains your brain to look for the good.
>If you're reading this Friday at Five, you've got things to be grateful for.
>Optimism wins almost always.

📚 Meaningful Marketing

A friend of mine just released his marketing book, Meaningful Marketing. I picked it up to support him but also to learn a thing or two about marketing, something I hadn't studied.

It has been a phenomenal read so far, pointing out the importance of marketing from a vision level, not just a tactical level. I would encourage you to pick it up!

🏃🏻‍♂️ Duncan Ridge 50k

About 100 trail runners gathered at Vogel State Park at 7:30am last Saturday morning.

An unassuming fellow stood up, informing us that orange flags would mark the trail. If we want to drop down to a shorter distance, tell an aid station volunteer. We've got about 90 seconds until the start.

Trail runs start this way. No frills. No gun. Just start running.

3. 2. 1. Go!

The first eight miles were relatively uneventful. Kept food and electrolytes coming in. Made some friends. Hiked the climbs. Ran the flats and downs. Kept my mind right.

The course has a 2,000 foot MASSIVE climb in that first eight miles, and then three "smaller" 500 to 700 feet climbs to the turnaround at about 16 miles. Then, you do it all in reverse.

The next sections kicked me up and down mountains. Brutal climbs. No switch backs. Steep grade. Hard to run at all. Mentally defeating.

As I got up to the last climb, I realized I'd be facing cut-offs the rest of the day. However, my time was okay. My nutrition was good. My stomach was good. The weather was beautiful. I was good. Two miles until I hit the turnaround.

Bam.

Ouch.

Uh oh.

My Achilles' heel in running is actually an Achilles' ankle. And I had sprained it badly. It took me only half a second to know that I was in trouble. I hobbled the last two miles to the aid station.

I thought about it. This was a race, but there's a more important race three weeks later that I'm really excited about. If I push here, I'm almost surely out for the next one. I talked to Shelby on the phone from the aid station. I talked to the volunteers. And I made THE decision that I've always wondered when I would make:

DNF.

Did not finish.

I took the car ride back to the park and headed home.

As I've reflected on that decision, here's what I've concluded: In life, you must know what is most important to help you quit the less important things.

💬 "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." - TS Eliot

Finish your week well!

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