The sun was setting, and we did not have any cell service. I kept glancing into the rear view mirror hoping that my friend’s blue Prius would appear. 

The night before, six of us had decided to go camping in Joshua Tree over the long weekend. Twelve hours later we rented some camping gear and set out on the I-10 East. Predictably, we were behind schedule, and our two-car caravan had gotten separated. As the only one with much camping experience, I was not looking forward to trying to find each other and a spot to set up camp in the dark. 

Somehow, we did find each other and a place to pitch our tent. It turned out to be a non-issue, and we even grilled up a few bacon-wrapped hotdogs over our campfire while gazing at the stars. Despite the bacon being burnt to a crisp and the hotdogs only getting luke-warm, we felt triumphant. Howling coyotes, an odd park ranger, and a “mountain lion” (the product of a friend’s runaway imagination) could not dampen the spirit. 

“This is the life.” 

My college experience was like our trip to Joshua Tree: sort-of planned, full of great people, and flawed yet fulfilling. College had a way of making seemingly serious concerns and worries laughable a few short months later. 

I am no expert on college, and I can only share from my own experience. That being said, I think college can be a transformational experience, and I have a few thoughts on what impacted my college years for the better and for the worse. Some of my thoughts are more developed while others can hardly be called thoughts. I hope you find some of them interesting and potentially helpful. I welcome debate or pushback on any of the following points. 

The Work Gets Done

I hated syllabus week. At the start of every semester, I would collect my syllabuses and begin adding them to my planner. In spite of being familiar with this experience, I would begin to feel overwhelmed. Each semester I thought, “I don’t know how I can get all this done.” 

Somehow, I found each semester that the work gets done. The time I spent worrying about it was natural but entirely unnecessary. I was committed to doing the work, and I did it. Even though it got assigned all at once, I had a whole semester to complete it. As is often noted, “We overestimate what we can do in the short-term, but we underestimate what we can accomplish in the long-term.” I found this to be particularly true in college. 

Just Start

On that note, I found that the best remedy for anxiety about the workload was to just start. Over my four years, I rarely found a project to be more difficult than I anticipated. I think our minds have a tendency to exaggerate the unknown, and the exaggerations grow larger the longer a project or a problem is left unknown. 

Some projects do take significant time and energy, but I generally have found that the work is not as unbearable as it feels before I start. Unfortunately, “just starting” was not a solution to chronically underestimating the time necessary for completing a project. By the end of college, I learned to double all my estimates.

The Magic Of Choosing To “Waste” Time

This might seem to contradict my previous thought (Just Start), but it does not. The important part of this insight is “choose.” I never once regretted taking a walk outside, giving someone a call, or heading down to the beach to enjoy the sunset. Somehow, the work always seemed easier after I had chosen to take a break. I know part of the benefit was related to the breaks being stress-relieving, but I think that choosing to take a break reminded me that I was in control of my time. I could choose to take a break, and when I returned to an assignment, I was choosing to get the work done. It reminded me that I was not a slave to the work, and that I was doing the work because ultimately I wanted to do it. 

75 Degrees & Sunny

Nothing solicited eye rolls from my friends like this statement. Freshman year whenever I was asked how I was doing, I would start by responding, “It’s seventy-five degrees and sunny…another beautiful day in Southern California.” 

Obviously, some days were better than others, but that habit helped me to start with gratitude. Perspective is not everything in life, but I found it had a much bigger impact than I tended to think.

Conversations Power Me

It would be hard to overstate how grateful I am for the people who are willing to listen to my rants and ramblings. I feel particularly bad for the people who have had to hear the same points on Jim Collins, investing, the inefficiency of higher education, and Merlyn over and over again. 

That being said, nothing gives me energy like a good conversation, particularly the ones that are actually conversations. When I shut up and leave space for conversation, I learn so much and leave feeling rejuvenated. 

Be Interested, Not Interesting

I am troubled, however, by my tendency to dominate the conversation in certain settings. I find that I talk the most in settings where I should be listening the most. 

Jim Collins, one of my favorite authors/thinkers, once recounted the story of a mentor telling him, “Jim, it seems to be that you spend too much effort trying to be interesting. You should direct your efforts towards being interested.”

I think about this a lot. Almost all of my favorite conversations in college started with a question rather than a bold statement.

Show Up Early, Pack Up Slowly

I will admit it. Sometimes this practice leads to awkward conversations, but that is a small price to pay for the benefits. First, showing up early meant that I could take my time getting set up for class. Instead of being out of breath and scatterbrained as class started, I was prepared to begin. Second, and more importantly, it meant that I could develop relationships with my classmates and my professor. A couple of friendships that I expect to last for years were a result of pre- and post-class small talk. That is despite my natural aversion to small talk. By showing up early and seeing the same people, I felt more comfortable talking with them as the semester wore on.

In addition to building relationships with my classmates, showing up early sometimes meant getting a chance to talk with the professor. I found that most professors loved interacting with students, and when I stepped out of my comfort zone and asked them a question before class, I never regretted it.

I assume a lot of people would say that showing up early is a key to success in college, but I doubt many would say the same about packing up slowly. It shares the benefits of showing up early, but it also allowed me to listen in on my classmates’ post-class questions. A lot of people ask good questions, and I regularly found myself thinking, “I’m so glad she asked that.” Packing up slowly allowed me to hear answers to all the questions that I was not smart enough to ask. 

Say Hi

Excluding extreme circumstances, saying “hi” is never the wrong choice. Walking across campus multiple times a day meant walking by people I knew multiple times a day. I often regretted not acknowledging someone I knew as I walked by. I cannot remember ever regretting waving at someone I knew…aside from momentary embarrassment if they did not see me. 

Topple The Guillotines

I came up with this phrase senior year. It is not historically or mechanically accurate, but it worked for me.

I imagined the deadline of assignments, papers, and projects as the blade of a guillotine slowly but steadily descending towards me. I always found a way to slip my head out right before the deadline would have decapitated me, but it was not a pleasant experience. I decided I no longer wanted to escape the guillotines in the nick of time. Instead, I would get the work done while the blade was still high and “topple the guillotine.” 

Rather than having the impending deadlines hanging over me as I tried to enjoy myself, I would knock out the assignment and move on with my life. 

I know it is silly, but like I said, it worked for me…perhaps because I have an irrational fear of guillotines. 

The First Few Weeks Are Confusing, Push Through

The first few weeks at college and each job and internship have been confusing and fairly stressful for me. The change, new expectations, and new people all combine to heighten the stress, and I found that there was generally sparse feedback during the first few weeks. Despite the stress, I always eventually settled in. I realized that a stressful few weeks were just part of starting something new, and that I needed to push through rather than immediately making judgements about the situation. 

The first few weeks have become a bit less stressful now that I know what to expect. 

Craisins & Peanuts

Things did not always go my way, and I would guess that they do not always go your way. Freshman year, I moved in with a big bag of craisins and a large jar of peanuts from Costco. I bought them because I liked to snack on them. Unexpectedly, they soon started serving the much more important role of steady companion and encourager on the tough days. Chomping on some salted peanuts and tossing a few handfuls of craisins into my mouth may not have been the most logical response to disappointment, but somehow it worked for me. Life is not perfect, but I can always grab a snack, take a deep breath, think through something, go for a walk, and talk it out. 

Find Your People

I think “finding your people” is one of the necessary ingredients for a good college experience. Find the people you enjoy being around, and you can “be yourself” around. College is too long to put on a charade. I am not saying that growing or aspiring to be a better person is wrong, but do not get that confused with consistently acting like someone else to fit in.

Finding your people does not always happen immediately or all at once, and early on I think it is important to spend time with a lot of different people. It is really hard to know if someone is someone that you would enjoy spending time with until you spend time with that person. Not everyone you meet will be your best friend, but you will not meet your best friend unless you meet people. 

College is an awesome experience because there are all sorts of people who are interested in all sorts of things. I found that I had a group of people for all the different things I enjoyed. I had people that I could discuss finance with, people I could watch NBA games with, people I could talk philosophy with, people I could play beach volleyball with, and people I could do it all with. 

I think all of this is true in life as well, but I found college made it easy to make friends in a variety of settings. 

Find A Church

Before I started college, I read an article that emphasized the importance of choosing a church alongside choosing a college. At the time, it made sense to me, and I expected to be actively involved in a church during my four years at college. 

When I arrived at LMU, I bounced around between a few churches trying to find the right fit. I ended up fairly regularly attending a church that was a significant drive from campus. 

Reflecting on that decision, I have come to the conclusion that it was not the right decision. Due to the distance and the culture of the church, getting involved was harder than I anticipated. Rather than putting in the extra effort, I was complacent and just drifted in the background at this church. This made it easy to miss a Sunday from time to time when I was tired or had a lot of work to get done. It also meant that I was not building community. 

The pandemic did not help the situation as it entailed moving to different cities for a few months at a time, but I would be lying to myself if I said that was the reason for my lack of involvement in a local church. 

Being involved in a local church is worth the effort, and not being involved is my biggest regret from college. If I could do it over, I would place a higher emphasis on finding a place where I could commit and get involved.

4 Years Is A Long Time, People Change

First impressions matter, but four years is a long time. Do not write people off because of a bad first impression. People change, and I found that a lot of cool friendships developed later in college that probably would not have if either of us let first impressions get in the way. 

Give grace and let people, including yourself, grow and mature in college.

Find Your Partner

No, I am not talking about your life partner. You need to find your group project partner. 

Group work was celebrated at college, particularly in the business school. Many professors say that the point of group projects is to learn how to work with all sorts of people. They explain, “In the real world, you will have to work with people you do not always get along with.” 

It is undoubtably true that you will get stuck working with annoying people from time to time. The more important lesson taught by group projects, however, is that working with a good group is 100x better than working with a bad group.

In my opinion, group projects in college teach the valuable lesson that finding who you work best with and partnering with them significantly improves your experience and results. If you can, prioritize finding great partners and groups. I know that I will for the rest of my life (at work, at church, while volunteering). 

Often, the best answer is finding new group mates, not trying to fix your current situation. Like I said, working with the right group is so much better than working in a bad group. The difference is almost unbelievable. 

That is not to say that the grass is always greener on the other side. If you never find any situations that work well, you may have to look yourself in the mirror (like I did my freshman year). Also, sometimes you have to stick around in a situation because of other factors (e.g. a school assignment, working toward a promotion, the group dynamics are bad but better than alternatives).

While I was in college, I was part of great groups and not-so-great groups. A few people and I discovered that we worked well together, and we went so far as to coordinate our schedules for a couple semesters to end up in the same classes and team up for the group projects.

Just having one great partner in a larger group could make all the difference. It was always great when I was in a group with one of my favorite partners because we could back each other up and push the group in the right direction. Most group projects just need a little push to get moving towards the goal. Being on the same page with someone is invaluable when trying to complete a project effectively and efficiently. 

Learn To Lead

On that note, group projects in college are a great place to practice leadership. The stakes are low even if it does not feel like it at the time. In most group projects, people are looking for direction.

I do not mean that you should immediately grab control over a group, ensure that your voice is the loudest, and begin dictating orders to your group mates. Instead, leading in a small group can take the form of asking good questions, clarifying the assignment directions, and amplifying the voices of quieter members of your group. 

I made mistakes, but I learned a ton. Taking on the leader role sometimes meant giving better parts of the assignment to others, deferring to others’ strengths, and accepting criticism. Still, it was such an amazing learning experience. I learned the types of environments where I should lead, the situations where I should take a back seat, the style I would use, and new ways to communicate. 

I think you would be hard-pressed to find a place where there are more opportunities to lead that has as much forgiveness for mistakes as college.

Get What You Want Out Of College

A lot of reasonable people these days are asking whether college is worth the price and the time. I think it is a fair question. Between rising tuition costs, bloated bureaucracy, and many graduates struggling to figure out post-college life, it would appear that college is no longer all that it claims.

That is precisely the issue in my estimation. Many colleges claim to provide a disparate, and sometimes contradictory, set of outcomes. I’ve listed a few of the typical claims:

- Liberal arts education

- Well-rounded person

- Job opportunities

- Technical skills

- Smooth transition to adulthood

- Industry required credentials

- Unparalleled networking

- Research opportunities

- “The college experience”

- Academic rigor

- A place to experiment

- The chance to follow your passion

It is great that institutions are offering these services. I am less than convinced, however, that each college should be claiming to offer all of these services simultaneously. For instance, it seems wrong that someone hoping to develop technical skills in pursuit of a specific career would have an identical track as someone seeking to explore the origin of an academic field and study its development. 

Higher education has become too much of a one-size-fits-all assembly line. For a place that is supposed to value intellectual curiosity and personal growth, college instead practices heavily structured study and conformity. There is ultimately a misalignment between higher education’s values and its policies. The bureaucracy, cookie cutter classes, and lack of imagination work to dismantle higher education’s values. Rather than supporting students’ aspirations, many current policies make it harder to achieve goals. 

Is there a solution? 

Not a perfect one, but I think if you can start to figure out what you want out of college, you can succeed despite the headwinds. Good places to start include finding the great professors who will support you, getting a taste of different fields, and having conversations with people who are out of college. I found that talking with people who were three, ten, twenty, forty years older than me was invaluable as I began to figure out what was next for me.

Outside of the steps you can take to mitigate the effects of a flawed system, what needs to happen is a wide-spread change in higher education philosophy. Not every university can be everything to everyone. Universities, colleges, and particular programs need to be clear about what they value and actually support those values, attracting the types of students that want what that university has to offer. It seems obvious to me that crafting different programs for students who want technical skills, students who want a liberal arts education, and students who want an industry credential would be better than claiming that someone can get all three from the same exact program. 

The current debate around the problems with colleges tends to pit groups against each other. Some say that everyone should just get a technical education. Others say that a liberal arts education is the right path. I tend to believe that both are valuable. Part of growing up and assessing your life should include determining which route is for you. 

Try A Lot, Focus On Less

Part of the answer to “what do I want out of college,” is found by trying a lot, especially early on. I changed my major before I started at LMU, changed it again and added a double major and a minor my freshman year, and dropped one of my majors my junior year. I learned to juggle at the juggling club and then never returned. I participated in start-up weekend my freshman year and attended a few entrepreneurship society events but did not stick around. If you had to pin me down freshman year on what I would be doing post-college, I might have suggested “consulting.” Honestly, that was the perfect answer because it was both vague enough to not commit to anything and not interesting enough to prompt further discussion of my career aspirations. 

The point is that I had no idea what I was doing. I tried a lot, had a variety of jobs in different fields, attempted new hobbies, and pretty much just threw things at the wall to see what stuck. 

I was not completely lost, though. I approached my experimentation with a high degree of self-observation. 

I asked myself: What did I enjoy from the past week? Why? What did I not enjoy? Why? How do I fill my time with more of what I enjoy? How do I remove the things I did not enjoy? How sure am I that I do not enjoy that? Was it just a bad one-off experience? What are some similar things to things I enjoy? How can I try those? Who might have some suggestions or advice for me?

That might sound a little pretentious and robotic. Do not worry, I would not actually go through these questions line-by-line, though that might work for some. I would spend time reflecting, praying, talking with friends, and thinking through my recent activities. Ultimately, the result of all that served to answer the questions I laid out above.

Despite continuing to experiment (I became a beginner skier and surfer my last year), I naturally began to focus as time progressed. Over my last two years, I spent more time in the finance department. I learned about investment banking and what it would take to reach that goal. I realized that my time was valuable, and that I needed to say “no” to certain things in order to spend more time doing the things that were most important to me. 

I think early on in college there is a pressure to show that you have it figured out. I know I felt it. Despite the pressure and the apparent confidence of your classmates, do not rush the experimentation phase. In my opinion, many people jump straight to the focus phase without developing the desire to focus in that area. Focus and time commitment come naturally when you discover something you enjoy. 

Experiment, ask questions, make observations, and keep trying new things. Do not stress about finding the “one thing” to which you will devote your life. Do not put too much pressure on immediately devoting yourself to one thing once you discover some enjoyment or aptitude for it. Let passion and focus develop naturally. Sometimes it will hit you unexpectedly. 

Make Room For Surprises

I debated whether to title this section “Make Room For Surprises” or “Leave Room For Surprises.” I decided to go with the more active version because as I assessed my own experience, I think the surprises generally were made possible by previous decisions.

First, what do I mean by “Make Room For Surprises?” College is full of surprises. It is hard to predict what each day will bring, and college can be a grand adventure if you let it. I think you should shape your environment to generate as many positive surprises as you can. Despite my tendency to be a planner, I found that surprises added a joy and depth to my college experience that would have been impossible to plan.

I would break my surprises into two general categories: fun and professional/academic.

A few examples of the fun surprises included getting invited on a last minute night hike one Thursday freshman year, going to see Dune senior year at 11:00 pm on a Tuesday, ordering a pancake pizza on GrubHub (again, late at night), and having a couple classmates become part of our beach volleyball crew.

A few examples of the professional/academic surprises were having a spontaneous hour-long conversation with a professor after our first class meeting freshman year, joining the Student Investment Fund, and working closely with a professor on legal research for multiple years.

I call all of these experiences surprises because I would not have predicted them. Many of them also are somewhat contrary to my typical life. As much as it may surprise you, I am usually in bed at 2am, not polishing off a bag of peanut M&Ms at the local Cinemark. 

For the fun surprises, I would say that I made space for them by being open to doing things. I worked to cultivate a reputation for being up for hanging out. I also tried to not get behind on assignments so that I could say “yes.” I did not want to feel like I had to say “no” because I had to finish a paper. It also took courage to ask my classmates if they wanted to head to the beach with my friends and I on Friday afternoon. I expected that they would have plans, but I was pleasantly surprised when they enthusiastically joined us. Even better and perhaps more surprising, they became good friends.

For the professional/academic surprises, the post-class conversation was a result of packing up slowly. I was listening in on other students’ questions and was about to leave when the professor surprised me and asked why I was sticking around. I replied that I was just curious about the question my classmate had asked, and that I did not have any particular question myself. I expected that to be the end of it, but, to my surprise, the professor launched into a conversation asking about my major and interests. I ended up taking two additional classes and having countless discussions with that professor, due in part to that first surprise conversation.

Due to a clerical error and my own absentmindedness, I missed the deadline for applying to the Student Investment Fund despite intending to. By the time I had figured it out, they had already selected the group. I assumed it would be futile, but I decided to send an email to the professor that ran the program. In the email, I practically made the decision for him, giving him every opportunity to deny me. To my great surprise, he told me that I should send him an application, and he would let me know shortly. By the end of the week, I was part of the team. I made room for that surprise by sending the email and by having cultivated a strong reputation in the finance program. Still, it was a complete surprise to me that I was admitted.

A couple months into my freshman year, I started looking for an on-campus job. I had some extra time, and I thought some money in the pocket would be nice. I applied for a role in the business school as a research assistant and got it. When I started, I discovered it actually consisted of putting up posters, cutting bread (who would have thought?), and making copies. I did not really mind, though, because those tasks generally took a limited amount of time. For the rest of my hours, I sat at a desk and was paid to chat with the office administrator and work on homework. It was not a bad gig. 

That changed one day when the professor who I was technically assigned to entered the office with a request. He wanted me to find a quote of an auto executive so that he could properly cite it. I went through a number of transcripts and interviews but could not find the quote. I emailed him a list of quotes that were close to the one he was looking for, but I was disappointed that I failed in the assignment. 

To my surprise, he walked into the office during my next shift and claimed that it was some of the best work he had seen. For the next three years, my paid homework time disappeared as I found myself working closely with this professor on a variety of interesting projects that I would never have known about had it not been for doing my best (aka failing) on a one-off assignment he gave me. 

To sum it up, it is almost impossible to predict when and where the impactful situations will arrive in college, but it is possible and important to create the conditions that put yourself in those situations (i.e. make room for surprises).

Final Thoughts

Thanks for reading. I really appreciate it, and I hope you will let me know if you disagree with any of my observations, or if any of them resonate with you. I am hoping to be surprised by a number of interesting conversations that result from posting my thoughts.

I know it has been a while since I last posted. That had not been my intention, but I had to prioritize a few other things. For the first post back, I did not want to delve into the last year, but I think I will soon. I cannot guarantee anything, though. This site has lost any semblance of a schedule. 

Forever grateful and humbled that you would give me your attention,

Ian

Over the past two years, I have written nearly 90 blog posts. When I first started writing this blog, I had the stated goal of improving my writing through consistent and sustained effort. For many months, I did not miss posting on a single Monday. I am grateful for all of you who kept me accountable and provided some additional incentive to maintain my consistency.

Recently, as I am sure you have noticed, my posts have not been nearly as consistent. This inconsistency is the result of two factors. First, I have had some new opportunities arise in my life that required my attention, and I could not devote the time necessary to writing quality posts. Second, I realized that many of the posts were becoming more surface-level than I wanted them to be.

In the past few weeks, I have been considering modifying the format of this website. I am still committed to improving my writing, but whereas for the first two years the focus was quantity, I am now going to focus on quality. In order to focus on quality, I will not be posting on a regular schedule. Instead of writing short posts every Monday, I will be writing longer form essays. I expect that I will be publishing approximately one of these essays each month.

Now, even more than before, I would really appreciate feedback on my writing. One of the reasons that I am excited to begin writing these essays is to be able to explore nuanced topics that were too complex to properly analyze in a weekly blog post. The additional time will allow me to dig deeper into the topics that I am most interested in.

Thank you for your continued support and feedback! I am constantly amazed by how many of you choose to read my writing, and I am honored and very grateful for your attention. This announcement does not end the blog by any means. Instead, it is a pivot toward better content in my opinion, and I am so excited to be able to share more thoughts with you.

Surround yourself with quality people to improve your life. It really is that simple. I am convinced that the majority of the issues in my life could be solved if I connected with the right people.

There are two big steps that can help you connect with the people you need in your life:

1. Develop the habit of asking good questions

2. Be the type of person that people want to help

First, we need to develop the habit of asking, "Who can help me?" when we encounter problems rather than concluding, "I am stuck." There is no shame in asking questions, but giving up when someone could have helped you is nearly unforgivable. I guarantee that you will not reach your potential if you do not ask questions.

I am amazed at people's willingness to engage when I ask thoughtful questions. Even experts are often willing to share their knowledge if you take the time to ask a good question. The best questions are ones that prove you have done some legwork. Asking questions that take thirty seconds to look up reflect poorly on you. Instead, you should ask questions that build upon the foundational work you have already done.

Second, you need to be the type of person other people want to help. This starts with being a decent, respectful, genuine person. Common courtesy goes a long way. If you want to be in relationships with high character people, spend time building your character.

In order to do the great things you desire, you need to build the necessary character traits and learn from people who have been there before.

On Sunday, I did something that I had never done before. I cheered for Tom Brady. There were other reasons to root for Tampa Bay as well, including my appreciation for all Bruce Arians had done while coaching my hometown Cardinals. Yet, despite having other excuses for why I wanted Tampa Bay to win, I realized that I actually wanted Tom Brady to win.

I am not sure what exactly changed. I have rooted against him at just about every opportunity. I was always a Peyton Manning supporter when they were going head-to-head, and there was something about the Patriots that always got on my nerves (maybe the cheating).

Something changed, though, when he went to Tampa. It was a staggeringly bold move. Leaving the city in which he had won six championships to go play for a team lacking a winning pedigree was a huge risk. No one praises Jordan for his Washington years, Montana for his Kansas City stint, or any other once great athlete dragging his/her career out in a new city.

Brady, however, has been different. He went to Tampa Bay with the intention of proving everyone wrong and winning another Super Bowl. Not only did he have the passion and necessary work ethic, but he also made it happen. In my opinion, it is one of the greatest achievements in sports history.

I am consistently captivated by greatness. Whether it is in sports, business, academia, or pretty much anything else, I love watching greatness and cannot get enough of listening to great people talk about their craft. The way that Brady controlled the game was masterful, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I never thought that I would say it, but Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time, and I doubt that he will ever be caught. He has even won four Super Bowls after turning 37 years old, past the "prime" of his career. If that doesn't inspire you to do something big no matter what stage of life you're in, I don't know what will. Tom Brady is a model for us all in longevity, but more than that, he is an example of sustained greatness. Greatness takes sacrifices, hard work, and consistency. Brady has done it all.

I hope you were as inspired as I was by his performance. Take the inspiration and turn it into action.

P.S. I wouldn't bet against him winning another one if I were you

WallStreetBets, GameStop, and short squeezes were almost assuredly not topics of conversation in your Zoom meetings just three short weeks ago. Now, no one can stop talking about them. Which side are you on? Taking down the establishment? Or are you concerned about a new age of coordinated attacks by rogue bands of retail investors?

I have been following the story with amusement, amazement, and anguish.

I am amused by the WSB community and its crusade against the establishment. The stories, memes, and even sea shanties (yes, bizarre, I know) have been fun to follow. We have certainly started 2021 off with a bang.

I am amazed by the commitment to the trade on both sides. Many people both short and long have stuck with their gut and had the conviction, arrogance, and perhaps short-sightedness to maintain their positions. This has become something more than a simple trade or investment. It is personal and political for many people.

Finally, I am in anguish watching the whole thing play out. It troubles me on two levels. First, there is only one conclusion to this story. At some point (don't ask me when) GME will come tumbling down. Over the long run, stock prices reflect the fundamentals underlying the business. That is not to say that GameStop is necessarily a bad business. For example, what would you say if I offered you an In-N-Out burger for $30? Likely you would reject it because my price was way too high, but that would not necessarily mean that you thought it was a bad burger. Even if GameStop is a good business, there is no question that it is overvalued. This price inefficiency means that many people with get-rich-quick dreams will be left holding the bag as the GameStop loses 90%+ of its peak value.

The Wrong Stories are Being Told

The second and possibly even more troubling aspect of this story is the fact that it is a story. The story as portrayed through the mainstream media has captured the imagination of the country. It is an easy story to sell: join a community, put in a few thousand dollars, depart as a triumphant millionaire. To further juice the story, it is a fight against the Wall Street Establishment. This short squeeze has become a movement where the average American can push back against "the suits" in an arguably more effective manner than the "Occupy Wall Street" movement. Melvin Capital, the major short-seller in the crosshairs, reportedly lost 53% of the value of its fund in January alone, a devastating blow.

Financial stories that go mainstream almost always have one of two factors. It is either a "get-rich-quick" story (a la the 2017 cryptocurrency craze), or it is a story about how the markets are rigged (2007/2008 financial crisis). With GameStop, the WallStreetBets community, and the decisions made by many financial institutions, the story is a menacing blend of both.

It upsets me that much of the world only sees the stories of get-rich-quick schemes and institutional financial malfeasance. Investing and the stock market can (and should) be for everyone, but the stories that are told influence people into believing that the financial markets are nothing more than a glorified casino.

I love the stock market, and I love that we live in a society where individuals can now invest in the best companies in the world commission-free with any amount of money. It boggles my mind that I can become a part-owner in companies like Apple, Disney, Square, Fiverr, and so many others that are changing the world. With my limited resources, I can purchase shares and lay claim to the future earnings of innovative companies.

We need to tell more stories of the sustainable wealth creation that is possible through the stock market. Since its inception, the S&P 500 (a collection of the 500 largest companies in the US) has returned around 10% annually. To many people outside of finance, that might not seem like much, but let me give you an example.

If you were able to invest the Roth IRA limit of $6,500 annually for 30 years and earn a 10% return, you would be a millionaire. That's less than $200,000 invested cumulatively during that period turning into over $1,000,000. That's life altering, especially considering its only $250 out of each biweekly paycheck.

More people need to hear these types of stories. Share your story of long-term success in investing. People do not need to hear more about the crazy, speculative position that happened to pay off. They need to see the sustainable roadmap to success. If you have a story of financial freedom, tell it so people can hear it. We have a responsibility to defend the honor of the capital markets and share the power of investing with the world. Will you stand with me?

I recently moved to Flagstaff, Arizona. It is a short-term move as I will only be here until May, but I am looking to make the most of my time in the snow. Being from Phoenix and attending college in Los Angeles, I have never experienced a "harsh" winter. Many of you would probably argue that Flagstaff will not be a "harsh" winter either, but let me assure you, it will be plenty cold for me.

In part due to the prompting of a friend, I have decided to learn to ski while living in Flagstaff. My first day on the hill had a fairly standard start. I stood in line, struggled to fit into the rental skis, waited anxiously for my lesson to begin, and learned the basics from an almost-too-friendly ski instructor.

I spent the rest of the day falling...and falling...and falling. I was thankful for neutral-colored clothing because there is no doubt in my mind that I was the worst skier on the mountain that day, and I was not particularly interested in being identified as such.

As I left the hill, I wondered if I would ever be able to even make it down the smallest slope. I doubted that I had what it took to be a skier. For the next few days before I had another chance to go, I was dreading getting back to the slope, but I knew I had to give it another shot.

As soon as I stepped into my skis on day two, I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. Despite every bone in my body telling me otherwise, I started sliding down the hill. Between a few tumbles, wedge turns, and a lot of patience, I slowly made my way down. I had some hope of success. By the end of the day, I had figured out how to navigate that small hill without falling. I was not proficient by any means, but skiing began to feel a bit more natural.

Now, a few weeks later, I am still making slow progress, but I look forward to the days that I get to ski. Hopefully, I will continue to improve throughout the next few months.

I realized these last couple of weeks how important it is to do things that I am bad at. Too often, we get stuck doing the same things and never try anything new. I am convinced that trying things that I am bad at is one of the best uses of my time. It helps me in three ways:

1. Staying courageous

   • Doing things that we are bad at reminds us that it is not the end of the world to be bad at things

   • Sometimes we get so scared of failure that we forget that we can overcome failure

   • Aristotle writes that reading/watching tragedies helps to cleanse us of fear. In a similar way, I believe failing helps to cleanse us of the fear of failure

2. Learning how to learn

   • When we try things we are bad at, we have to learn in order to get better

   • Many of the skills in our lives can be learned using similar patterns

   • In my opinion, the best skill you can learn is "how to learn"

   • Building skills from the ground up forces us to understand how we learn most effectively

3. Adding new skills, hobbies, and knowledge

   • An obvious benefit is that new skills, hobbies, and knowledge improve our lives

   • Whether it is a new concept, a potential life-long hobby, or a practical skill for your career, learning some new is life-giving and life-improving

I am not sure whether skiing will be part of my life years from now, but I have no doubt that learning how to ski will benefit me for the rest of my life. It is difficult, fun, and teaching me to persevere. I hope you have a great rest of your week and take on a new challenge. Trust me, it will be good for you!

It is cliché to say it now, but, wow, 2020 was a crazy year. For me, it became a year of focusing on what's most important, being creative despite and because of constraints, and growing in ways that I would have never imagined.

In a strange way, I found that 2020 made me much more aware of the incredible people in my life. I feel blessed in many ways, but there is no doubt in my mind that the best blessing in my life has been the people. Jim Collins refers to it as "who luck." I am indebted by the kindness of others.

I had no control in meeting some of the people that have impacted my life, most notably my family. I have realized, however, that my decisions led to meeting a few of the most important people in my life.

Here are a few strategies that have helped me create my own "who luck:"

• Say yes to the first meeting and follow-up

  • If someone is offering to grab lunch or coffee with you, take the opportunity.

  • You never know when you might meet someone who can mentor you, partner with you, or provide you with new opportunities. You might even find a new friend.

  • Not everyone you meet will be someone you want to continue spending time around, but the best way to gauge your interest is by taking that first meeting.

  • Be sure to follow-up, particularly if you are interested in continuing the relationship. Even if you thought you had a great conversation, the other person might not realize it without your follow-up. Do not leave any doubt in their mind about whether you value the relationship.

• Be gracious

  • This should be self-explanatory, but if someone is taking time out of their day to meet with you, make sure you treat them with respect and gratitude.

  • Expressing gratitude for their time and expertise reflects well on you and shows your maturity. It proves that you are not entirely self-obsessed.

• Be helpful

  • To take the last point even further, if you find a way to be helpful to them, you provide more proof that you value the relationship and are not solely focused on yourself.

  • This can be little things. You do not need to make grand gestures or find ways to place yourself in the middle of their life. You can, however, offer small favors.

  • These small deeds mean a lot more than it might first seem. They also build the relationship and lay the groundwork for future opportunities.

• Determine the right frequency

  • Many of the people who you will most want to be a part of your life will be busy.

  • If you value their time, it is highly likely that others are interested in their time as well.

  • Every relationship is different, but you must learn to determine how often to communicate. In the case of your significant other, for instance, you should be communicating every day, likely more frequently than that. For a career or life mentor, though, it will likely be weeks or even months between conversations.

  • This is one of the hardest parts of building and maintaining important relationships. You must learn to communicate enough that you continue to grow the relationship but not reach out so often that you become a burden. Like I said, each relationship is different so early on one of your chief aims should be to find the right frequency.

I hope these ideas are helpful for you in this new year. Building relationships and community with amazing people is the best way to improve your life. Take control of your life by spending more of it with people that inspire you. It has had a tremendous impact on my life, and I am confident that it will on yours as well.

There are thirty-one days in December. How many do you typically spend rushing around and getting stressed out? 'Tis the season for busy malls, angry drivers, and endless social engagements. This December, like so many other things in 2020, is shaping up to be much different.

Although it is not the December that any of us wished for, it may be the December that we needed. Take this opportunity for peace and enjoy it. This December will not be marked by the typical hustle and bustle. Instead of finding ways to poorly recreate the typical activities, find new things to do this holiday season that revive, rejuvenate, and refresh you.

I have already decided to place an emphasis on a few things that I do far too infrequently. This December, I want to read more, walk my dog more, and cook more. 

It is pretty simple stuff. I am not burdening myself with grand goals or new opportunities. Honestly, I have a lot on my plate right now, and I imagine that you do too. Because of that, it is particularly important to find things that refresh you. 

This has been a weird year in so many ways, and I suspect that you have been stretched. With one month left in 2020, take some time to focus on yourself. Do not hear me wrong, though. I am not suggesting that you give up on your goals or completely shirk your responsibilities. Rather, determine how you can best support yourself in order to achieve all that you imagined.

Happy Thanksgiving week! I hope your week is full of delicious food, fall colors, competitive football, and gratitude.

I have always enjoyed Thanksgiving. The week generally consisted of family coming into town, making rolls with my grandma, sneaking as many pieces of peanut butter fudge as I could, and enjoying the feeling of post-meal contentment as I reclined on the couch to watch the last football game.

Although this Thanksgiving will be very different for most people, I hope that you can find that contentment and consider all of the things in your life to be grateful for. I have found that the tougher life becomes, the more important it is to express gratitude.

Gratitude sparks growth. When life is hard, remembering the things you are grateful for encourages you to keep pushing and striving for your hopes and dreams. It reminds you that life is not all about the struggles, failures, and trials. Even in the midst of dark days, gratitude shines through.

Gratitude also sparks growth in others. Don't be greedy with your compliments this holiday season. Perhaps now more than ever, people need to hear how grateful you are to know them. Let them hear it and, if you can, share specific examples of why you are grateful for them. I am confident that your expression of gratitude will encourage them and cause them to have an even bigger impact on your life and the lives of those around them. Start a virtuous cycle by being bold and expressing your gratitude. 

I am grateful for all of you. Thank you for your support and kind words over the past year and a half as I have been writing this blog. I am honored that you take the time to read my writing and assist me in working toward my goals. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Did anyone else enjoy watching The Masters like I did this weekend? Every time I watch major golf tournaments, I am struck by the nerves of steel that the best golfers possess.

What is running through their minds as they stand over the ball while what seems like the entire world watches? Within seconds, they will strike the ball and have no one to blame but themselves for the ensuing ball flight.

To cope with this pressure, many world-class golfers attempt to narrow their focus to a single thought. These are referred to as "swing thoughts." Here are a few examples:

• Stay over the ball

• Swing through

• Keep my hands below my ear

• Swing a foot in front

These may seem like an odd collection of thoughts given the complexity of a golf swing. Clearly, there are a lot of mechanics that golfers must practice in order to hit pure shots, but they have found it useful to boil it all down to a singular thought when they are performing. I think we can learn something from this.

What is your swing thought? I find that many of the patterns in my day repeat themselves frequently. I check my email, make calls, do some writing, and work on a project. There are a wide range of skills required to effectively complete all of these tasks. Especially when they relate to a variety of interests in my life, there does not appear to be an obvious thread connecting the tasks.

That being said, the golfer's mentality might be useful. This is still a theory, but I have begun trying to apply swing thoughts to these patterns. For instance, I sometimes focus on the thought, "Be encouraging." 

This might seem like it is much too broad and has little application to some of the tasks that I am working on, but that is also true of many swing thoughts that golfers focus on. There is a magic to focusing on one thought. I am not sure whether it is because our minds struggle to deal with complexity, the thought becomes familiar to us, it clears our minds, some combination of all them, or something entirely different.

Whatever the reason, it works. Try it out this week and let me know what you think. I am still experimenting with it, and I cannot decide if it is poorly developed self-help advice or a useful insight. 

I have one last request to make. A friend and I are working on a new project that I am hoping to share with you within the next couple months. As we develop the product, we are seeking input from potential users. We have a 5-minute survey linked below that I would be very grateful if you took. Thanks!

https://forms.gle/Byfg3qvtDBcfGyWA9

Whenever I spend a whole day without learning something new about the world, I feel empty. 

At the same time, if I do not spend time thinking deeply about something, I also feel empty. 

This is a duality that I suspect a lot of people struggle to satisfy in their lives. It is a classic breadth vs. depth issue. How do I satisfy my desire to know? Do I fill my head with as many different things as I can, or do I spend time dwelling on one thing?

I do not have a perfect answer to this question, and I am not sure that there is one. My inclination, however, is to err on the side of depth. I say this despite being a huge proponent of constantly expanding horizons and desiring to be a renaissance man. Let me explain.

There is a danger in letting ourselves be bombarded by constant information. This is cleverly disguised by podcasts, Twitter, and the media to give us the impression that we are becoming well-rounded. There is no doubt that those can be great resources, but it is a fallacy to believe that the more information you take in, the more well-rounded you become. Without leaving time to think about the topics, you will never develop the depth to hold any of these thoughts yourself. You are reduced to a mirror, reflecting the views and knowledge of others when you do not do the hard work of thinking yourself. I wrote a post earlier this year on the topic of podcasts and thinking that you can find here.

It is a delicate balance to seek out enough variety in one's life to adequately stretch the mind while also digging deep enough to adequately exercise the mind. One practical step that I have found in my life is to focus on one theme each day. If I try to cram a lot of new topics into one day, it does not go well. I do not enjoy bouncing from topic to topic without any connective thread. I have found, however, that focusing on a single issue can also become tedious and at times counter-productive. Thus, on my best days, I focus on one theme or topic and try to dive into as many facets of it as I can. There is a connective thread that allows me to continue diving deeper into an issue and adding complexity, nuance, and particularities to my understanding. 

I am not convinced that this strategy will necessarily work for everyone, but I do know that your life will be better if you develop a strategy to deal with the breadth vs. depth issue. Take time to analyze how you think, what satisfies you, and what leads you to breakthroughs. 

The unexamined life is not worth living - Socrates

Look for the bare necessities The simple bare necessities Forget about your worries and your strife I mean the bare necessities Old Mother Nature's recipes That brings the bare necessities of life

Now that I have likely gotten the song stuck in your head for the rest of the day, take a moment to think about it. 

What are your bare necessities? 

Especially in the current environment, there are a lot of worries and strife, but, even now, we can learn something from Mowgli and Baloo. Stripped of the life he once knew and unsure of his future, Mowgli still finds joy in a simple song and dance with Baloo.

Baloo's carefree spirit can get the better of him, but in this moment, it is just what Mowgli needs. 

What are you thankful for today?

Even at the low points in my life, there has been so much to be thankful for. Life is not easy. Tragedy does occur. But through it all, we can still find Mother Nature's recipes and enjoy the bare necessities of life. 

The bare necessities sustain us. In the worst of times, the bare necessities give us strength to continue and prepare us for the adventures that life brings. Just as Mowgli discovers, one day we all will have to be the hero of our story. Enjoy the bare necessities of life and ready yourself for that day!

The bare necessities of life will come to you They'll come to you!

As I was thinking about what to write this week, this idea of encouragement kept rising to the top of my mind. Last October I shared a post entitled, "Be an Encourager," and it remains as important to me today as it was then. I am going to share the post below, but before I do, I will write a quick thought.

Encouragement does not take a lot of work, but it makes a big impact. People care what you think of them and whether you think they can succeed. Encouragement done right is not false hope. It is an affirmation of a person's worth and direction. 

Be an Encourager

You can be an encourager today. It is easy to go throughout your day and think only of yourself and your own issues. Step outside your comfort zone. Ask someone about their projects, aspirations, or current hurdles and speak words of encouragement to them.

Everyone needs an encourager. Be there not as a blind optimist but as an informed advocate. Show people that you are there for them.

A kind word can turn around someone’s day. Remember that and know the power that your words can have in shaping the trajectory of a person’s day. 

Especially in situations where you are in a leadership role, you must remember the impact of your words. Your team members are listening to everything you say. Thus, you must treat everything you say as potentially character forming for your team members. Do you want to be leading them towards positive attitude and growth or towards dissatisfaction and defeatism?

Find a way to be an encourager today in order to contribute to building someone’s arc of success.

You should start today. 

I do not have much to add to that. It is simple advice that I constantly need to hear.

There may be hurdles in front of you. You may want to spend time preparing. That is fine. Start preparing today. 

Taking steps into the unknown is hard. There are challenges both planned for and unexpected. Embarking on a new adventure is never easy. Embrace the turmoil knowing that each successive step builds momentum. Soon, you will look back in awe of how far you have come. 

Just start today. You can do it. I can do it. We all can do it. Even just one step in the right direction today can change your life. 

Be bold. Confront reality as it is. Dream of the reality you wish to create. Promise yourself that you will take at least one step toward new beginnings. 

I have become convinced that finding people you can trust ought to be one of your chief aims in life.

Without people you can trust, life becomes difficult. It is hard to make big decisions entirely on your own. I am not advocating for you to abdicate responsibility over your own life, but I am suggesting that input from others can help you to be successful.

It can be a long process to find people you can trust. You might find that you can trust this particular person in this situation, but that you need someone else in a different type of situation. 

When finding people you can trust, you need to be thinking about trust on three levels. 

1. Trust that they want what is best for you

For the people that you are willing to learn from and listen to, you want to ensure that they are actually interested in helping you.

2. Trust that they will speak truth to you

This is closely related to the first point, but it is worth pointing out. Do not fall for the temptation of trusting people who solely tell you the things that you want to hear. If they never correct you when you need to be corrected, they are not doing what is best for you.

3. Trust that they know what they are talking about

It probably would not be wise to learn time-management habits from someone who is habitually late. It is possible that they could have some good insights, but you would need to examine them closely. When trusting someone's advice, it is generally better to work with someone who has a track record. You could even build a track record with the person. For instance, you might ask for advice for a small issue and see how it works out. If the results are positive, you can begin trusting them more and more.

Final Thoughts

Trust can be hard. Often, I think that we get caught up in trying to find one or two people that we can trust with everything in our life. It is a worthy goal, but do not pressure yourself to find the perfect people right away. Trust takes time to build. Start today. It is amazing what can happen in a few months and years.

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I have a love-hate relationship with core values. They fuel dynamic organizations when used effectively, but they are nothing more than mediocre corporate wall art when used poorly.

Today, I am not going to go into what distinguishes the great core values. Instead, I am going to share my core values.

I have debated for months whether to do this post. In some ways, it seems rather silly to share my personal core values. After a lot of thought, I have decided to share them for two reasons. First, by writing them down, it helps me to understand what drives me and will continue to craft me into the man I wish to become. Second, by posting them publicly, I hope to be held to this high standard by friends and strangers alike. Take this as permission to call me out if I am not living up to one of these core values.

Core Values

Integrity

I strive to be the type of person that you can count on. I take pride in following through on promises and delivering results on time.

Another aspect of integrity that I hope to embody is being a steady person. I do not want people guessing what they are going to be getting when they interact with me. As Aristotle puts it, a virtuous person's actions "proceed from a firm and unchangeable character."

Generosity

Generosity should define me. I want to be generous with my time, money, and encouragement. Generosity may be the single most important trait in building community and personal growth.

There are a lot of people doing incredible things in this world. Sometimes, they do not receive the praise or support they deserve. I want to have an uplifting impact on people's lives and give them the encouragement that they need. Whether through listening, giving advice, sharing experience, or collaborating together, I want to actively support the people I come in contact with, leaving them knowing that I have their back.

Creativity

I cannot imagine a life devoid of creativity. We have been designed to be creative. Knowing this, I want to have a creator's mindset in everything that I do.

Creators seek to build, optimize, and amaze. I want to take ownership of the things I am involved in. I want them to reflect my best effort. As is natural, some things will receive more time than others, but that does not mean I ought to be any less creative when given less time.

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Today, I am excited to introduce you to Optimist Investing, my free investing newsletter. As many of you know, I spent the summer working on the investing team at The Motley Fool. While I was there, I began to get more active on Twitter and began exchanging investing ideas with many of the bright minds I found in the FinTwit community.

A couple weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to have a better medium than Twitter for sharing investing thoughts. I had seen people using a site called Substack to run newsletters, and I decided to launch my own. 

Arguably, there are already too many similar newsletters out there. I don't pretend to be some stock market genius with super complex insights. That being said, people seemed interested in the work I was doing, and I wanted to find a way to share my thoughts in an effective way for both me and the audience.

Honestly, I have been blown away by the response. Less than 2 weeks after launch, I already have 97 subscribers. I am honored and thankful for the support. 

I don't know exactly what the future holds for Optimist Investing. I am testing it out and trying to share content that is both worthwhile and fun. Currently, I am running an NCAA style tournament christened MultiBagger Madness to crown one stock: "FinTwit Champion." 

I plan to continue writing about leadership, teamwork, philosophy, reading, productivity, and doing interviews on Ian Gray Live. If you are interested in my investing content, check out Optimist Investing. You'll notice that I have also added it as a menu item on Ian Gray Live.

Below is an excerpt of my Inaugural Letter to Investors. Click this link to read it in its entirety.

"...If we are to be investors, I propose that we should be optimist investors. For years, we have been taught to be wary of optimists. This is not all-together bad advice. As my dad often warned me, there are many people in this world who want you to wear rose-colored glasses when buying what they are selling. Whatever you do, you must not let greed overpower your senses, intellect, and instincts. I do not find that this precludes you from an optimist, however.

One of the things that I love about investing is the magic of the 'what if?' It is amazing to think what some of the companies I am investigating today could become in five, ten, or twenty-plus years. Stories of great businesses inspire me. I feel lucky to have the opportunity to invest in some of the greatest organizations in the history of the world, and I am inspired by big potential..."

Thank you for all of the support over the past year and a half as I have been writing this blog. Your advice and encouragement have helped me to develop the confidence to try new things, set meaningful goals, and chase big dreams. I am forever grateful.

If you have any feedback for how I could better run Ian Gray Live or Optimist Investing, please let me know. I am always trying to optimize, fine-tune, and deliver content in the best way possible. Actionable criticism is probably the best gift anyone could give me. 

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This week, I am starting my junior year at Loyola Marymount University. I have completed two years, and I have two years left to go. I am passing the halfway mark.

Milestones are important to me. It's not because the milestones themselves hold some vague significance. Rather, they provide a reminder to reflect on the past and dream about the future.

Often, I find that I get caught in the day-to-day grind. I forget how far I have come and how amazing the future can be. 

What are some of your successes from the past two years? What are some of your failures? I am sure that there are aspects of your life that you would have never seen coming even just two years ago.

I would never have imagined that I would be writing a weekly blog, would have interned at The Motley Fool, and that I would still have so many half-finished books on my bookshelf.

In the moment, we often forget how long the journey is. Looking back we can remember the hurdles that we overcame and the people that helped us along the way.

It is encouraging to me when I look at the challenges in front of me, to remember the hard-fought triumphs of years past. Past results do not guarantee future success, but, man, do they make it easier to envision.

Reflecting on the past is also humbling. Looking back over the past few years, it is undeniable that any success that I have had is largely attributable to the great men and women who have been kind enough to touch my life. No great journey is made entirely on one's own. Reflecting helps us to remember that we should not take all of the credit on past journeys, and that we ought not fear making future journeys on our own.

In high school, I enjoyed running the 400-meter, at least as much as anyone can enjoy it. My strategy was simple. I would get up to speed and stay near the leaders for the first half. Then, I would give it everything that I had left as we started on the back half. Sometimes this resulted in a win. Other times I would not have enough race left to catch the leader. But one thing was always true. It felt so good to run holding nothing back. This is my dream for the last two years of college.

I want to run with no fear, chase after dreams with no hesitation, and savor the experience, even as it flies by. 

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Occasionally, I like to share things my dad wrote years ago. Today is one of those days. He wrote this post back in 2011, and I think it is just as applicable today as it was then. I hope you enjoy!

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In the summer of 2019, Monty Williams was hired to become the head coach of the Phoenix Suns. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big Suns fan, but it has not always been the easiest team to root for. The Suns last made the playoffs in 2010, and that magical playoff run came to a heartbreaking end that still haunts me to this day (thanks Ron Artest).

Since he was hired, Monty has been preaching a consistent message, "Everything we want is on the other side of hard." This was not an overly dramatic statement given the situation he was entering: A 10-year playoff drought looming, disgruntled players exiting nearly every year, and a once proud franchise that had become the punchline for far too many NBA jokes.

His message has been focused. It will not be an easy journey to the top. Everything must be earned with steadfast commitment. The Suns have never won a championship in over 50 years as an NBA franchise. Sometimes it seems like cosmic forces are working against the Suns. Nevertheless, Monty is not intimidated. The gravitational pull of recent Suns failure is strong, but Monty's steady voice instills hope in the future.

Monty has not lived an easy life: Divorced parents, a tough neighborhood, a heart condition that caused him to miss two years of basketball at Notre Dame. Despite this, he was still drafted in the first round of the 1994 NBA draft, albeit lower than a player of his caliber would be expected to go. His career was cut short by chronic knee problems, but he quickly found his way into coaching.

In 2016, Monty's wife, Ingrid, was killed in a car accident by an intoxicated driver. I cannot to begin to imagine what that must have been like. His remarks at his wife's memorial service were some of the most gut-wrenching, yet inspiring words that I have ever heard.

He speaks frequently about how he does not want to be defined by the hardship in his life, and I respect that greatly. It is clear, however, from his experiences that he knows how to handle tough circumstances and continue to be all that he can be.

The Bubble

These past three weeks the Suns have been in the Bubble in Orlando, Florida. They were invited to be part of the NBA restart but were not expected to do much. They trailed the last playoff spot by six games with eight to play.

Some national news outlets were suggesting that the Suns might go 0-8. Others were "unintentionally" leaving the Suns off of graphics or predicting their odds of making the playoffs to be less than 1%.

Only in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the Suns would fight for a playoff spot, and even in those, an undefeated record seemed impossible. What the Suns accomplished was incredible.

It started with a routine win over a mediocre team, but it quickly heated up with close games, epic buzzer beaters, and poster dunks.

When the dust settled, the Suns were the only undefeated team in the Bubble. They had defied the odds, and earned the respect of the league. Even after all of that, they still needed some help. On Thursday evening, the Suns needed Brooklyn to beat Portland to have a chance at the playoffs. The game came down to a last-second Brooklyn shot that narrowly missed, sending the Suns back to Phoenix.

I have not been more proud to be a Suns fan in a long time. Monty won Coach of the Bubble and Devin Booker was named to the All-Bubble 1st team. I am hopeful that this is the start of something beautiful and incredible for Phoenix Suns basketball. I will be anxiously waiting the start of the next season with dreams of playoff basketball.

After winning the eighth game, Monty shared a heart-felt speech with his players. His leadership and commitment to the team are undeniable.

I don't want to make too much of a sporting event, but I was inspired by the Bubble Suns.

In a world that has been rocked by a global pandemic, the Suns dug deep and found a way to win eight straight games.

Everything we want is on the other side of hard. We have never been guaranteed lives free from personal or professional trials. Many live today with broken hearts and many more will experience tragedy in the future, but we must never give up. Challenges can be overcome. Lives can be changed. New histories can be written. Never forget that difficulty is not a signal to quit. Everything we want is on the other side of hard.