“We live on 1/4 of what we eat, our physician, the other 3/4” —Egyptian proverb
Rick responded to one of my many recent posts on diet with his inspiring journey transforming his diet and his health. As part of that, he shared this quote and the idea that health is not defined as “not getting sick,” but “the ability to fight.”
It all resonated. Thanks Rick!
“It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?” | Christoper Gardiner, The Pursuit of Happyness
It isn’t just the pursuit of happiness. I think happiness lies in the pursuit.
I am clearly stuck on reflecting about stars and the night sky. Here’s a nice summary about today’s sky from Perplexity that never ceases to amaze me –
The night sky we observe today is a glimpse into the past, as the light from celestial objects takes time to reach us. For example, the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, is about 4.37 light-years away, meaning we see it as it was over four years ago. The stars and galaxies visible tonight are at varying distances, with some light taking millions or even billions of years to reach Earth. Thus, the night sky is a tapestry of different ages, reflecting the vast distances and timescales of the universe.
The idea that we’re looking up at a sky from 4 years ago is both mind blowing and almost hard to comprehend.
A simple look up at the night sky unveils so many layers of wonder.
We’ve been taking a walk after dinner of late.
We’ve been noticing the stars more as a result, and realized it has been many years since we’ve noticed stars.
That sounds crazy. But we just didn’t step out most nights. And, even if we did, we didn’t look up to appreciate the gorgeous night sky.
It made me think of the many wonderful things around me that I take for granted.
All we need is to make space for us to look around… and notice.
“Innovation happens not within but between brains.” | Matt Ridley, How Innovation Works
Matt Ridley’s thorough analysis of innovations in over multiple millennia make it clear that the “great man” theory is one we’ve created out of convenience and due (more recently) to intellectual property law.
Innovation has consistently arrived because of humans who chose to build on the work of their rivals and predecessors and combine existing ideas in interesting ways.
Not within but between brains.
There’s something about the term “deliberate practice” that feels… boring. Steph Curry’s coach has a saying “There’s no boring in our workouts.”
His approach is to replace drills with all sorts of games. For example, they might play a game where Steph is not allowed to make a particular move or where he has to play 1 vs. 3. There could also be games along the lines of 2 minutes for 21 points and you have to sprint to the center of the court each time.
His view is that deliberate practice can lead to burnouts or “bore-outs.” Ergo deliberate play.
It resonated.
H/T: Adam Grant’s Hidden Potential
I asked someone for something the other day. They said (with a lot of confidence) – “No, we don’t have that anywhere close by.”
I walked a bit further and found what I was looking for.
The truth is that I’ve done the same on occasion in the past. I’ve said a no just because it was easier. Laziness is a powerful motivator.
Two reflections.
First, it is important to reflect on whether we’re saying a no with confidence to someone simply because we don’t want to do the work. Rather than dissuade them, we should choose honesty – “I don’t know” is a far better answer.
Second, don’t take every “no” we get too seriously. Trust but verify.
Below is a chart about how couples meet in the US. It is always fascinating to see a chart like this. It is wild to think that one in three couples used to meet each other through friends. Now, it is less than 1 in 10.
Similarly, 1 in 5 couples used to meet at a bar. That’s dipped closer to 1 in 20. 1 in 4 met through family. That’s also closer to 1 in 20.
It made me wonder about the breadth and depth of our relationships.
It also made me wonder about the ripple effects of this. For example, below is an excerpt from a paper about the impact of assortative mating and income inequality.
“We find that the observed increase in assortativeness accounts for approximately half of the increase in household income inequality between 1980 and 2020,” a paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis states. “The most important factors contributing to household income inequality through mate selection are selection on education (35%) and skill (30%), with selection on income (15%) and age (15%) trailing significantly, while selection by race (5%) plays a relatively inconsequential role.” (ref)
There are many such unknowns that I’m sure will be studied in time. The impacts, as always, with big societal changes, will be far reaching.
Actor Matt Damon had a great story of the vacation he promised his wife after a series of movies.
Except they had to cancel their long-planned vacation because Chrisopher Nolan called to offer him a role in Oppenheimer. In Damon’s words –
“I had — not to get too personal — negotiated extensively with my wife that I was taking time off. I had been in Interstellar, and then Chris put me on ice for a couple of movies, so I wasn’t in the rotation, but I actually negotiated in couples therapy — this is a true story — the one caveat to my taking time off was if Chris Nolan called. This is without knowing whether or not he was working on anything, because he never tells you. He just calls you out of the blue. And so, it was a moment in my household.”
He had an agreement with his wife that he’d hold the vacation sacred. The only exception was to answer a Christopher Nolan call.
His other colleagues agreed. The Nolan call was always special.
I thought it was such a lovely testament to Nolan’s leadership and impact on his team.
Inspirational.
I spent many years in awe of Roger Federer’s artistry and Rafael Nadal’s grit. As a Roger Federer fan, I used to hate Roger-Rafa games. He had a way of making Roger, even in his prime, seem human.
He did so with the kind of tenacity that I thought made him the greatest sporting role model I know.
Seeing Roger’s note to Rafa on his retirement brought all those memories and emotions back. As is the case with any exchange between these two, it oozed class. (H/T: Dan’s blog for sharing)
As you get ready to graduate from tennis, I’ve got a few things to share before I maybe get emotional.
Let’s start with the obvious: you beat me—a lot. More than I managed to beat you. You challenged me in ways no one else could. On clay, it felt like I was stepping into your backyard, and you made me work harder than I ever thought I could just to hold my ground. You made me reimagine my game—even going so far as to change the size of my racquet head, hoping for any edge.
I’m not a very superstitious person, but you took it to the next level. Your whole process. All those rituals. Assembling your water bottles like toy soldiers in formation, fixing your hair, adjusting your underwear… All of it with the highest intensity. Secretly, I kind of loved the whole thing. Because it was so unique—it was so you.
And you know what, Rafa, you made me enjoy the game even more.
OK, maybe not at first. After the 2004 Australian Open, I achieved the #1 ranking for the first time. I thought I was on top of the world. And I was—until two months later, when you walked on the court in Miami in your red sleeveless shirt, showing off those biceps, and you beat me convincingly. All that buzz I’d been hearing about you—about this amazing young player from Mallorca, a generational talent, probably going to win a major someday—it wasn’t just hype.
We were both at the start of our journey and it’s one we ended up taking together. Twenty years later, Rafa, I have to say: What an incredible run you’ve had. Including 14 French Opens—historic! You made Spain proud… you made the whole tennis world proud.
I keep thinking about the memories we’ve shared. Promoting the sport together. Playing that match on half-grass, half-clay. Breaking the all-time attendance record by playing in front of more than 50,000 fans in Cape Town, South Africa. Always cracking each other up. Wearing each other out on the court and then, sometimes, almost literally having to hold each other up during trophy ceremonies.
I’m still grateful you invited me to Mallorca to help launch the Rafa Nadal Academy in 2016. Actually, I kind of invited myself. I knew you were too polite to insist on me being there, but I didn’t want to miss it. You have always been a role model for kids around the world, and Mirka and I are so glad that our children have all trained at your academies. They had a blast and learned so much—like thousands of other young players. Although I always worried my kids would come home playing tennis as lefties.
And then there was London—the Laver Cup in 2022. My final match. It meant everything to me that you were there by my side—not as my rival but as my doubles partner. Sharing the court with you that night, and sharing those tears, will forever be one of the most special moments of my career.
Rafa, I know you’re focused on the last stretch of your epic career. We will talk when it’s done. For now, I just want to congratulate your family and team, who all played a massive role in your success. And I want you to know that your old friend is always cheering for you, and will be cheering just as loud for everything you do next.
Rafa that!
Best always, your fan,
Roger
A Learning a Day 