​With the Olympics kicking off tonight, I always look forward to watching track & field.

The sport was my first love when my parents let me join a track club when I was 8. At that time, the youngest division for races was 9-10 years old, so I'd go to these track meets and get smoked. I'd get smoked at practice too because all the other kids were much older than me. In hindsight, I was blessed to be training with some incredible athletes, but they were just the "big kids" then. (For context, one became a Division One decathlete and eventual doctor, another played in the NFL and is now the offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers, and another would actually win a track gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens). 

Scottie Scheffler won the 2024 Master's on Sunday, shooting a total score of -11 and beating second place, Ludvig Aberg, by four strokes. 

While I don't watch a ton of golf, watching Sunday's final round at the Masters is something I really enjoy. For one, the course is absolutely beautiful and one of a kind in my eyes. Two, I love the fact that a single event brings the best players in the game, regardless of country or age, to a single tournament. Finally, the pressure to play your absolute best is front and center. Even the best in the world feel it, and you see golfers either rise or fall on the leaderboard in a single round.  

Teams from the youth level all the way to the professional ranks are reading books together. Business teams are reading books together. Church groups: reading together. 

While I love to read alone, there's a certain energy that comes with a book discussion. You and I may read the same chapter and have completely different thoughts or reactions. 

Reading in itself produces ideas, but just imagine the magnitude of ideas that come from a product group book discussion. 

Today, I'm going to recommend several books to read as a team. I'm going to steer clear of sport-specific books so that this list is applicable to a wider audience. 

There's nothing better than wrapping up a successful week and having something fun to look forward to on the weekend. The only problem is that eventually the weekend ends, Monday begins, and we're back to the grind. 

In today's article, I'm going to share some of my favorite Monday Motivation techniques. I'll vary the mediums so that no matter what your preferences are, there will be something for you. I'm also going to vary the strategies because not everyone appreciates being talked at. By the end, there will be something that catches your eye. It will then be up to you to implement it. 

Several months ago, I wrote an article that outlined some of the best sports speeches that I had ever heard. The article was multi-purpose: I wanted to get people fired up but also hoped that players, parents, and coaches alike could learn from each one. 

In the months since, I've gotten a lot of requests for speech texts, as in "that speech was great, but do you have a copy of it that I can print out?" 

​Cameron Hanes is a well-known American athlete, podcaster, influencer, bowhunter, and brand owner.  Born on October 22, 1967, in Oregon, Cam still lives there and works for the Springfield Utility Board. So how does a small-town guy become this larger than life motivational icon? In today's article, we aimed to find out. 

Originally published on January 4, 2022, on Medium.com.

Have you ever gotten into a book, so much so, that when you look at the clock, three hours have passed, and it’s well past your bedtime? Last week, I finished Jon Krakauer’s Where Men Win Glory. The story details the life of Pat Tillman, the former NFL star turned Army Ranger, who gave his life during the war in Afghanistan. Pat Tillman was a guy that you had to love: confident, hard-working, committed, and determined to serve others, even at the expense of his closest loved ones. He possessed a unique belief system, rooted in both challenging himself (he ran a marathon during an NFL offseason) and serving the greater good (leaving a multimillion dollar contract with the Arizona Cardinals to join a bunch of 19-year-old kids at Fort Benning).

Mental toughness is a crucial trait for runners to develop as it helps them stay focused and motivated, especially when they encounter physical or mental challenges. Have you ever been cruising along on a run, when all of a sudden negative thoughts cause you to breathe harder, slow down, and sometimes, even stop? ​