I don't have to be better than my heroes at shooting, I don't have to be stronger than them, I don't have to be the best father or husband, and I don't have to be the best fighter.
I only have to be better than I was last week.
I'll be 30 in 5 days, and I still haven't learned that I don't have to be the best... but I'm trying to learn that. It's a hard lesson for me. It's one of the challenges that one faces when you keep the caliber of friends and mentors that I do. It's constantly facing the fact that "I'll never ever be that good". I think that's OK. Like we were talking about on Fb the other day, if you're the strongest/smartest/or cleverist person in your peer group, you're only cheating yourself out of further improvement. You can't rest on your laurels, and you can't be satisfied with what you've accomplished. Being the biggest fish in the pond doesn't mean a damn thing when there's an ocean somewhere out there.
Reaching that small group alpha status feels good, but as soon as it happens, you better be looking for the next group so that you can be the small-fry again. Try to always be the hardest working, but the shittiest person in the peer group. I think that should make for some really great personal growth. It's what I'm trying to do.
In 20 years, I might be like the monsters I look up to, and I might inspire someone to improve themselves and hold themselves to a higher standard.
But only if I do the work, and there's a lot of work to do.
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