johnmaconline

Did you see the latest successful Hail Mary pass in the recent game between the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders?

Since 2009, there have been 193 Hail Mary attempts, with 19 being successful. That’s just under 10%. Aaron Rodgers is the current king of the Hail Mary, with three successful attempts over that span. 

A Hail Mary comes at an emotionally charged moment in a game. It’s a desperation play that comes at a desperation moment. If you’re a fan of the defense, you don’t think it’s gonna work, and you certainly don’t expect it to work. But you’re nervous because there is a chance — you’re not totally confident. If you’re a fan of the offense, you also don’t expect it to work. However, you’re hopeful because you know there’s a chance.

There’s always a chance, but can you rely on it?

You’re probably better off doing the hard and boring work earlier in the game to avoid the moment of desperation because a desperate moment can push you to do desperate things.

There are many ways to give yourself a chance. It’s up to you to decide your path.

“I have no power” isn’t true. Nor is “I have all the power.”

So it’s somewhere in between. What is it?

Start with you — your history, the things you’ve seen, felt, and experienced. Your perspective.

Continue with your systems. Which systems do you live in, engage with, or are affected by?

Power is influence. How can you influence your systems through your perspective?

You have power.

Halloween is fun. 

• Americans spent almost $12B on Halloween in 2024
• 72 Million trick-or-treaters in 2024
• Each household spent an average of $51 on candy and $104 total on Halloween related items
• Haunted houses generated almost $500M
• The 12-foot tall skeletons from Home Depot were introduced in 2020 and have sold out each year since their introduction.
• About 30% of American households now decorate for Halloween with lights like Christmas
• Costume spending was almost $4B
• About 1500 temporary Halloween retail outlets popup and create about 50000 seasonal jobs
• Americans spent about $800M on pumpkins

Halloween is big business. 

If you want to be a clown, you might think you should start by buying the red nose.

It makes sense because that’s the uniform. Clowns have red noses. You want to be a clown? Get a red nose.

But does looking the part make you a clown?

You may have natural talent. Maybe you effortlessly make people laugh around the bonfire. Maybe the entry next to your photo in the High School Yearbook says “Class Clown.” But what about when the lights on you in the center ring or working the crowd? Clowns act in front of strangers. Do you even do that?

Have you done the important work of figuring out how to act like a clown? Do you know what that important work is? Can you list the hard things you’ll need to do to act like a clown?

You’ll start making progress once you realize that just because you have a red nose, it doesn’t make you a clown.

Today, you sow the seeds. Tomorrow and the days that follow, you tend to their needs. And you must continue to tend to their needs.

You keep doing that, and at some point in the future, you have vegetables, flowers, or sometimes nothing. That’s just a numbers game.

Everything you do today is for the future.

Make no mistake, you”re a farmer.

A reminder that your plan, product, or service isn’t for everyone.

I recently had to remind myself of this as I slogged and fought my way through a conversation about 4TLAS and what we do.

I was meeting with someone about us. He continually asked and pushed me to justify what our value is. Just what is our product and why would I give you money for it?

It was a good push, and honestly, I had trouble helping him understand our message.

Is it because the message is wrong? Is that because I (still) haven’t refined the message correctly? Or is it because we don’t have a valid product/business idea?

I couldn’t effectively get across the benefits of our product, nor could I make him see the benefits of outsourcing the risk and management of the infrastructure to us. He basically didn’t get it. Just speedbumped every time I tried to make progress.

But then I realized something — he’s just not “our person.”

You ever get annoyed sitting in traffic?

For three years, I commuted 55 miles from my place in rural Berks County to the parking garage at 19th and JFK in center city Philly. This commute required the dreaded 422 corridor (there’s even a Facebook “fan” page) and the more sinister Schuylkill Expressway. Two “no way around” roads. If you’re going into and out of Philly from the northwest, you’ll need those roads.

The morning was fine, as long as I left by 5am. And there were no accidents. And it wasn’t raining or snowing. And an errant leaf didn’t blow by. I’d usually be sitting at my desk by 6:15.

But the evening commute was brutal. It was two hours of scratching and clawing for every inch of asphalt on those two “higwhays.” Stop and go. Move an inch. The guy on your right shoe-horning his bumper into the three inches of space between you and the guy in front. Horns, fists, other hand gestures. Just a mass of PO’d humanity. All of us sitting in this traffic, annoyed at everybody else who’s creating the traffic.

Here’s the thing, though — If you’re sitting in traffic, you are the traffic.

We often use it as a slur, but it’s underrated.

The more days you do the same thing, the more you get predictability. Predictability creates stability. Stability creates space and energy for creativity.

Habits eliminate the friction of endless decision-making. They anchor us into who we are and who we are becoming. Repeated actions build identity. Each day we do the same thing, we reinforce the new version of ourselves.

Do you like the new version of yourself?

Today is important.

You woke up. You have choices. You have responsibilities. You have opportunities.

Today is important. Treat it as such.