BookThinkers Newsletter #12 - 140.6 Miles. Growth Is Funny Like That.

This Week at BookThinkers

Sometimes a race finishes and everything becomes clearer. That happened this weekend.

Here's what's on Nick's mind:

⭐ Instagram Highlight — Nick Signed Up for Ironman Florida 140.6

This past weekend, Nick crossed the finish line at Ironman 70.3 Western Massachusetts — and then immediately signed up for Ironman Florida 140.6 in November.

That's a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run. All in one day.

The Western Massachusetts race wasn't perfect. The swim was canceled due to river conditions. The hills were harder than expected. And in the final two miles of the run, Nick's legs gave out — walking backward downhill at one point just to let the pain pass. His first real time in the pain cave during a race.

But here's what he took from it: every race leaves clues. He knows exactly what needs work. He has four months to fix it before Florida.

A year ago, a half Ironman felt intimidating. Now he's voluntarily signed up for double the distance.

Growth is funny like that.

Live Author Readings — Catch the Replays

No live session this week, but the replay library is stacking up with some genuinely incredible names. If you missed any of these live, now's your chance:

Steven Pressfield — The War of Art and The ArcadianMike Michalowicz — Profit First and The Money HabitJohn David Mann — The Go-Giver

Podcast Flashback — Steven Pivnik | Built to Finish

This one could not be more perfectly timed.

Steven Pivnik was a self-described couch potato — not an athlete, not a runner, not someone who had any business signing up for a triathlon. Then he signed up anyway. And then another. And then the Kona Ironman, one of the most grueling endurance events on the planet.

While he was doing all of that, he was also building a successful technology company. His book Built to Finish draws a direct line between the lessons of endurance sport and what it takes to build something that lasts - the grit, the setbacks, the moments in the pain cave, and the discipline to keep going when it would be easier to stop.

Given what Nick just signed up for, this conversation hits differently this week.