Lft Quality of Life Article

The Greatest Lesson I Learned

Being useful is a good thing. The lesson is making sure you are building something for yourself at the same time.

Some of the greatest lessons in life are disguised as disappointments. Right when I felt like I was on top of the world and could not be stopped, boom, Covid said I could no longer work. Then as I started grinding my way back, boom, my health stopped me from working again. Both situations reminded me of a lesson I had learned much earlier in life.

Football Taught Me Early

The lesson could have come from your first job, a serious relationship, starting college, parenting, or any moment where you invest your time and future into something. For me, it came from college football.

When I left for college to play Division I football, I had a rocky start. I did not have much guidance on everything that needed to be completed before arriving, and because I missed some eligibility requirements, I could not play my first fall season. At the time it was frustrating, but looking back, it gave me perspective.

By spring semester, I joined the team and quickly realized that college football was a business. That is not a criticism. It is just what it is. Coaches are under enormous pressure to win because careers, reputations, and their families’ stability can depend on it. As I spent more time around the program, I saw incredibly talented and intelligent athletes encouraged to choose easier majors so they could keep playing. For the very few headed to the NFL, maybe that tradeoff made sense. For most, it did not.

One day everything clicked. I was studying for a summer exam when our coach told us to put our schoolwork away so we could watch more film. I had a choice. Put my books away or leave. I chose to leave. That was not about being against football. It was me understanding that what I poured into football was not necessarily going to pour back into me equally, especially long term.

Being useful is a compliment. Every meaningful opportunity in life is an exchange of value. Your employer values your skills and you gain income, experience, and stability. Your partner depends on you and you depend on them. The exchange may be love, trust, peace of mind, support, or a shared life. Sometimes that exchange is not perfectly balanced every day, and that is okay. What matters is that over time, both sides continue to invest in each other.

The responsibility is making sure you are also building something for yourself. One of the hardest things to do is step outside your own life and objectively assess what you are putting in and what you are getting back. Are you growing? Are you learning? Are you building something that lasts? If this ended tomorrow, would you still be glad for everything you invested?

Life Taught Me the Lesson Again

Years later, life reminded me of the same lesson. Health issues temporarily made it impossible for me to work. Then Covid changed everything and once again my ability to earn was influenced by circumstances outside of my control. Neither situation was anybody’s fault, but they forced me to ask the same question I had asked myself years earlier: Am I building a future that I have some control over?

That is what led to Limiting Factor Training. About a month after getting out of the hospital in 2021, I started thinking seriously about building something of my own. I did not quit the job I loved overnight. I started building in my spare time, on nights, weekends, and whenever I could. I was not trying to run away from work. I was trying to create another opportunity, another skill set, and another foundation.

Football planted the seed. Life gave me the reason to grow it. After a lot of thinking, I opened the LLC for Limiting Factor Training in 2021. And no, this is not me suggesting everyone should go start a business. The point is to make sure you are continuously investing in yourself, whatever that looks like for you.

The Quality of Life Lesson

Life changes. Companies restructure. Kids grow up. Relationships change. Opportunities end. None of us can control every circumstance we will face, but we can control whether we continue to invest in our health, our skills, our relationships, our finances, and our personal growth.

Be someone people can rely on. Be useful. Be valuable. Give your best wherever you are. But never stop building your own foundation. The healthiest relationships and the best opportunities are the ones that leave you stronger, healthier, and better prepared for whatever comes next.

We should continue creating value for other people, but we can never stop creating value within ourselves. That is one of the greatest lessons I learned early on, and I am thankful I learned it when I did.