I’m typing this from a picnic table kinda thing outside the Austin Grandmaster Chess Academy.
I just dropped Emerson off for his first match. I’m doing some journaling as I reflect on how I’m going to finish this year strong and make next year (2025!!) THE greatest year of our lives.
I’m also reflecting on how much I love being a good wingman.
Then I realized I should share the chat Emerson and I just had on our drive to the chess tournament.
So…
Let’s get to work.
As I’ve discussed many times, the very first thing I ask Emerson EVERY.SINGLE.TIME we hit the road is simple…
Me: “Alright, Buddy. What do you want?”
His answer? “I want to be a good person. And I want to be a Chess Grandmaster.”
Me: “Awesome. Let’s talk more about how you’re going to win the ultimate game and be a good person—which, for the record, you’re ALREADY winning!”
Me: “So, how do you be a good person?”
Him: “Be nice to people?”
Me: “Great answer. That’s definitely one of the ways. What else?”
Him: “Do nice things for people?”
Me: “Another great answer. What else?”
Enter: A little bit of contemplative silence.
Me: “Would you like to hear some of my thoughts on how to go about doing it?”
Him: “Yes!”
Me as I show him my right forearm: “Well, remember what the word ARETÉ means?”
Him: “Yah. It means excellence!”
Me: “Yep. It’s the ancient Greek word for excellence. It also means VIRTUE. Or, being your best self.”
Me: “Do you remember the four main virtues? We have it on the sticker on our water jug at home…”
Him: “Hmmm. Love is one of them!!”
Me: “EXACTLY. Love is definitely one of them. And it’s arguably the most important. It’s also the virtue you’re embodying when you’re nice and doing nice things for other people.”
Me: “Give me another one!”
Him: “Hmmm. Wisdom?”
Me: “YES! Do you know what Wisdom is?”
Him: “Hmmm… Well, I think part of it is critical thinking.”
To which I said: “Exactly! That’s definitely part of it.”
I continued: “Wisdom is also the knowledge of how to live a good life—all the eating, moving, sleeping, breathing, and focusing stuff Mommy and I are always talking about.”
Him: “Cool!”
Then I pop-quizzed him by asking him to tell me what Wisdom was. He paraphrased. Awesome.
Then we continued to Discipline—the ability to get yourself to actually DO the things you KNOW (Wisdom!) are best for you.
I emphasized that when you KNOW what’s best for you but DON’T do it you actually feel worse than not knowing and not doing it.
And, I emphasized the fact that we’re all human and fall short of our standards all the time but we want BOTH the Wisdom to know the ultimate game and how to play it well AND the Discipline to *actually* do the things we know our best for us.
Then we talked about Courage—having the willingness to act in the presence of fear.
Then we shifted to his goal to be a Chess Grandmaster and celebrated the progress he’s made by working so hard over the last two years and looked forward over the next 1-2-3-5 years.
And…
That’s Today’s +1.
Here’s to winning the ULTIMATE game of being good people committed to living with Wisdom, Discipline, Courage, and Love.
And teaching our kids/next generation how to do that as well.
All day.
Every day.
Especially…
TODAY.
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