Happy Monday!
Quick read
Listening
John D. Rockefeller used to not speak very much during meetings. Whenever someone would ask him why, he would recite the following poem by Edward Hersey Richards:
A wise old owl lived in an oak;
The more he saw the less he spoke;
The less he spoke the more he heard:
Why can't we all be like that bird?
Visual
Fact
The history of the marathon:
Many understand the origin of the marathon to be a commemoration of Pheidippides' running 25 miles (40km) from the city of Marathon to the city of Athens to proclaim an important Greek victory over the Persians in 490 B.C., after which he collapsed dead.
The lesser-known story is that Pheidippides actually first ran from Athens to Sparta to gather Spartans troops to help the Athenians in combat against the Persians. He then ran from Sparta to Athens before running to Marathon and then back to Athens, which is a total of 350 miles in less than a week.
So, 350-mile-heroics aside, you might be wondering why marathons are 26.2 miles rather than 25 miles—the distance between Marathon and Athens:
The distance of the marathon in the 1896 Olympics was originally set at the proper length of 25 miles (40km). It remained this distance for the next few Olympics until 1908 when the games were held in London. The Queen Alexandra requested the race start on the lawn of the Windsor Castle (so the younger royals could watch from the windows of their nursery) and finish in front of the Royal Box at the Olympic Stadium. This was a distance of, hey what do you know, 26.2 miles. This new distance ended up sticking and it was formally changed to 26.2 miles (42.2km) in 1921.
I don't get invited back to most parties.
This day in history
50 years ago on October 11th, 1971, John Lennon released Imagine.
Tune
Quote
"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the bitterest." // Confucius
Something to ponder
The day your previous self stops seeming naïve, delusional, and immature to you is the day you've peaked. Until then, keep fighting the good fight.
Inspired by Tim Urban
Honorable mention:
Personal update
Spent the weekend in Chicago with my family. Cheered my sister on in what ended up being a very impressive marathon endeavor. I like to think I played a part. Good stuff Meg, congrats!
Broke ground on my next rabbit hole: dopamine—stay tuned.
Heading down south to North Carolina for the week. Starting my new gig on Tuesday. Exciting times.
Shoot me an email, say hi, let me know if I can help with anything. Thanks for reading. Stay safe out there!
Until next week,
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