None of us are getting any younger. I'm literally aging as I write this. You, too, are growing ever so much older as you parse through these words.

A little depressing? Perhaps. Reality is the best way to describe it, however.

I came to the realization some time ago that even though I am "aging" that I don't have to feel like it. At one point in my life I was pretty darn athletic. It's not a concern of mine anymore.

Treating yourself well can make you feel a bit "younger," even as you inevitably age. Today, in my mid-40s I feel probably as good as I did in my early 30s, though that first-step off the dribble is nowhere near as quick. Like I stated...I don't care.

What's it all about? Diet, exercise, remarkable family? I can't say for sure, but all play into it.

I don't even exercise all that much, but I still "feel" better than I did a few years ago.

A while ago, I asked myself something to the effect of, "what am I improving on that is making such benefits in my life?"

When I was playing sports, I made it a point to consistently improve. I had that attitude in a lot of things I did. Improvement.

Nowadays, I concentrate on replacing things instead of improving them. I don't have a ton of time to worry or fret about improvement anymore. Improvement is a slow slog that is beneficial early in life.

At this point, if it ain't workin', I'm doing something new.

Strategic thinking. Shift in mindset, you might call it.

Ultimately, we all probably are improving or regressing at any given thing, but changing my mindset to replacement mode rather than improvement mode has made all the difference in the world.

I just wish I could have realized it or articulated it earlier. It's very "freeing."

It is kind of like what Jerry Maguire wrote: "the things we think and do not say."

Maguire's mentor, Dicky Fox, said, "the secret to this job is personal relationships."

Jerry Maguire first tried to improve his client relationships after he got fired. That got him nowhere.

While not by choice—at first—Maguire replaced all of his former clients with just one: the truculent Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell.

A great personal relationship developed and Jerry won in the end.

Granted it is fiction, but it was a good movie.

We created a resource page with the full-text of Jerry's "mission statement" (written, of course, by the writer-director of the film, Cameron Crowe).

Worth reading.

As always,

Brian