Hagan Hall

Nathan Martin, a 36-year-old high school cross-country coach from Jackson, Michigan, won the 2026 Los Angeles Marathon by running past Kenya’s Michael Kamau in the final second.

Good morning

We found out during a late ultrasound that our son was going to be born without eyes. What I didn’t expect was for the doctor to ask if we wanted to abort him. We had just seen him in a 3D ultrasound moving around and otherwise healthy. Holding back tears, we both told him no, we are keeping him. He deserved to live even though he experiences life differently. Here he is as a baby and now at age 11.

“I've suffered a great many catastrophes in my life. Most of them never happened.” -Mark Twain

Excellent reframe when you hit hard times:

Company values are critical.

Warren Buffett once said: "You are only looking for 3 qualities in people (you hire): Enthusiasm, Intelligence, and Integrity." Rare to find all 3. Snag them up.

My son, Someday, when you’re older, you'll find this post and this video of us hiking together in the mountains. When we hike, we always start with so much excitement. You run ahead, full of energy, certain the mountain’s yours. But then the trail starts to rise, the air gets thinner, and your steps get heavier. You stop and look back, and I can see that question in your eyes... is the view really worth all this? As your dad, I ask myself that same question. About the struggle. About trying to be the kind of dad you deserve while fighting my own uphill battles. There are days it feels like I’m carrying the whole mountain on my back. That’s how life will feel sometimes. You’ll face climbs that make your legs shake, moments where you just want to turn around. But every step, even the ones that hurt, builds something strong inside you. There will be days when everything feels uphill. When the world feels unfair, and you’ll wonder why it has to be so hard. The mountains never get smaller, son. You just get stronger. And when you finally reach the summit, the view will remind you: it was all worth it. Keep climbing. I’ll always be there, somewhere on the trail, proud of the boy who never stopped putting one foot in front of the other. Love, Dad

It’s never a straight line. It only seems that way when you tell the story in reverse. Most of the times its realizing the countless stupid mistakes you made followed by pangs of anxiety…for yrs The story: “Yea its been great. Super happy with our progress. We got a great team”

A final piece of advice from Holly Butcher - written the day before she passed away from cancer at just 27: “It’s a strange thing knowing you’re going to die young. At 26, I thought I had time… To fall in love. Start a family. Grow old. But cancer doesn’t care about plans. Now, I understand how fragile life really is. Every single day is a gift, not a guarantee. I’m not writing this to scare you. I’m writing to remind you: really live. Stop stressing over little things. Be kind to your body- move it, nourish it, stop criticizing it. One day you’ll wish you had appreciated it. Go outside. Look at the sky. Feel the sun. Just be. Spend less time chasing “stuff” - more time making memories. Don’t skip moments with people you love. Laugh more. Write a note. Tell someone you love them. Complain less. Give more. Helping others brings more joy than anything you can buy. Be present. Put your phone down. Show up - really show up. You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t need a perfect body, or a perfect life. Just follow what makes your heart light up. Say no to what drains you. Make changes when you need to. And please - donate blood. I wouldn’t have had that extra year without it. And that year gave me memories I’ll hold close… forever. Thank you for reading this. Live your life well. And maybe… we’ll meet again someday.” Holly 🩷 Repost & share Holly’s important advice. ❤️

You get lucky by staying in the game long enough for luck to find you.

💥😱 While working on the construction, Merab was on the brink of being cut from the UFC back in 2019: Record of 8-4, working full-time construction, one fight left on his UFC deal — and even with a win, no guarantee they’d re-sign him. He asked for a fight in New York, and the UFC basically told him to f*** off: “In 2019, I was 1-2 in the UFC with one fight left on my contract. I had to win just to see if the UFC even wanted to keep me. They offered me Brad Katona — undefeated, 9-0, TUF champ at 145. On TUF he submitted Bryce Mitchell. I trained with Bryce — that guy’s a monster. So if someone submitted Bryce, I knew he had to be legit. At the time, I was 8-4 and working full shifts on construction. My manager asked if I wanted the fight. I said, ‘Of course. But can I be on a New York card?’ I thought — maybe this is my last fight in the UFC. If I lose, at least I’ll go out in front of my people, in New York. The manager asked UFC, and all we got back was a bunch of ‘fs.’ Like, ‘What the f?! F***, f***, f***!’ (laughs). ‘If you want the fight, take it. If not — get out.’ So we were like, ‘Okay, okay, sorry, sorry.’ Fight week came, I went straight from construction to Canada, cut the weight, and beat the undefeated guy. I was the happiest man alive. And the UFC re-signed me.” (via @arielhelwani show )

In more than one way, the person with the most real friends usually wins.

A lesson I wish I learned earlier: Always take yourself seriously. The way the world treats you is a simple reflection of the way you treat yourself. Always carry yourself like your life matters. Because it does. If you do that, the world will start bending to your reality.

Played phone tag with a buddy for a few weeks. He had been fighting Leukemia but was in remission. We had planned on having a beer together but just didn’t make it happen. Kids, travel, life. Found out today that he had relapsed and passed. Damn sure wish I had made it a priority to have that beer.

Everyone needs to hear this…

@FitFounder The Sweaty Startup is a great read, very hard to put down once you pick it up.

What's the best book you've read this year?

The single greatest skill you can develop is the ability to stay in a great mood in the absence of things to be in a great mood about.

You need to hear this…