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Morning — Clay here.
Happy New Year! Let’s go! 🔥
Most Races are Won by the People Who Just Keep Going
Another installment of the series: Things I’ve Learned in the First Quarter of Middle Age (That I Probably Should’ve Already Known).
It’s not the strongest guy who wins.
It’s not the fastest.
It’s not the one with the perfect plan.
It’s the man who refuses to quit—not by banging his head against the wall, but by being willing to reshape his plan when life shifts underneath him.
The one who shows up on the days he doesn’t feel like it.
The one who keeps moving even when the progress is invisible.
The one who doesn’t wait for motivation—he leans on momentum.
Because you don’t win by sprinting.
You win it by enduring.
The long slog: career walls, financial stress, the grind of routine.
The physical fatigue: early mornings, stiff joints, slow recoveries.
The emotional plateaus: parenting teens, marriage ruts, feeling stuck when you wanted change.
No fireworks.
No big moment.
Just one foot in front of the other—again and again and again.
That’s the race most men actually win.
So as we kick off 2025, remember—keep going.
And yes…I basically just gave away the plot to The Tortoise and the Hare.
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Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
Real change rarely starts with a big plan or a bold declaration—it starts with the quieter, harder work of taking responsibility for the one life you actually control.
A non–Atomic Habits book recommendation to kick off the new year:
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman isn’t about optimizing your life—it’s about accepting its limits, and in doing so, learning to spend your time more intentionally on what actually matters.
Until next time—
Keep the fires burning and Happy New Year,
— Clay
P.S. I’d rather grow Campfire Gentleman through real connections than algorithms. If this resonated, forward it to one friend.
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