vol II || The Echo
More than a decade ago, my current client, D.B., sat down for lunch with a mentor.
Late 40s. Disciplined. Sharp. The kind of guy who clearly took care of himself—not just in business, but in life. A man whose clarity could be felt before he spoke.
They were talking strategy. Growth. The long game.
As D.B. lifted his knife to cut into his steak, the mentor said something that cut right into him.
“The choices you make in this decade will show up in the next one.”
It landed.
Not dramatically.
Just… clearly.
D.B. nodded as he took a bite. It made sense. The business he was just getting off the ground would take time. Small choices, executed consistently, would be the difference.
He carried the sentence with him as he left the restaurant. Made a mental note instead of writing it on a napkin.
The line didn’t disappear.
It went quiet.
Waiting.
When the Echo Returns
Fast forward ten years.
D.B. walks into my gym with a familiar story.
He isn’t broken.
He isn’t totally unfit.
He hasn’t fallen apart—yet.
But something is slipping.
An old knee injury he never properly rehabbed has started to ripple outward. Not enough to stop him from doing the things he loves. Just enough to change how they feel.
Less range on the golf course.
Less precision in the mountains.
Less freedom in the waves.
He can still do the things that matter to him.
Just not with the same confidence or flow.
And when you’ve spent your life as an athlete, that matters.
Layer in the reality of being a CEO and a father of two young kids, and the timing makes sense. He didn’t come looking for a quick fix.
He came because he could feel his future narrowing.
In his 30s, he ignored the knee.
In his early 40s, the knee stopped ignoring him.
And that’s when the sentence came back.
A New Chapter, A Clearer Signal
At 43, D.B. is in a different stage of life.
He watches his kids play.
He notices the way they move—the way they trust their bodies.
He sees how they light up around their grandparents.
And something clicks.
The way I live today determines the kind of father—and grandfather—I get to be.
The sentence returned, reverberating from somewhere deep.
Not as advice.
As truth.
Clear,
Action-altering, Truth.
It wasn’t about business anymore.
It was about function.
Capacity. Connection. Longevity.
The knee was a symptom
The led him to the signal.
A reminder that the body keeps score and that the future is built quietly, long before it announces itself.
He doesn’t want to be the dad who sits out.
Or the grandfather who watches from the recliner.
He wants to be the man in the arena.
A role model late into life.
Keeping up with his son bombing down the mountain.
Showing his daughter that dad still has game.
Catching dawn patrol with his brother years from now.
Building, climbing, and swinging from the treehouse with his grandkids.
Purpose Is the Fuel
Every decade sends signals to the next.
Often it feels like a whisper.
And Sometimes they roar.
Your body keeps receipts.
Your habits write checks.
Your future cashes them.
What brought D.B. in was the pain of slowly slipping.
What changed him was the day that echo finally got through.
A vision of who he wants to be 10, 20, 30 years from now—and the realization that function today determines freedom later.
When purpose is clear enough, effort stops feeling like effort.
Action becomes obvious.
Consistency becomes natural.
Not because you’re forcing yourself forward,
but because you know exactly what you’re protecting.
Acting from a place of deep purpose.
That’s a different kind of strength.
What echo has been trying to get through to you?
Take a minute to sit with that.
Send me an email if you hear an answer.
P.S. If you’re looking to join a group of men like D.B.—guys committed to showing up for themselves more consistently in the gym and out—I’ve got something coming for you. Drop your email below to stay connected.
Cheers,
Al