Comback

I’m at BBA and I’m enjoying being a spectator. The highs and lows are so much more extreme for me now than when I competed. 

There’s something that can be understood best in sports, but I realize it’s bigger than sports. It’s just easier to see in sports. It’s about competing and never giving up. 

I’ve seen this happen in games.  It’s so clear in sports. There’s a scoreboard and the games end with a clear winner. 

A couple examples in sports is when the Clippers came back from 35 points down to win in the final seconds. They were essentially out and if there was a mercy rule in the NBA it probably would have applied. 

Another example is the Bears vs Packers multiple times in 2026. Once people went home at halftime because the game seemed hopeless. The Bears beats all odds to win. The other was so electric that Yusuf and his cousin left the car to celebrate in -10 degree night without jackets. 

In 2017, the Patriots had a massive comeback against the Falcons. In the biggest game. They were all but out. 

Last night, a team on with TWO Hail Marys. 

The teams all never gave up. 

It’s not so clear in life. You can’t always see the win. Adab is the equivalent of doing the fundamentals. These comebacks didn’t happen because these teams were lucky. They happened because they each focused on the fundamentals for the next play. 

Taher, don’t ever give up. Focus on the fundamentals.

Garden

The garden keeps on giving 😃

Gardening is a mindset and not simply an activity.  The mindset is about planting seeds.  Investing time/energy/resources/money and seeing the rewards or not seeing them.  

Fruits and blossoms may come at the end of the season.  They may come after a year.  They may come after several years.  The fruits may come again and again and again.  They may come after we're gone.  They will come though.  Invest in good things and the rewards will be that much better.

This is the mindset part.  The mindset is to nurture.  The mindset is simply to care.  The mindset is to treat life as a garden and not transactional.

I was prompted to think about this the other day.  I met a friend and a former colleague for coffee.  He's had a tough go being out of work for a long while.   He's very talented, but he's got some obstacles.  I mostly listened as he talked about what he had going on.

I later connected him with a recruiter at my work which led to an interview.  I'm not sure what that will lead to.  That almost is irrelevant I came to realize later.  It'll lead to something.  It doesn't matter if I'm sure or not.  It doesn't matter if I'm around to see it.  It'll come.  I did get to see him leave our meeting a little happier and more energetic than when he came.  That alone was more than worth the time.

Taher, make the investment.  Taher, be confident that the fruit will come even if you can't see.