The self-made man is a myth. They don't exist.

The self-made man is a myth. They don't exist.
No one gets anywhere worthwhile without others.

I was reminded of that this weekend.

I ran the distance.
I crossed the finish line.
I got the finisher buckle.

But I didn't do it alone.

At mile 40, I rolled into an aid station for an 8-minute pit stop.
Friends. My wife. Kids. My coach. All there.
I blinked, refueled, and disappeared again for six hours.

That kind of commitment to my goal is humbling.

And that was just race day.

Months earlier, my wife was holding down the house so I could train.
Friends were poking holes in my race plan.
My coach was building workouts, tracking progress, and making sure my best self showed up at the start line.

That’s to say nothing of the organization behind the race.
Thousands of volunteer hours.
Hundreds of people cooking, guiding, transporting, cheering.

Add in luck, timing, and a thousand moments that could have gone wrong but didn’t.

If we feel alone, we may have just cropped the picture too close.
Zoom out.