Dear Fortitude family,

Welcome back to my midweek motivation! Each day and week brings its own set of experiences and inspirations, compelling me to share my thoughts with all of you.

Man, I received a text from one of the professional baseball players I work with, and it brought an indescribable feeling to my heart. I won’t reveal his name, but he’s a free-agent pitcher coming off a serious injury to his throwing arm. And to be honest with you, he’s easily one of my favorite athletes I've had the pleasure of welcoming into our private community. I love all the athletes I work with. However, he showed up to every session locked in and ready to go. He did every single thing asked of him and then some. He still routinely calls and checks in to have those important conversations. He’s an absolute warrior. The reason I’m choosing to write about this today is because I want to highlight him and his incredible efforts. Also, I want to re-emphasize how important your circle is and why that’s such a big focus at Athletic Fortitude.

To be truly elite, you have to have a tight inner circle. Do the people around you bring you up? Or do they drag you down? Do they take your dreams seriously? Or do they laugh at you? Do the people you surround yourself with elicit a spark inside of you? Or do you get a feeling of life being sucked out of you when you’re around them? At Athletic Fortitude, we are here to not only help you craft an unbreakable identity but also curate your inner circle with other elite-minded athletes who seek out the same goals that only truly elite people can understand. A lot of athletics is spent fighting the battle between your ears. That’s just the name of the game. That inner voice in your head that sometimes just won't shut up. When you surround yourself with four other professionals who are truly willing to engage in these uncomfortable conversations, it’s an enlightening feeling to know, “Oh shoot, I’m not alone in this.” Having a tight-knit group constantly in the battle together can help minimize that voice or, more importantly, turn that voice into a positive driver of action.

We spend most of our lives calling our teammates and close friends “family,” yet, we rarely really even know them. How can you really know someone if you don’t know what they’re going through? How can you call them family when you don’t know their demons? Heck, even at the top .001% here, not everyone can relate to one another in terms of adversity. Some of us will never experience the same hardships as others. But as I’ve written about before, you don’t always need to feel understood. Sometimes you just need to know someone is there who cares. You need people to offer a source of inspiration. Most importantly, you need to know there are people there who will be there to help you through it. That’s what we are accomplishing here. That’s what makes me so proud of what we are doing at Athletic Fortitude.

The game is hard, man. I don’t care what professional sport you are playing. I don’t care what sport you are playing at any level, period. Every second dedicated to the game will involve hardship. Surrounding yourself with the wrong people will only drag you down and keep you from where you want to go. Letting go of people is really hard, I get that. I’ve had to make tough decisions in that area too. Choosing the right people is a game-changer; a life-changer. Don’t look for acceptance from those who don’t get what you’re trying to accomplish. Seek acceptance from those in the fight with you.

What we are doing here is powerful. Thank you, my friend, for the reminder. I know you’ll win every battle you fight because that’s who you are, a winner.

To Building Fortitude.

Warm regards,

Colin Jonov CEO & Founder, Athletic Fortitude

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