Ethan Todd

HR Director at ABM Industries. Previously: HunterDouglas, Dell, Wake Forest MBA, Wofford College #DoTheThing

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

@Gladwell in @tferriss’ Tools of Titans: “Am I so inspired by what I learned during the day that I want to be talking about it at 1:00 in the morning? And do I have someone who will have that conversation with me and who will challenge me? That’s it. Everything else is nonsense.”

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

The central life lesson in Lawrence of Arabia is that identity built only from public myth is fragile; if you do not know yourself, other people’s stories can become your substitute self. The film also suggests that greatness without inner stability can turn into self-deception, because Lawrence is powerful in the world yet unsettled within it.

Core lessons:
1) Self-knowledge matters more than reputation. Lawrence is treated as a legend, but the film keeps asking whether he actually understands his own motives, limits, and desires.
2) “Nothing is written” means agency. The line points to the idea that a person is not fully defined by fate, labels, or others’ expectations; you still shape yourself through choices.
3) Charisma can mask inner emptiness. Lawrence’s ability to inspire others does not resolve his personal conflict, which is why the film feels as much psychological as historical.
4) Power requires humility. The more Lawrence succeeds, the more dangerous it becomes to believe the story told about him rather than to stay grounded in reality.
5) Identity is partly earned, not inherited. The film showcases that a person may begin with no fixed script, but must author character through action, discipline, and moral courage.

Ultimately, “for some men nothing is written unless they write it” is less about destiny and more about responsibility. It means you cannot rely on labels, praise, or criticism to tell you who you are; you have to create that answer through how you live. In that sense, Lawrence is both an example and a warning. He proves that a person can become larger than the story around him, but also that living by external myth alone can leave the inside of the person unresolved.

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

Life lessons from W. Timothy Gallwey’s “The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance”:

1) Performance = potential − interference. The inner game is about reducing mental interference (self-doubt, judgment, overthinking) so your natural ability can show up.

2) Two selves: Self 1 (the critical, instructing mind) vs. Self 2 (the body/unconscious doer). Peak performance happens when Self 1 quiets down and trusts Self 2.

3) Relaxed concentration is the core skill: stay present, visualize the outcome, and “let it happen” rather than forcing it.

4) Non-judgmental awareness accelerates learning. Observe what actually happens without labeling it good/bad, so the body can self-correct.

5) Learning Loop: Observe > Visualize > Trust > Observe Again. Improvement comes from doing and feeling, not overthinking or excessive instruction

My favorite quote from the book highlights the importance of quieting self-judgement and letting the natural process of improvement take its course: “When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it as “rootless and stemless.” We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don’t condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is.”

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

My reflections on Ernest Hemingway’s #TheSunAlsoRises from a coffee shop in ATX:

Hemingway pushes back on the idea that we can reinvent ourselves through movement alone. As Jake Barnes puts it, “You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another.” Travel, parties, and new cities may change the scenery, but they don’t resolve the unanswered questions we carry. The internal life follows us wherever we go.

At the same time, Hemingway offers a more grounded philosophy of how to live within that reality. “Enjoying living was learning to get your money’s worth and knowing when you had it.” Life, in his view, isn’t about escape or accumulation, but about recognizing value and paying the true cost of what matters. Everything worthwhile demands something (e.g. time, effort, risk, or emotional exposure). The goal isn’t to pay the cost, but to make sure it’s spent on what’s real.

This idea comes into sharper focus when he writes, “Perhaps as you went along you did learn something. I did not care what it was all about. All I wanted to know was how to live in it. Maybe if you found out how to live in it you learned from what it was all about.” The point isn’t to solve life in advance or construct the perfect philosophy before acting. It’s to live first, to engage fully, make choices, pay the cost, and trust that understanding comes afterward.

“Getting your money’s worth” becomes a kind of discipline: choosing experiences that are genuinely meaningful rather than drifting into empty habits or distractions. Value isn’t abstract or predefined. It’s discovered through living. You don’t figure out life and then begin. You begin, and meaning reveals itself over time.

That’s what gives Hemingway’s philosophy its edge. There’s no promise that life neatly resolves itself, only that if you pay attention, if you invest in what matters and recognize when something has given you all it can, you begin to develop a kind of lived wisdom. In that sense, the key to life is to die before you die, to let go of hesitation, illusion, and fear so you can live fully and without regret. Meaning isn’t something you arrive at intellectually; it emerges from engaging fully in your life, even when the outcome is imperfect or temporary.

May you live fully today and smile at the infinite mystery of it tomorrow.

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.”

- Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms
#KeepGoing

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

“If I am worth anything later, I am worth something now. For wheat is wheat, even if people think it is a grass in the beginning.”
- Vincent Van Gough

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

"We've always defined ourselves by the ability to overcome the impossible. And we count these moments. These moments when we dare to aim higher, to break barriers, to reach for the stars, to make the unknown known. We count these moments as our proudest achievements. But we lost all that. Or perhaps we've just forgotten that we are still pioneers. And we've barely begun. And that our greatest accomplishments cannot be behind us, because our destiny lies above us".

- Matthew McConaughey, from the "Interstellar" teaser trailer released on December 14, 2013
#KeepGoing

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

“I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” – Jack London’s Credo, December 2, 1916

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

“Do you know what lies in the Holy Land? A new world. A man who, in France, had not a house, is, in the Holy Land, the master of a city. He who was the master of a city begs in the gutter. There, at the end of the world, you are not what you were born, but what you have it in yourself to be.” - Godfrey of Ibelin, Kingdom of Heaven (2005).

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

“Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were going was never there, and where you are is no good unless you can get away from it.”
- Flannery O’Connor, Wise Blood (1952).

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

Taylor Fritz double faults on match point against Novak Djokovic, extending the 22-year gap since an American male won a grand slam tournament (Andy Roddick, US Open 2003).

Novak’s quest for 25 grand slams is still alive at the #USOpen2025. Can Novak win his first slam in two years or will the Sinner/Alcaraz domination continue? @usopen

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

Life lessons from @StealingMovie:

1) The difference between a good person and a bad person is a split second decision

2) Life is like a game of Russian roulette; it’s all about taking risks and hoping luck is on your side

3) Fear is just a stepping stone towards bravery; in the face of danger, true character emerges

4) What you lose can define who you are, but what you do with that loss defines your strength. The past can haunt you, but it's your choice whether to let it define you

5) The greatest battles are fought within one's own mind; the greatest treasures are found within ourselves; the greatest act of rebellion is simply surviving

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

@heykayadams Medvedev is the Shams of the @atptour. Welcome to tennis! #USOpen2025

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

Greg Allensworth is the worst referee in tennis. The most horrendous calls on the @atptour in recent years share one commonality: Allensworth in the chair.

a) Cincinnati 2024: Draper’s double bounce against FAA on match point
b) Washington 2024: Shapo’s default for being verbally attacked by a courtside fan
c) Dallas 2025: Reilly Opelka’s point penalty for responding to a heckler when serving for the match at 5-4, 30-30 in the third set (after Allensworth said nothing to the fan throughout the match)
d) US Open 2025: Meddy’s opponent being given a 1st serve on match point for a camera man walking on court after the serve

#FireAllensworth @usopen @ReillyOpelkaUSA @denis_shapo @DaniilMedwed @felixtennis @CincyTennis @mubadalacitidc @DALOpenTennis

[ESPN @espn]

Daniil Medvedev was visibly upset after a camera person walked on the court at match point.

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

Gonna tell my kids this was Jersey Shore @stoolbeachhouse

[Barstool Spring Break @barstoolspringb]

Oona confronts Dante after he said she made off handed comments about him

[Ethan Todd @ethanotodd]

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” — Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

#MondayMotivation