Five Bullet Friday - August 22, 2025

Dear A,

The CARVER Washington DC course is open for registration. You can find details below.

Here's what I'm following this week...

AUDIOBOOK I'M LISTENING TO...

Marinovich: Outside the Lines in Football, Art, and Addiction. Anyone who followed football in the late ’80s and early ’90s remembers the saga of Todd Marinovich. Hyped as “Robo QB” by Sports Illustrated, the All-American high school quarterback was meticulously groomed by his father, Marv Marinovich - a former NFL player turned strength and conditioning coach for the Oakland Raiders.

From the start, Todd’s upbringing was anything but typical. He endured an over-disciplined and often dysfunctional childhood, subjected to advanced training regimens overseen by a revolving door of specialists: strength coaches, vision coaches, throwing coaches, dietitians, and sports psychologists. Legend has it he never tasted a Big Mac, Coke, or Oreo as a kid. His father even recruited NFL offensive coordinators to teach Todd how to read defenses—at one point, future Packers coach Mike Holmgren gave him private lessons.

Marv was also ahead of his time, publicly championing the importance of flexibility and muscle elasticity long before it became mainstream. Alex Guerrero, Tom Brady’s controversial body coach, has been cited as a disciple of Marv’s philosophy.

But when Todd left for college and slipped free of his father’s suffocating grip, the carefully constructed machine began to break down. Away from home, he discovered drugs and alcohol, setting off a downward spiral that derailed a once-promising career.

The Marinovich story remains one of sports’ most painful “what could have been” tales - a cautionary reminder of the dangers of overzealous parenting and the fragile balance between nurturing talent and suffocating it.

ESSAY I'M READING...

What is Strategy by Michael E. Porter. Michael Porter is often regarded as the modern-day Peter Drucker when it comes to strategy. In his influential 1996 Harvard Business Review essay, he argued that operational effectiveness is not the same as strategy.

Whenever I find myself drifting from the bigger picture in my business - because let’s be honest, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tactical grind - I return to this article. It’s a powerful reminder of why stepping back to refocus on true strategy is essential.

SERIES I'M WATCHING...

The Gambler and His Cowboys on Netflix. This series tells the story of how Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys - “America’s Team” and the NFL’s crown jewel - and rebuilt them into the dominant force of the 1990s. It’s a case study in blowing everything up and starting over from scratch.

But decades later, Jones has been chasing the ghost of that early success, never quite able to replicate it. One can only wonder: had Jimmy Johnson remained as head coach, how many Lombardi Trophies would Dallas have hoisted? Five? Maybe seven? Instead, the dynasty stopped at three.

SPEECH I'M WATCHING...

Quentin Tarantino Keynotes at UCLA. Before Quentin Tarantino became one of Hollywood’s most distinctive filmmakers, he was a video store clerk in Manhattan Beach, California. Surrounded by VHS tapes, he absorbed films of every genre and era, building the encyclopedic knowledge that would define his career.

My favorite line from this speech is, "It's not your job to create your vision. It is your job to have a vision, and then it's your job to hire talented individuals/artists who understand your vision. And you articulate it to them, and then they take your vision and create it."

From Kill Bill to Inglorious Bastards to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino has blended high and low culture with fearless originality. His rise from clerk to Oscar-winning director is more than a Hollywood success story - it’s proof that passion, coupled with relentless vision, can transform obsession

QUOTE I'M PONDERING...

“Most men die at 35, they just aren't buried until 75." - Unknown

Thank you for your attention. As always, I welcome your thoughts and suggestions.

Stay safe and vigilant,

Luke Bencie