Eddie Pinero
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Recreation: Your new playbook

Recreation: Your new playbook

November 24, 2025

Hey Gang,

I was on the treadmill the other day—steady pace, headphones in, doing that thing where you’re half running, half watching whatever happens to be on the TV in front of you.

And on this particular morning, the screen was playing a college football game: Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt.

Now… I don’t know much about these teams, but what I do know is that Kentucky was getting absolutely steamrolled. Outmatched. Outsized. Outsmarted. The kind of beatdown where, if they played 1,000 times, Kentucky might win 1.

Maybe.

And mid-stride, sweating, thinking about my day ahead, this metaphor just sort of… landed.

Because a lot of people live life like that version of Kentucky—showing up every day hoping today is the 1-in-1,000 miracle where everything magically clicks. The breakthrough that falls out of the sky. The win they didn’t prepare for.

But those aren’t good odds.

And worse, those aren’t your odds.

You’re not here to live life hoping the universe throws you a Hail Mary. You’re here to put yourself in a position to win.

So let’s go back to Kentucky for a second… metaphorically, of course.

If they wanted to rebuild from the ground up, where would they start?

1. Belief.

Before any game plan, before any recruiting class, before any playbook, they’d have to believe there’s a world where they’re the top dog. Where they can compete with the Alabamas and Georgias of the world.

Because if you don’t believe you can be great, the game is over before the kickoff.

Same goes for life:
If you can’t imagine the version of you that thrives… you’ll never become it.

So step one?
Picture that version. Believe it’s possible. That’s your ignition.

2. Define your North Star.

A struggling program fires its athletic director and hires someone who can actually build the culture they want.

They start at the top and realign everything around where they want to go.

For you?
That’s defining your North Star—your guiding principle, the thing everything else in your life has to orbit.

Who are you becoming?
What does that version of you value?
And what needs to change so life starts moving in that direction?

3. Hire your “head coach.”

Kentucky would need someone to draw up the X’s and O’s. A leader with a real plan. A blueprint.

On a personal level, the “head coach” is how you manage your day.

It’s how you structure your time.
It’s how you treat your habits.
It’s the discipline that supports the identity you’re building.

You can have the dream.
You can have the North Star.
But without daily structure, it never becomes real.

4. Bring in your coordinators.

Every great football team has specialists.

Offensive coordinator.
Defensive coordinator.
Special teams.

Each with their own responsibilities, each contributing to the whole.

Your life works the same way.

You need a Fitness Coordinator—someone (which might be you) who prioritizes your health.
You need a Learning Coordinator—someone who protects time for growth, reading, curiosity.
You need a Business Coordinator—someone who helps you sharpen your craft and understand your value.
You need a Relationships Coordinator—someone who ensures you’re investing in the people who matter.

These are the “units” of your life.
They can’t be left to chance. They need to be developed.

5. Build your roster.

Even the best scheme means nothing without the right personnel.

If Kentucky rebuilt the whole organization but kept a team of players who weren’t aligned, weren’t committed, weren’t growing—they’d lose every game.

Same with you.

Your roster is the people you let into your life.
Your roster is the content you consume.
Your roster is the influences you allow to steer your mind.

Protect that. Curate that. Elevate that.

You are only as good as the environment you put yourself in.

So no more showing up every day hoping today is the miracle. No more waiting on the lottery ticket. No more playing the 1-in-1,000 game.

Your life isn’t luck. It’s architecture.

Rebuild the program.
Hire the right coaches.
Bring in the right coordinators.
Recruit the right people.
And most importantly, believe you can win long before the scoreboard reflects it.

Because when you take control of the pieces, the outcome isn’t random anymore.

It’s earned.

And that’s where everything changes.

Talk soon,

P.S. Always Grateful, Never Satisfied isn’t just apparel, it’s a mindset you wear. It’s the space between thankful and driven. A reminder to celebrate how far you’ve come while still chasing what’s next. Live with gratitude. Move with purpose. Join the list for daily inspiration, early access to limited drops, and a 20% off code. Thanks for walking this path with us. The journey’s just getting started!

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