Today is more of a musing discussion with a bit of "life advice" flavor. The point is directly about shooting, health, and other important skills- but the implications affect just about everything. I want to talk about the power of accumulated effort and why so many people, including me at times, go wrong with it. As I'm writing my thoughts down to record them, I'm 113 days into the longest "cut" I've been on in my life. Back in November 2022, I went and had a DEXA scan done at a local gym to evaluate my body composition. Despite being lighter and appearing fitter than I ever did while on activity duty, the results of the scan still came back disappointing. I decided that whatever other goals I had in mind, dropping the excess fat and getting down to a point that I could be be truly proud of must be the priority. It's not just about vanity. I want to set the example for my son. I want him to see his parents live a lifestyle I didn't see as a kid. I also want him to grow up with a "bad ass dad" stories and the ability proudly proclaim his dad could beat up the other dads. I also know my family history of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. With 40 just around the corner later this year, I plan to enter the next decade with my best chance. As I write this, 113 days later, I'm down over 22 lbs and the lowest weight I've been since I was a teenager- also while being able to athletically perform at a higher level. That said, today's episode isn't really about me or this particular journey. Where it All Goes Wrong The most common problem I see in the shooting world is the completely false idea that finally purchasing the "perfect" thing will solve all of our shooting shortcomings. People waste so much time agonizing over what rifle to get, the barrel configuration, or the optimum optic choice that they never actually get out and start shooting. Sadly, they're missing out on the most important part: actually getting better. A lot of people, especially beginners, ascribe far too much importance to the little nuances like the "best" red dot sight, 1-6x LPVO vs 1-8x, chrome lining vs nitriding, or anything else. When you zoom out, these things really aren't all that vital to success. That's not just in shooting, either. I see this same behavior in any worthy pursuit, be it fitness, cars, or any skill-based endeavor. Culturally, I think we have an aversion to working hard and sacrificing for delayed gratification. We want the "one weird trick" that promises to make the long plod to mastery faster or easier. We believe life should be a series of climaxes, complete with rousing background music and fast paced montages while we move from one major plot point to the next. Marketers, for their part, are happy to take our money and sell us these climaxes for the mere appearance of progress or shortcuts. Some of these folks mean well, and others are more nefarious, but they're all selling something. Rarely is it the idea that you just need to calm down and continue the take the journey step-by-step. It is so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis. Too often, we convince ourselves that massive success requires massive action. James Clear, Atomic Habits Treat Life Like an Investment In his excellent book, Atomic Habits, James Clear has a phrase that's stuck with me for years: "The aggregation of marginal gains." The idea is that we only need to make make consistent sm...