IN THIS ISSUE
01 pouring back into the people who pour into you
02 the seven fridays
03 rest is stewardship, not softness
Hey club!
We lost to Madrid in the playoffs. Game 4, May 7.
To paint the picture of why this season was so special: we started in Bulgaria. Moved to Israel with our 40 bags and boxes, and yes, that included a Christmas tree. Then moved back to Bulgaria three months later for reasons out of our control, two bags with us, everything else still in Israel. Then we played our playoff home games away from the gym we were used to in Sofia, also out of our control.
The night before the biggest game of our season, I drove to our place, cooked my own steak because I was tired of hotel food, got my recovery in with the hyperbaric chamber, and drove back.
I'm not saying that to complain. I'm saying it because this season was not just waking up and driving to practice. There were a lot of moving parts. And that's exactly why it was so special. What we accomplished meant more because of what we dealt with.
But you never lose. You only learn.
Seven Fridays went quiet after that. I felt like I was letting you guys down by not showing up here. Then I was reminded while reading my scriptures that even God rested on the seventh day. So if God took rest, am I better than God? No. So rest I took. And man, did I need it.
But coming back taught me something I couldn't have learned while I was still in it.
Let's go.
TAKEAWAY #1
pouring back into the people who pour into you
During the season I'm gone all the time. Road trips, practices, film, another flight. And while I'm gone, my family is holding everything down. They sacrifice all year so I can chase my dreams. They pour into me constantly, and most of it happens where nobody sees it.
So when those seven Fridays came, I flipped it. My time, my energy, my attention, all of it went to them. It was the least I could do.
Here's what surprised me. I thought stepping away from the game might leave me feeling empty. It did the opposite. I still felt so fulfilled. Pouring into the people who spend all year pouring into me filled me up in a way a stat line never has.
The scoreboard resets every night. The people in your corner don't. Take care of them like your career depends on it, because more than you realize, it does.
And now? I've been so excited to get back in the gym and on the court. The break didn't kill my hunger. It made me crave it even more.
TAKEAWAY #2
the seven fridays
So what did I actually do with those seven Fridays?
I was with my family. We had a new addition come into our home. I got offline, put the phone down, and let the people who build me up actually build me up.
For most of my career I treated my tank like it refills itself. It doesn't. The traveling, the moving, the stress of a season, it all adds up little by little, and you never really get to digest any of it until it's over. My mental had taken a beating throughout the year. There was a lot of load carried during the season, on and off the court.
Those seven Fridays were me putting it down.
Part of me always wants to be here sharing what I know and what I'm learning. But sometimes you have to reset and focus on the main thing. For me, that's faith and family. Everything else gets built on top of that.
And while I was gone, an email landed in my inbox from a young hooper grinding through his offseason overseas. Daily sessions. Working on his focus. Faith first. He ended it like this: "I really appreciate your work on the Consistency Club. Believe me that it's making a big difference for those who want to learn and grow."
I read that more than once. You guys are the reason this exists. Which is exactly why the tank had to get refilled.
And here's what I want you to catch. I didn't refill the tank so I could feel better. I refilled it so I can be there for my family, perform at a high level when the season calls again, and show up here every Friday with something real to give you guys instead of running on fumes.
The break isn't time away from the work. It's where the work gets funded.
TAKEAWAY #3
rest is stewardship, not softness
For most of my career I believed rest was something you earned. A reward at the end of a hard week. Optional. Soft if you took it when you didn't feel like you deserved it.
That belief cost me.
That line at the top about God resting on the seventh day? Here's the part I left out. He didn't rest because He was exhausted. Rest was built into the original design, written into the structure before any of us arrived. Then there's a passage in Mark where Jesus steps away from the crowds asking things of Him. Pulls away. Rests. The one person who theoretically didn't need recovery still made space for it.
That landed differently for me.
When I say faith, I don't just mean religion. I mean the belief you have in yourself in the late moments when the game is close and it's all on you. That belief doesn't come from hoping you're ready. It comes from knowing you took care of your body at 10pm when nobody was watching. The sleep window is part of the preparation. The prayer before tipoff sits on top of that. Not instead of it.
Rest isn't weakness. It's stewardship.
Seven Fridays. Some of that time was season. Some was life. Some was rest I actually needed, even when I didn't feel like I deserved it.
You've probably dropped something this summer too. A routine, a workout window, a habit you keep saying you'll get back to when things settle down. Here's the thing: things don't settle. You just decide to start again.
And there will be times when you feel overwhelmed or stressed. When that hits, go back to the basics. Cut the social media. Spend time with your family. Get on your knees and connect with your higher being. Mine is God.
So start. Tonight, figure out what actually refills your tank. The people, the rest, the time offline. Then protect it like it's part of your training, because it is. And ask yourself what's the one thing you walked away from that you haven't walked back to yet. That question is more useful than any highlight reel you'll watch this week.
Then hit reply and tell me what it is. The one thing you're walking back to this week. I read every response.
Tired talent loses to rested average. Take care of the tank, and the game takes care of itself.
Keep showing up,
Faith + Consistency,
Elijah
P.S. The biggest reason those Fridays went quiet. Meet Sol Luca Bryant. Born June 30th, 8 pounds 10 ounces. Some streaks are worth breaking. This one was.
P.P.S. That email from the young hooper asked me a question about focus that I can't stop thinking about. I'm answering it in next week's issue. Don't miss it.
