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Today I’m going to sign off on my third, latest, and, quite possibly, last book, IKE. It feels surreal rereading that. It’s been a ride! I had no idea of the amount of work required to get here. But, like all good process, if you commit to it—and, I mean, really commit to it—you eventually come to a place that feels complete. Today, I arrived at that place. It feels good.

It reminds me of the second stage of evolution in my coaching journey. It was a time that arrived every spring just before our main national championship regatta. Invariably, it was an afternoon on the water, having just witnessed the crew I was coaching complete the most challenging workout of the year. At that moment, as a coach, I felt complete. I had done what I had set out to achieve—help young men discover that they were capable of more than they may have imagined.

In that moment, I would’ve been okay if we had put the boat away and called it a season. There was nothing more that a regatta could provide in justifying what we had done over the previous ten months. No medal, time, or title could offer more validation of the journey. It was complete without racing. I remember those moments as being beautifully fulfilling.

Today, with IKE, I feel like I’ve arrived at that same beautiful moment. Don’t worry, I still plan on publishing, but there’s a sense that I could quite honestly stop here and feel that this process—this journey—has been enough.

Writing IKE has reminded me of a transformative time in my life. I time when I met extraordinary people who helped build a supportive community around me. One of whom I married.

Revisiting my years with Ike has left me with a profound sense of gratitude. Simply put, Ike was a wise soul. And I got to meet, travel with, and learn from him—what a gift. The laughs, tears, and reflections that the process of writing IKE has elicited have been my prize. I’m good with stopping here.

However, in the same way, I loved watching the crews that I coached race; I’m keen to see where and how IKE lands, how it performs, if you will. That exciting possibility makes me smile to my core. And that feels good, too.