44 Seconds...

44 seconds.

44 seconds is how long the cast of "In the Heights" spent on stage celebrating their Tony Award for best musical in 2008.

After 44 seconds, the audience got up and began to exit. Everyone was talking about the after parties, next year's early nominee predictions, and the latest shows to debut.

Everyone except for Tommy Kail—the director.

Tommy stood on stage, alone.

In 2000, he first saw the script.

In 2005 the show debuted.

Now, 8 years later he was standing on stage at the pinnacle of the mountain.

Kail stood on stage alone and thought, “Well if this is a pinnacle, and it’s over in an instant, and people are already talking about what’s next, it can’t be about this. It has to be about something more than this.”

44 seconds represents 0.000017% of the eight years Kail spent working on it.

As you set your goals for 2024, think about the other 99.999983% of the experience outside of the pinnacle of the mountain you're trying to scale. What is your "why"? How can you make the journey memorable and exciting?