John, unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m sure you know that tonight’s the big game.

I’ll admit, all the talk about it has me reflecting on my own football career and the lessons I learned from it.

I still remember feeling the crisp fall weather as I rushed out of the locker room with my Stanford Cardinal teammates to play on Saturdays of years past.

Football gave me so much. Wisdom, growth, purpose, challenge, and so many enriching experiences. And of course, a lifetime of memories that I’ll take any chance to share, like this great clip of me juking out the defense:

One of the greatest mental breakthroughs football gave me was learning the power of living in the moment.

At Stanford, I noticed that the easiest way to screw up my ability to catch a pass was to think about what I’d do after I caught it, or think about the drop I had on a previous play.

It was the first incredible realization I had about how powerful the mind is when you stay present and focus on the now.

As I’ve grown older and changed from a jersey-wearing athlete to a suit-wearing public servant, this lesson still rings true.

Making progress in the Senate isn’t always quick, and it’s easy to get bogged down thinking about what we could’ve done differently in the past or what’s to come in the future.

But football taught me the best thing we can do is focus on what we can do right now to make an impact.

And right now, the GOP is already blanketing the airwaves in battleground states as part of their plan to flip the Senate majority — meaning we need to do everything we can to build resources now ahead of the tough challenges we’ll face in 2024. Can you pitch in $10 today to help?

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Thank you for letting me gush about football while also sharing some of the lessons I learned from playing.

With love and gratitude,

Cory