Most of us are fighting smoke screens.

And by smoke screens, I mean the things that hold our attention while the real work, the real exchanges, and the real shifts of power are happening somewhere else.

If I can use the Olympics as a parable, the games themselves were a smoke screen.

Yes, there were races. Yes, there were champions. Yes, there was spectacle.

But while the masses were focused on the competitions, something deeper was taking place.

While everyone else watched the games, leaders were meeting.

The Olympics created a rare moment where rivals could gather without war, without fear, without distraction. And in those moments, power wasn’t displayed through force, it was exercised through conversation.

These leaders exercised:

Their strength through restraint Their power through diplomacy Their wisdom through dialogue Their knowledge through shared insight

This is where ideas were tested.

This is where perspectives were sharpened.

This is where alignment was formed.

Iron sharpening iron.

And while iron was sharpening iron, most people were watching the races.

That’s not a criticism, it’s a pattern.

Even today, we’re often drawn to the loudest thing in the room, the most visible event, the most entertaining distraction. Meanwhile, the real change happens quietly, through relationships, through shared thinking, through people willing to sit at the table and challenge one another’s ideas.

The Olympics weren’t just about athletic excellence. They were about creating space, space where leaders could meet, where wisdom could collide, where discipline met insight.

The lesson isn’t “don’t watch the games.”

The lesson is don’t confuse the spectacle with the substance.

Ask yourself:

Where is my attention going? Am I focused on the smoke or the fire? Am I in the stands watching, or at the table sharpening?

Because history shows us this:

The loudest moments don’t always shape the future.

The quiet rooms do.

And maybe the real question for us today isn’t what game are we watching,

but what conversations are we missing.