Messi’s habit of walking during soccer games — often derided as laziness — may actually reveal something deeper about how elite performers approach their craft. At first glance, it’s easy to assume that walking, while others sprint, suggests disinterest. Yet, as has been confirmed, Messi’s walking is part of a deliberate strategy. By reserving his energy, analyzing the movement of players, and scanning for opportunities, Messi optimizes his performance, conserving bursts of explosive energy for the moments that matter most. This insight into Messi’s seemingly counterintuitive behavior mirrors a broader truth about high achievers in many fields: they often appear to do less, but their impact far exceeds the visible hours they put in. Consider Charles Darwin, whose revolutionary ideas in biology were forged in just 4 hours of focused work per day. His output wasn’t a function of grinding longer hours but working with a deliberate, strategic focus. Similarly, Winston Churchill’s afternoon naps, often dismissed as self-indulgent or the product of his well-known affinity for alcohol, were in fact part of a routine that sustained his energy for tackling the enormous challenges of leadership during wartime. The pattern continues across creative and intellectual disciplines. Ernest Hemingway, a master of his craft, wrote for about 5 hours a day, knowing when to stop to keep his mind fresh and his ideas sharp. Mozart, whose compositions would redefine Western music, worked for less than 6 hours a day. Even Albert Einstein, one of the most revered figures in physics, was famously uninterested in school and earned a reputation for laziness — yet his deep, focused thinking produced insights that transformed our understanding of the universe. These examples reveal an important truth: high-impact people often achieve more by doing less, not in terms of total effort, but by honing the quality of that effort. What looks like laziness on the surface is often a form of strategic patience. They know how to preserve their energy, recognize when to act, and focus their efforts on what truly matters. The broader lesson here is that effectiveness isn’t measured by how busy we appear or how many hours we log, but by how we marshal our resources — our time, attention, and energy — to achieve the highest impact. This isn’t an excuse for laziness, but rather a reminder that strategy often trumps brute force. The walk, whether literal in Messi’s case or metaphorical in the case of creative and intellectual giants, isn’t wasted time. It’s the calm before the storm.