#BelievingIsn’tDoing

Make no mistake and don’t believe the propaganda – believing you can do something isn’t doing it. Doing it is doing it.

If you must “believe” in something before doing it, believe you can learn from failure, and believe that what you learn will help you on your next attempt.

Then keep attempting until you do it.

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#FullyPresent

It’s not about a mid-life crisis, or trying to feel younger, or pretending to be something else, or a bright flare hoping to grab attention but instead arching over an empty ocean.

It’s about manifesting a fully present moment through full physical engagement.

If you’ve never ridden a motorcycle, you might be unaware that it demands – to ride safely – full coordination of mind and body, engaging both hands, both feet, shifting body weight.. And both hands have multiple tasks, and you are constantly gauging speed vs angle vs traction vs balance vs road conditions vs potential trajectories of surrounding cars.. while monitoring the machine beneath you without looking, only through sound and feel.

And no matter how in-control and alert and aware you think you are, you must accept that there are things outside your radar over which you have no control, and may not see coming. For those things you can only hope to be ready. Riding isn’t just riding. Riding is practicing.

Riding demands 100% attention 100% of the time. It demands your full physical and mental presence (assuming safety is a priority).

Riding comes with real risk carrying real consequences, and it requires an ocean of humility if one wants to keep riding.

And I do.

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#MetaphoricalBaseball

Not a big baseball fan, but it’s a great metaphor for life.

You’re born, and that’s home plate. You start with a good fast swing, but you don’t know how far that ball will go. The bleachers are packed with happy smiling cheering faces. The run to first is the stretch from birth to graduating college.

You know how to run now, but there are hurdles, and you still don’t know where the ball is. Gotta run hard and fast to make it to second. You’re about 40 yrs old now.

Congrats! You’re rounding second! But you’re breathing hard and pumping fast, and the ground is rough. Running isn’t nearly as easy. Gotta run smart if you wanna make it to 60 yrs old – whoops, I mean third base.

Oh, shit, you’re rounding third. Where is that ball? Did anyone see it? Am I out? I can see home plate, but it’s blurry, or moving, or both. Running sucks. Home plate is wavering ahead, it looks like it’s 80 yrs old – oh wait, is that me?

I can barely run. There are people cheering me on, but less than when I started and fewer with each step.

What was that? Sounded like a ball landing solidly in a glove. Fuck. Am I out? I almost made it to –

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