Travels and Structure

So, I’m traveling right now to California to visit my little sister by two years. She is a journalist out there for a newspaper and just got a promotion to media position that will completely make her more marketable in this day and age of electronic/online journalism. She also is going to become a Mommy in November and I’ll become an Aunt. Her baby will be the first one for us kiddos. Anyhow, I’m headed that way now to spend then weekend and then I’m headed across the country to participate in a conference at West Point where I’ll be part of a group of mentors for cadets in the senior class there that is about graduate. So, yes, I’m busy…but I’m also sitting here on a plane right now and that isn’t busy so I’m working on some blog posts. I decided I needed some more “structure” to these entries, at least a basic 7 day format, so here is what I think I’m going to try and do:
Monday: Inspiration Monday- quotable quotes, things that inspire me, etc.Tuesday: Triathlon Tuesday- yes, this is my new non-work related passion, so this will be the triathlon focused day…not that it won’t creep in on the other days, but this is my day to throw it out there.Wednesday: Recipe Wednesday- I’ll try and post some fun recipe I enjoy, I’ve tried, or am going to try because I really enjoy cooking, and am always experimenting with new, healthy recipes, etc.Thursday: Leadership Thursday- This is my life passion: studying, mentoring, and helping develop leaders in every way of life with schools, churches, universities, business, civic organizations, etc. So, I will write about what I’m learning, what I think, what I’ve read from others, etc. Friday: Funny Friday- It’s the end of the week, we all need a laugh at this point!Saturday: Sports Saturday- chances are I’ll be racing, I’ll have friends racing, or some other big sporting event will be going on, so I’ll write about it here. Sunday: Spirit Sunday- my faith is the cornerstone of who I am, what better day than Sunday to share what God is doing in my life and what I’m learning in my faith.
So, that’s the plan. Being said, it’s Friday, so what’s funny this Friday, it’s more of an infamous joke that our family has told throughout time, and it’s really dumb, but you have to admit it is funny!Q: How do you catch a polar bear?A: You go out on the ice, cut a big hole, put a pea on the side of the hole. That way, when the polar bear goes to take a pea, you kick him in the ice hole.
*Ducking to avoid the tomatoes*

Another great quote

Not much today--too busy...to piggy back yesterday, "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood." Daniel Burnham, Chicago architect and planner whose vision rocketed Chicago int it's 21st century prominence.

Dreams

"Dreams are conceived long before they are achieved. The period of time between the birth of a dream and its realization is always a process. This period is filled with doubts, adversity, changes, and surprises. During the process, you will experience good days and bad days. And frequently you will be faced with a dilemma: Do you give up, or go on? Without hesitation, I can give you the answer: Don't give up on your dream." ~ John Maxwell Running With the Giants.

Such a true statement! One of the interesting parts of it is the "go on" piece. You can't just sit around and wait for your dream to happen. Take some action on it. You don't have to know the full picture (because you probably won't), but you know where your heart is, you know where your passions are, and you know some of the intermediate steps necessary to get from today's reality to tomorrow's dream. History is full of people who had dreams, faced failure, yet always chose to "go on." Joseph, in the Bible, had a literal dream of power and prestige, and yet had to be sold into slavery and thrown in prison to reach the point of fulfilling his dream (beyond his expectations). Yet, he always chose to do the harder right, he dedicated himself to excellence in EVERY position he was in: as slave, as prisoner, as ruler. Think life today will prevent your dream tomorrow? Don't give up! Go on! Pursue excellence, give your dream to God, walk uprightly, and press towards your dream. Chances are you've only been given a glimpse, just wait until you see in full!

BUSY!

Holy smokes I suddenly got busy with work and the house, and I travel this week, oh my!! The weekend was great and I put in over 100miles on my bike and that was a record for me, truly enjoying the bike right now! Then it was nervous IMAZ tracking all day yesterday too--congrats to all the Ironmen. It was truly inspiring and I kept checking on my friends running it and waiting to watch them cross, and then the looks on their faces when they did. Some had really rough days where uncontrollable issues kept them from making it to the end, so what did they do today--signed up for next year!! That's guts folks. How hooked am I now, how much do I want to put my body to the test of a 12+ hour race (12 hours would be good--lots of training to get to that though)?!? It's crazy, I know, but so was marathon training, so is training just for a Half-Ironman...but I can't help it, I'm intrigued by the challenge, by the unknown of getting to the fitness level for completing in best shape possible something as significant as an Ironman. I once called my best friend nuts for considering such a task--now I can hardly wait to sign up for one. So, looks like as long as my new job will let me, I need to head to FL for Ironman FL in NOV so I can sign up for next years race...wow.

Okay, need to finalize my resume and do some other serious tasks now and push the m-dot to the back of the head for now! Again, awesome job yesterday racers!