A True Badass Shines a Light Into the Bottom of a Funnel

Just do me a favor and go to YouTube and search for David Goggins. There is a great interview with Tom Bilyeu. The guy is a beast. He is created from an internal passion that cannot be explained from my paper. You can also listen to a podcast with him being interviewed by Rich Roll. His thought processes will make you ponder the softness by which we all live our daily lives. He speaks about the dark side and how it drives him. It is my opinion that if we got real honest with ourselves we would like to challenge our own dark side.

For the past four or five years, maybe six or seven actually, I have devoured podcasts revolving around business and human betterment. Since I was only a college tennis coach, I really wasn’t sure when the business interviews would come into play, but it was surprising how many of the podcasts had information that could be translated to my teams and their own journey. The human betterment interviews were just compelling, and it made it very clear that if you want something there is pain, strife, and many moments of being uncomfortable. Really, we all know that don’t we? Of course we do. How many of us competed as children or as teens or even in college? I am guessing quite a few. Some of us even chased the dream after college. Those days were awesome. The pain, the fight to gain just a bit of an edge, the glory that came after many attempts with failure attached, and the way we felt doing all of it was just the best feeling ever. Those moments made me. Well, I thought they did anyway.

Life happens. That is what I have told myself. Injury, lack of direction, choices that changed my trajectory, and a lack of focus (or lack of belief) on the dreams in my head. I found my wife, a career, then another career, a child, another career, another career, then finally a comfortable career. Really the first four were just jobs to supply the funds to play. Wanting more but with a lack of direction just led to frustration. All I knew was competing. It is how I was raised, what I loved, and what I needed to get the rush. Even Michelle noticed that was what made me ticked. So, I competed and scratched the itch. There were moments the dream of being great bounced around in the brain and there were fits and starts of serious training.

Then came coaching. A chance to infuse my love of competition onto others. Getting my fix for competition through the efforts of younger legs and better athletes. During a portion of this time I still competed so this seemed like a perfect fix. I endured my own training which guaranteed I felt no sympathy towards the athletes I wanted to be as great as they could. There was no talk about records or results, but the journey to greatness was what I strived to get across. At some point my competing simmered but that was okay because I still had the team. At least that is what I thought. Personal demons are a son of a bitch, and watching others do what you wish you could do just didn’t cut it. The downward spiral was beginning. You know that contraption you see from time to time at restaurants or amusement facilities? The one where you put a penny or a quarter in the slide and it starts at the top of the funnel going in a circle. It wobbles and goes slowly around. As it saunters around the circles become tighter and it begins to go faster. As the funnel closes in the coin spins so fast that it is hard to distinguish where it actually is and then, poof, it falls into the abyss. This is me.

Competing for the pureness of competing is what I love. The pain necessary to do it at the highest level available is what makes me happy. Torturing myself was fun. People thought it was silly that I trained in the heat of the day, worked out the way I did, and put myself in positions that could hinder my health. Well, this is what makes me tick. For me, nobody else. I truly loved seeing what I could do. Fast forward to today and those days are way gone. I’ve hung on to dreams that are like the cup you leave on the top of your car as you head out on a cross country trip. It hangs on for a few miles but once you realize it is gone it is too late to go back and search for the remnants.

Back to the first paragraph and Goggins. The solitude by which he leads his current life isn’t conducive when you have a wife and daughter who you love more than is explainable. My daughter has the gene and it is neat seeing her struggle, fight, and torture herself in pursuits that scare the hell out of me. I have reached the abyss of the spinning funnel and must decide what happens to me when they come to pick up the trappings from the funnel scam. Maybe I can be someone’s lucky quarter in Vegas which would be a lot better than being a penny reshaped into some cheesy throw away souvenir. Being human gives me those choices. Damn, it gives me those choices. Complacency has gotten me here. I need to read my own book, if you watch the interview you will understand, go into my cookie jar and find my greatness again.

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Photo by Maarten van den Heuvel on Unsplash

The Fair Came to Town

It is the weekend. These two days are the reprieve that 95% of Americans look forward to each week. Sleeping in, going hunting, fishing, spending time in their yard, partying with friends, doing something they love, coaching at the ball fields, spectating sports live or on incredible home systems, or maybe even doing nothing at all. Ah, the two days of freedom we look forward to for five days before. Coming from the coaching world, I never really had that kind of schedule. There were times I yearned for that schedule but there are also times I enjoy going somewhere on a Wednesday and there is no one else there.

The whole point of that little paragraph was to set the explanation for missing my normal schedule. The Polk County Youth Fair concluded last night and went late Thursday. I should’ve written Thursday night, but once I got home I just went to bed preparing for the next day. I don’t have any excuses other than it was late. The real warriors this week are the teachers, volunteers, students, and parents who dedicate hours for the chance to be a champion at the Fair. For years, our family only did the horse portion, which is on the first Saturday and kind of off the back of the actual Fair that occurs the rest of the week. Since our daughter is now in high school and in FFA, she has friends who are actively involved in other aspects.

During our lives we become so focused on what we do, how we do it, and how well we do it that we forget others do the exact same thing in their own lives. The Youth Fair brings all those disciplines together and students can focus on one or diversify and attempt at few. Some are more labor intensive than others, but all require focus, dedication, education, and constant care. Each of the participants can win ribbons for first, second, or third, and in some of the classes there are overall grand champions. These kids approach the Fair as we approach our own lives. Some want to win, some enjoy being there with friends, and some do what they do because “it’s what they are supposed to do”. There is that group that falls in all three categories. There are laughs, tears, fights, frustration, family time, and many late nights.

The Youth Fair is an agricultural based competition and ties in both 4H and FFA organizations. The big event to wrap up the show is the steer and heifer sale. These kids raise their calf, train it, groom it, and anything else to make it the best in show. Then, after developing a relationship with the bovine they have named, spent hours with, and trained for this competition, they watch it go up for auction to the highest bidder. It sounds cruel but how are we supposed to teach them about growing a herd, learning to look for problems with their growth, coat care, and feeding needs. If they can learn on one, see their success selling it, they can repeat that again and again. Not only are there cows, there are hogs, goats, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, dog obedience, and the horse show. There are animals everywhere.

But wait, there is more. Students can grow plants of many varieties and they are also sold to the highest bidder. They can compete in place setting, sewing, wood working, storytelling, canning, baked goods, metal works, eco projects, goat tying, archery, whip popping, photography, and many more things that require skills and dedication. This week is the culmination of work that has been going on for months. Very much like all the pursuits we chase as adults. There are only a few winners in each class, sometimes there are some failures, but for the rest, they gave their best or the best that they had and enjoyed the experience. For some, the failures will push them to try harder next time and for others they will quit and say they cannot do it. Sounds like society. Thursday night was the commercial steer competition and it was amazing watching the students move their steers around the arena. The kids gave it their all but there could only be one winner. You could see the jubilation and frustration as the winners were called. The truth hurts but it teaches lessons. These kids are tough and the educators who spend time with them are just as involved. Parents love their kids and the bias is what it is. I love that about competitions. Of course, I baked the best pie, showed the best, and cared for my animal the best. Yes, I did the best I could on that day with what I had. There are times that others are just better on that day. Parents, be proud of the effort. Yes, it is expensive, time consuming, and at times just plain old mind-numbing. It is okay that it didn’t work out. Learn the lessons from it and move forward to the next tasks.

I’m proud of all the competitors. It is great watching kids attempt things that make them uncomfortable. The growth that occurs during these moments will teach them so much if we let it. Everyone made it through and the preparations for next year may have already begun. There are some tired parents, teachers, and students this morning. Enjoy your weekend, everyone of you deserves the rest.

How We See it is How We Make it

The Super Bowl is set, the Olympics are about to start with mortal enemies combining and other athletes competing under a neutral flag, politics have turned into housewives of Atlanta, and for God’s sake someone put an IED (not really) at the Eagle Ridge Mall. There is so much going on but how much of it really affects me day to day? The government is shut down, but I haven’t missed a meal and I was able to get gas today. It sucks that the parks are closed, and people aren’t getting paid but as I write this the talking heads in DC are stroking each other’s egos and hammering out a compromise for the next couple of weeks. The Koreans, all of them, are trying to figure out how to play together, just like our own government, and one of the teams that keeps making it to the Super Bowl is being called out as a cheating team by mainstream media personnel.

If you only watched the news, Facebook newsfeed, or wherever you get your source of current events you would think that the world is going to hell in a handbasket. As a side note, picture little red riding hood carrying the world in her basket down a long staircase to meet the devil in Georgia. Oops, multiple cross references in that. Read it fast and it will make sense just like some of the political opinions that are spewed daily. Really though, is the world that bad. How many murders did you witness today? How many people did you see doing terrible things compared to how many people just went about their daily lives? The world is not a bad place. There are some bad people that do dreadful things. At the gas pumps today all the patrons paid for their gas. The McDonald’s cashier took my money and gave me change while telling me to have a wonderful day. I was lovin’ it! The people I spoke to on the phone were polite and we accomplished the tasks necessary to hang up happy.

Of course, terrible things happen. We see them on every channel, feed, video, and gossip column known to society. We give credence to those who make the most noise. Even the one’s that don’t deserve it. It is amazing how much air time an event can get and then suddenly it is over. Did you know that there are still people in the Keys and Houston who still don’t have a place to live? Oh yeah, but another story took its place. Why, because we love the bad shit. It sells, it’s easy to talk about, and when people get riled up they pay attention. We love to get angry at something, someone, or just an opinion that varies from ours. What happened to allowing others to have differing opinions and then agreeing to disagree. I like Brussel sprouts. Others don’t. It would be stupid for me to get angry because someone doesn’t. However, if I like lower taxes to protect me but one of my friends thinks that is selfish there is a good chance I will hear about it. Okay, I can disagree and still treat them to dinner with my new-found savings.

The Winter Olympics are right around the corner. We are going to see athletes who have dedicated years of training and sacrifice for the one chance to be on the world stage. Will the event be about the performances on the fields of battle or political banter about banned athletes and combined countries? I hope it is about the performances on the slopes and rinks. It is cool, no pun intended, that two countries who are politically 180 degrees from one another are going to compete as one. It is also worthy to note that athletes who are from a country that is trying to gain an unfair advantage are still going to get to compete. I want to see the best compete, but I want to see the best compete on equal footing. I mean, who doesn’t want to watch an exhilarating match of curling or some ice dancing on a Friday night with your lady? No matter the sport, they are there busting their ass for a chance for glory and I will be watching from the confines of my humble abode. See, I gave a negative opinion of an event I didn’t like. Wow, it really is that easy.

Hey, enjoy life and stopping taking things that aren’t affecting your day to day life so seriously. If it is really bad they will let us all know. There is nothing wrong with being informed so that you can make the best decision for you and your family. Just make sure it is for you and your family and not mine. If we focused on our own stuff more we all would probably be able to have a Coke and a smile and enjoy each other’s company a lot more. Have fun and skip the news tonight. I’ll give it to you real quick-like. There were some murders, the politicians’ kind of suck and blame each other like little school yard kids. It may rain tomorrow in Florida or it may not. It will be a bit cooler and your local sports team will be competing somewhere. The sun is going to come up at a certain time, set at another time and there will be tides as well. Someone robbed a store and Sheriff Judd apprehended another criminal who pointed a gun at his officers. Sleep well, I just saved you thirty minutes.

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Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

My Three Pack Watching the Six Pack

It is Friday night and the Polk County Youth Fair begins tomorrow. For many of the other disciplines it is a load in day, but for the horse crowd it is their one day to shine. That means for a multitude of moms and dads it is a 4am wake up call. For our little barn, H&W Stables, Brianna and Lacretia will do their best to have fun and compete at the highest level available to them for that day. It is a day to have fun, work on events you don’t normally do, and even do events that only happen at the Youth Fair.

For me, it is the first opportunity to get some good concession stand food. Oh yeah, I get to watch the horses and Brianna compete as well. I love watching her do her thing. She has become quite the horse woman. She trains horses, works with multiple riders, and even competes on her own horses when she isn’t competing on one of the training horses. The weather will be cool in the morning and then as the day shifts to the afternoon we will be basking in a beautiful winter day. We will catch up with other horse parents and we will smile when good things happen, and we will come up with good reasons when the competitions don’t go our way.

The Youth Fair was one of the first events that Brianna ever did on this journey of the horseback life. Going back the past six years makes me reflect on the multiple sports journeys I embarked on through childhood and my college years. Those reflections take me through many of her same struggles but more than that what transpired during those times. Places I raced, the trips that went along with those races, places I trained, tournaments I competed in, and the things that went along with each of those events. These moments defined me and were some of the best times I recall while growing up. The times were different, and it is really hard to explain.

As I sit here and write this piece tonight I am enjoying a wonderful evening with the two loves of my life. I love technology and I am glad that we didn’t have it when I was growing up. Being able to watch things, keep up with things, and see things we may not want to see at the push of a button is awesome but if these things had been around when I was a kid I wouldn’t have had the multiple opportunities I had to do the things I got to do. Tonight, I had the urge to watch an old movie that was running across my mind. A feel-good story about a racer. To some it would be a classic, to others a mockery of the sport, and to the rest it would just be cheesy. To me it is a feel-good classic about a man chasing his dreams. I don’t have it on DVD, VHS, or saved digitally but I just went to the smart TV and asked for YouTube. I typed in Six Pack and boom, there it was. Full version in HD. The movie was from 1982 but it was here. I got to share this moment that meant so much to me with my daughter and my wife.

Shifting back to the Youth Fair tomorrow I think about this movie I just watched. Back then it was so hard to share things. He made phone calls on a pay phone, and when he went to a different town he could be invisible once again. No one knew from town to town what he had done before. Tomorrow, every event will be filmed from a phone from multiple angles by multiple people. It will be uploaded across platforms, watched live on facetime, Facebook live, or Instagram stories. If Brianna wants to share a moment it will be there now. There won’t be a search through grainy film or discs. She will simply go to her phone and find the footage from someone that is there. The funny thing is, most of the people there won’t actually watch the event and take it in as it happens. They will be watching through the screen on their phone and miss the experience of just watching the event to be there. Sometimes it is just nice to watch the event as it is happening and keep the memories in our brains and not on our phones.

Enjoy your weekend and I hope that you see things through your own eyes and not what the camera allows you to see. Make memories by seeing the event not capturing it.

Wisdom will get you Attention

Attention; that word evokes multiple emotions, thoughts, and conversations. It doesn’t matter what you are talking about, watching on television, tapping in the search bar on your computer, or texting to your best friend. Somewhere, somehow, someone is getting attention. It can be bad, good, or just time passing. It can also be where you are putting all your time to reach a goal.

This word came up tonight. Not the word specifically, but the conversation centered around what was trying to be attracted. Attention was what was needed. Whether or not we want it, at times we are the center of someone’s attention. For a lot of us that is our goal. We want to be the center of the world for a person, a group of people, an organization, or for the minute few, an entire world. Having attention can be hard to handle for some, the drug that is needed for others, and an inconvenience for some that have become the center by circumstance.

When we are loved unconditionally the attention from the other is all we ever want. I heard a wise woman say, “I have had all the love I ever needed, and I will need nothing more.” Everyday, the attention was centered around her happiness, her goals, and her mission for that day. For the media hound the attention must be drawn in by remarks. What can be said, shown, or provoked to gain the attention that is strived for? Is it wrong? No way. If it can be gained it is a shared experience. Someone gives themselves by putting themselves out there. The bait has been cast out, with the bobber attached. As it floats around the sender sees nibbles bounce the bobber and then, with a flourish the bobber is under. We have a connection. Parts of the bait may flake off and more grab for a piece of it. This is exactly what was wanted when the cast hit the water. If the bobber sits there too long another place (comment, post, picture) must be tried. It is never a solo act. Someone puts the information forward and then it is absorbed by the interested parties.

Both above attentions are shared experiences where two willing parties get and accept what they want. Unconditional love and unabashed recognition. However, there are times that attention is given for the wrong reasons. Maybe you don’t dress right, speak properly, fit the mold of the masses, or vary your interests too much for the common core. Why does being an individual draw attention to those who want to be in the shadows? For some, they act in a way to gain the attention but for most they are happy in their own little world and don’t care if you visit or stay on your own planet. Why can’t we just let them stay there? Why must we care so much that we give them attention to draw out what they are trying so hard to hide? Truly, it is because we want the attention ourselves. Think about when you did something that everyone was opposed to you doing. When they spoke against you what did you do? Of course, you did it more. You were getting people to pay attention to you so why not continue doing it. As soon as the same people got bored or accepted your “stupidity” it wasn’t as fun as it was when everyone hated it.

Most of us lead lives that don’t put us in the public eye often. We are good with that. We have our core friends, associates, and acquaintances who like us for who we are and who accept our flaws as quirks that make us who we are. For those who are willing to put themselves out there for the attention they crave; you have two choices. Give it to them or ignore them. That’s it. Either play into it or not. If you don’t like it, shut up and move on. If you like it, support it with fervor. Don’t play both sides. There are way too many things that need your attention that if you don’t like what they are offering you’ve got plenty to spend your time on them.

This whole thought process came out of a great family dinner this evening. Elderly wisdom is something none of us can gain until we get there. Listening to them explain their love, love lost, and the thought processes of the one’s they surround themselves with really makes one think about their own existence. If you ever have the opportunity it would really benefit you to pay them as much attention as you can. Sometimes it is frustrating, mind numbing, and even repetitive, but it will open cracks in your thought processes that will make you wonder how important your iPhone really is. Enjoy them while they are here and learn from them as much as you can. They like your attention, but they are not likely to beg you for it.

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Photo by Cristian Newman on Unsplash

Quiet Saturday Night

What’s going on tonight? Dinner with the family, date night with your hottie, or maybe even someone else’s hottie, NFL playoffs, another sports game, and the options are endless. Saturday night is the night to unwind. I’ve seen a lot lately about old high school stuff. Friday and Saturday nights were let your hair down nights. No school, parties to find, parking lots to loiter in, and girls to try to pick up. We get older and those things change.

For some of us, high school was a long time ago, but those memories, as foggy as they may be, can pop up. A lot of the places don’t even exist anymore, we can afford to buy better beverages, and staying out that late, for most of us, isn’t appealing at all. Don’t get me wrong, those times were great and the people who made them great haven’t completely disappeared from the mind. Time moves on, hangovers hurt more than they used to, and Saturday nights look a little different for most.

To be honest, I didn’t really know what I wanted to write about tonight. It was a standard Saturday, killing a little time at the barn while completing a few tasks before feeding to come home again. Except, tonight, the same group of girls that were at the barn riding, training, having fun, and trail riding have somehow ended up at my little domicile. I find myself locked away in my room, doing this and watching less than stellar television. There is supercross on, but I have decided to tape it, so we can watch it as a family tomorrow night. Oh, how times have changed. The girls are doing what girls do. Phones and television going at the same time. They have big plans and know that I have big plans for the morning. As long as we all end up on the same page, I say, have at it.

The television shows aren’t getting any better and I just don’t want to write anymore. Have a great night, enjoy your family, kiss the one’s you love, and for God’s sake; stop posting stuff to remind us how old we all are. Pretty soon we will be eating dinner at 4:30 and offering traveling salesmen drinks at our door at 10:30 in the morning. Enjoy your youth while you can.

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Bravado, Heart, and Belief -- A Story About A Former Player from FSC -- CJ Johnson

There is a piece missing from my life. The funny thing is, that piece is continuing like nothing ever happened. It continues with full force and moves on knowing time moves on and memories end up in stat books. The Florida Southern Mocs men’s tennis team will start their assault on another season at the start of February. For the first time in ten years I will not be there to battle with them. As saddening as this may sound I am excited for them. A new coach, new goals, fresh players, and goals set by each to strive for. The other day I touched on seasons but tonight I am going back in the archives to speak about another player who made an impact on and off the court. Today he is still doing it.

When I came to Florida Southern I was left with a talented team. Skillful players on the court and even better men off. As I arrived and began the process of meeting the players there were freshman who wandered in with parents. Who the hell is this guy that is taking over from the coach who had recruited us? We don’t know anything about him? What’s he like, he doesn’t know why the other coach brought me here or why I chose here. All of this was true. Enter CJ Johnson. A brash, lanky young man from Melbourne. He was your typical American hotshot. Let me digress a moment. If you have ever dealt with teenagers from America and teenagers from across the pond there are a multitude of culture differences. This is not a negative remark to my countryman, just a factual telling of the difference in maturity at a particular age. Okay, back to the story. CJ was what you call, a recruited walk-on. The former coach was interested and so was CJ. There was a family history at Florida Southern as well.

Introductions were made, and small talk had been completed. It was time to let the freshman be freshman and boy were they good at it. The American tradition of going to college has been documented multiple times so there is no need to re-iterate it here. CJ was a hard-core freshman. If there was a party, he was there. Event on campus, he was there. Oh yeah, we have tennis as well. Being from Florida, there is a certain arrogance that goes along with being a player of certain stature. CJ had been one of those Florida players and was anticipating the transition to FSC to be his next step to greatness. Well, the team his freshman year was fairly stacked. The number one player on the roster was ranked as high as number three in the country. The number one doubles team was ranked as high as number one. Getting into the line-up would be hard, if not impossible. The one thing about Florida arrogance is usually it is followed by bravado. Not many players have the capacity to back that up. CJ tried. He did get into six singles matches his freshman year and posted a 5-1 record. Not bad for a walk-on.

His sophomore year was the break out year. To say he was a challenge would be an understatement. He knew he should play, had the bravado to back it up, and had the game to answer the question. His on-court demeanor stated strongly that he was here to win. His game spoke loudly by itself but there were moments his brain screamed from his vocal chords. I learned that when you truly believe something is worth fighting for, you fight, even when you use your good chips. CJ was worth fighting for. I liked the kid and fought the fight necessary to keep him alive on the team. Not for me, for him. I had plenty of bullets to put in for the next round. He needed to be re-packed and given another shot to hit the target. Spring rolled around, and he hit that target. Playing number 5 and 6 he went 12-5 on the season. He was a warrior. There was not a time that he walked on the court and thought he didn’t have a shot at victory. His doubles record wasn’t as stellar at 10-12 but 12 of the 22 matches were at number one and two. Remember, he was a walk-on who had been given a chance.

During his junior year his role shifted a bit. Again, the brain took a break and a massive effort was put forth to let the fight continue on the court. During this time there was also a sense of maturity that began to spring forth. The arrogance was there, but his belief system is what kept him going. This season wasn’t his greatest in singles. We had a return visit from one of the past greats, so CJ got pushed off the singles grid a bit. He still managed to go 4-4 in his limited role but his doubles was spectacular that season. He played number two and three doubles and amassed a 11-5 record. The outstanding part was that he and his partner only lost to one unranked team the entire season. Doubles gave him a partner. This was motivation. A person to outplay, pick up, and get fired up with. This worked well for CJ. His intensity and desire also led to a few funny moments. When you have a weapon, you use it until it’s empty. Sometimes the best weapon misfires. During a competitive match at number three, CJ gave me a smile instead of a brain cramp. You see, CJ had a great kick serve. For you non-tennis types it is a serve that has a lot of top spin and side spin on it and when it hits the courts, it proceeds to bounce off a different direction. CJ had a good one and he used it as a weapon. On this day, at the old courts, which is now George’s Green, it went a bit awry. His second serve was so good that he often used it as his first serve. So, he set up and we all knew what was coming. Except we didn’t. He tossed the ball up, let it settle to its spot, aggressively swung the racket, and bang it was off. Oh yeah, it was off. It was about 20 to 25 feet in the air and cleared the back fence. It was so high that it hit the top facade of the Berry Citrus Building. A serve that was aimed to go about fifty feet went about 100 feet. No worries. His serve was so good and grooved he would nail it on the second attempt. He did. Again, he tossed the ball, let it settle, and aggressively swung the racket up through the motion. This time it was a beauty. Had we been back on the old four courts he may have hit a home run on the softball complex. The ball rocketed off the frame and this time it didn’t hit the building, it cleared it. For the average player there would be trepidation. For CJ, it became a challenge to serve better the next time. He did.

As we headed into CJ’s senior year it was time for change. He joined a fraternity, had direction, and silenced the mouth and free-range brain he had used the first three years. There was talk of law school, possible politics, and some tennis business left to attend to. He was an important part of the singles line-up but did not have the record he wanted. He lost three tight three setters against ranked players, won four of his last five matches, which included beating three ranked players, but only finished with a record of 9-11. Again, his doubles shined. With multiple partners, he played number two doubles and he and his partners defeated seven ranked teams, which led to a 14-8 record. There was no drama, only sheer will to never lose, even when the other player was the better player.

When you coach, you love all your players. Yes, you love them. They mean everything to you, you want the best for them, and sometimes you wish you could crawl in their brains and flip switches. CJ never had the best record, but he definitely had intangibles. He never once believed that he was not going to win a match. He never thought he should be out of the line-up, and he became aware enough to learn from issues so that they wouldn’t be repeated. He tried multiple issues, but never repeated them. That’s called learning. CJ did go onto law school. He graduated and passed the bar. He is a practicing attorney and does magnificent work while practicing near his hometown. He also ran for city council. This fits him perfectly. Although he was not successful, he attacked it with the same tenacity he did his tennis game. CJ was a warrior that I will never forget. We still communicate and whenever I am in the Melbourne area I always go eat at his family’s restaurant. If you are ever in the Melbourne area, make sure you stop in at Memaw’s BBQ. You will not be disappointed. That is the same way I felt about having CJ on the team.

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Seasons

We appear to be having a bit of a real Florida winter for a bit. There usually are a couple days in a row of chilly weather but then it is abruptly back into the 70’s and life in Florida is back to normal. This time, winter has decided to stick around for a whole week. People are miserable, water is freezing in places that it normally doesn’t, and for God sakes there was even snow in northern Florida. Seasons are something we skip most of the time in our sunshine state and as warm weather lovers we are excited about the seasonal skip. Why? We love seasons. The new season of our favorite show, the football season, racing season, school, and on and on. Seasons are important. They give us something to look forward to each year.

Tonight, is the start of the supercross season. The opener occurs in Anaheim and is a who’s who of stars and includes the world’s best riders. It is also the Roar before the 24 in Daytona. That means that the 24 Hours of Daytona is right around the corner and the IMSA racing series is just about to get under way. Golf starts their new season in the fall, but the true new season kicks off with the tournament of champions in Hawaii. Football is in the playoffs and there is one more game in the college season. Seasons give us hope. All the people involved are full of hope. They all think they are the best and have a great shot of winning. The work has been done, the prep completed, and the talking is over. Everyone thought they had a shot but now we find out who the real deal is.

For twelve years of my life I lived by seasons. As a tennis coach we had our fall season and our spring season. Fall was a chance for the players to work on aspects of their game, play tournaments for themselves, and to prove the work they did in the off season was for real. The spring season was the one that paid the bills. We started with pre-season training in January and the first match began in February. From there it was non-stop until the end of April or the middle of May. That depended on how strong the season went.

Seasons are important for athletes, businesses, and us during our normal life. Athletes use periodization to reach the peak performance at the right time. They have pre-season, in-season, post-season, and even a rest season. Businesses go through the same process. They have marketing, sales, follow up, and then the analysis of the process. Farmers go through it with each planting. We have our seasons. Each of us has our own goals, dreams, and then we make our plans to get to the end of the goal. Once it is achieved or failure occurs we adjust and prepare to tackle it again or adjust our plan to a different goal. A season can last years, months, or even just a few weeks.

This is the first year in a long time that I get to determine my seasons. I don’t have to worry about the weather, the condition of the athletes, or the level of the competition we would be playing against. It is a change that I have embraced but will definitely miss. These days my seasons look a little different but in the end, I still want to win.

Next week the weather here in Florida moderates and our winter season takes a break. I hope you enjoy your seasons and embrace the importance of each of them on your journey. The funny thing is, seasons come and then they go. You have the opportunity to make it better the next time or accept what the seasons give you. Good luck during your season and make the best of each moment.

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Just Reading and Listening

Today is January 2nd. For many, it is the second day of life changing goals and for many more, it is the second day of all the fluff they have told themselves. This isn’t about that. We make our own paths and really, none of us should judge the decisions, or lack thereof. This is the second day of 365 that create the calendar year but if you really want to change there is not a need to be boxed in by twelve sheets of paper.

Day one, you decide to make the change. That sounds great. I had the opportunity to listen to a podcast the other day which puts the word decide in a completely new light. Here is the riddle: If five frogs are sitting on a lily pad and one decides to jump off how many frogs are left sitting on the lily pad? The answer appears so simple because when we think about deciding we think that means we are doing it. The actual answer is five. You see, deciding to do something and doing it are two different things. If you decide to lose weight, it means that you have had a thought, discussion, contemplation, and a mental desire to make that happen. The actual work and start of the process begins the first day you alter your eating habits.

Another thing I just finished was the book The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. It started a little slow but that only built the story. The main premise of the book is that it takes time for changes to be seen, whether they are good or bad changes. That is why it is so hard to make changes for the positive throughout our lives. We don’t see the change for a long time, so we must decide whether we keep going or just quit. There is an adage that states, “A person is not a static being. We are either getting better or worse every day.” The Slight Edge says that the small positive decisions we make everyday compound upon one another to make the change permanent or create a better situation for us. The same thing happens if we make small bad decisions each day. There is a part in the book that says something to the effect that having the fast food burger won’t kill you today. At least not today, but later.

We do all we can to control the environment we place ourselves in daily. The job we choose to have, yes, you do choose your job, the friends we keep, the places we go, and on and on. Can we cuss our circumstances? Of course, we can. Does it help? Sometimes it makes us feel better only to soothe our pained heart. According to the book, by making a small choice differently each day, over a period of time, we can better our lives. Like the frogs, we cannot just decide to do something we have to do it. There are times circumstances throw us a curve ball. There may be a flight delay due to an equipment change, maybe the line at Subway was longer than you wanted, or maybe it is colder than you like. All of these things pass. How you handle them decides your day and whether your slight edge curve goes up or down.

Be wise, breathe, and let your decisions compound in a positive fashion each time.

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