On the drive to Victory Martial Arts “Safety Demonstration” (recruiting) yesterday, I reminded our son there was no expectation that he enroll and take lessons.

All the children participated, even the first timers.  Our son eagerly lined up.  Surprisingly, two of his friends are members there and graciously welcomed him into the atmosphere.

Off to a great start and then somewhere in the middle it got more intense and he felt uncomfortable with his skill level, and returned to the audience with me.

I could not have been more proud.  He tried something.  He did his best.  I didn’t push him, even though I could have.  He’s nine.  How hard do you push yourself?  He’ll get were he needs to go.  Will you?

What came first?:

1. The chicken or the egg
2. The ostrich or the chicken
3. Stick your head in the sand
4. Chickensh!t

Does it even matter?  It does if you want to be an example instead of a warning.

“I don’t want to run unless I know I’ve done my best.  And the only way I know how to do that is to run flat out until I have nothing left. Running any other way is Chickenshit”! — Steve Prefontaine

Same goes for life.

Guaranteed Instant Results.  Get real.

Seriously.  We all want them. We all chase them.  There are even people who guarantee them.

But the craziest thing I’ve seen is that there are people who actually believe them.

Just yesterday, Labor Day, had a conversation with a friend and I told him I write these blogs for my son.

Yet perhaps, they are really written to myself.  You probably don’t understand this, but the real audience is me.

I need daily reinforcement that common sense only works if I make it common practice.  Period.

After writing for me and my son, these blogs are written for anyone else who wants to read.  But please don’t expect guaranteed results.

Have you started your commitment yet?

A friend told me he recently ran a 5k, and broke the 10-minute per mile barrier for the first time ever. How cool is that?!

He started “running” a year ago by walking his first 5k.  Eventually, he was able to run short parts of his 5k’s.  Now he runs the entire distance without stopping.

The key for him?  He started slow.  He made progress gradually. He never stopped.

Now his next challenge is to do it for another year, and another year, and another……

But anyway, what about you?  What’s your story?

Whether you know it or not, you’re telling it to everyone you know.

PS.  Dream big.  Get there.  Stay there. Carpe diem, jeff noel