Jack the bear.

Jack the bear?

Yes.  Jack is our son’s teddy bear.  Our son (9) has three of the exact same bear – all gifts from family.  Fischer Price made this bear years ago, and on his collar, Fischer Price named him Jack.

Jack was my Dad’s name.  My Dad never met our son.  He passed away from early onset, rapid progression Alzheimer’s disease in 2001.

Anyway, our son lets me travel with the one with the torn ears.

What started as a cute little idea to help me feel connected to our son while I travel the globe, has turned into something a little more.  Jack is starting to report on his impressions from some of these places.

Here’s a quick one from Mexico. Take a look:

What does this have to do with exercise, fitness, health and wellness?  If I have to explain it, it won’t make sense, but it revolves around balance – the whole person, not just the body.

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May, 2008.  Nearly 18 months ago, just before Tiger Woods went to California to win the US Open and in the process, injure his knee, I had three brief opportunities to speak with Tiger.

First I asked Tiger Woods, “What one piece of advice would you give to anyone who wanted to be world-class?”  Tiger said, “Out work ‘em!”

As he was getting up to walk away I asked, “Do you ever get tired of being famous?”  Like I stated in yesterday’s post, Tiger said, “Since day one.”

As luck would have it, Tiger and I crossed paths a second time, “Tiger, if you had it to do all over again, would you go the famous route?”  Tiger said matter-of factly, “It’s not about being famous, it’s about winning!”

I thanked Tiger for his time and wished him luck and success on his rehab and upcoming US Open.

At the end of each Gold’s Gym workout, I finish up in a small, carpeted room (maybe 16′ x 16′) to work on some core exercises.  The last of these core exercises is called a plank.  Similar to doing a pushup, face down, but you’re on your elbows and you simply hold a stiff position for one minute.

When I look up to leave and pick up my son in the Kiddie Gym, who is lying next to me but Tiger Woods. I mean, what are the odds?

I promised myself I wouldn’t “bother” him anymore.  And besides, I had less than a minute to make it to the Kiddie Gym before it closed.  No time to talk, even if I wanted to.

With my son (7) on my back (he couldn’t walk this day), and sweat pouring down my face, we head to the Gym exit.

But wait.

A voice inside my head, “You will regret this for the rest of your life if you don’t do it.  You’ve been coming here for two years and you’ve never seen Tiger Woods, and you may never see him again.”

“Do it, or you’ll regret it for the rest of your life”, I whisper forcefully to myself.

We reverse direction, and find Tiger.  At this point I’ve convinced myself that I don’t care what he thinks, all I care about is not living with regret.

“Tiger, I’m not afraid of no.  I have big dreams about things I want to accomplish.  I’d love to have 30 minutes of your time.  We could meet for coffee somewhere.”

“Give me your number”, he said politely.

While Tiger has never called me, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I am not living with regret.

I hope Tiger can say the same thing.

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Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer I’ve ever seen.  He’s a Dad just like me.  We go to the same gym, for the same reasons.

But do I have an update on Tiger Woods?  Not a chance.

I once asked Tiger Woods, “Do you ever get tired of being famous?” Without hesitating, he replied, “Since day one.”

It’s beyond my comprehension why others worry about what happened with such urgency and importance.  And it confuses me why we don’t, generally speaking, have the same concern and focus on the people that mean the most to us.

PS. Heading to the gym today for the first time all week.  Maybe Tiger wants to talk to me. Yeah right.  :)

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Ya know, until I got tired of pulling hamstrings, and the physical therapist at Florida Hospital – Celebration Health told me, “You have to strengthen your core or you’ll continue to get hurt”, I had no idea what my core was.

All those years, never worked on my core, other than a few sit ups here and there.

This is much tougher than I’m making it look. I remember when I first started doing this particular exercise, I could bearly hold my legs up for one second.

Tiger Woods’ advice to me, “Out work ‘em”, is just like yesterday’s post – common sense, but not common practice.

If my goal is to help others be inspired, I better be able to inspire myself, eh?

Remember my hope yesterday, to list the Lane 8 credentials.  Me too.

That Lane 8 post is written and will post tomorrow.  May I challenge you to Dream Big, Get There, Stay There?  Carpe diem, jeff noel

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