Time Arrow!

 

"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot." 

Last night I was watching the movie GROWN UPS and towards the end of the movie Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, David Spade and Kevin James play a game called arrow roulette! 

Like most scenes in the movie, I couldn't stop laughing but silly comedy is right up my avenue for stress relief! 

In this game (in case you haven't seen the movie) they shoot an arrow straight up in the air and the last person standing without running away wins! With this cast of characters it becomes a hot mess with eventually an arrow in one's foot!

Seems simple but ridiculously stupid right? 

Well I woke up this morning not able to stop thinking of that scene. Not because it was an amazing, Academy Award, movie moment but more because aren't we all just playing a game of arrow roulette or as I like to call it TIME ARROW! 

The key is your arrow was shot in the air the day we were born! Once we came out of the womb the arrow was shot and the clock started to tick! 

We grow up with a mind full of imagination, a mind full of discovery, a mind full of I have a million dreams of what I want to accomplish, a mind full of falling in love and a mind full of well...really...anything! 

Then at some point we get lazy, we lose that magical focus, or vision or our dream disappears and we are trapped in the loop of wasting every second that time ticks bye. 

And what we mostly forget is...

That arrow is falling back towards earth with our name on it! 

The arrow on the clock is ticking away but the arrow of when our journey will end is getting closer and closer.

I hate to sound like a dooms day, life sucks and what's the point preacher but we always need a swift kick in the ass or like the stoics believed...MEMENTO MORI!

MEMENTO MORI translated means...REMEMBER YOU WILL DIE! 

When we fully grasp that saying and we embrace it...THEN...we can implement change in our day and fully go ape shit crazy on chasing what's important to us! 

Whether its the arrow on the clock or the arrow falling back towards our eventual demise...both of those arrows will never stop! 

THERE is physically nothing you can do! Sure you can do a whole bunch of not great things to guarantee your journey will come to a close but LIFE IS LIFE and its up to us to get the most out of our clock! 

The number one thing on everyone's death bed is not I wish I would have had a fancy car, fancy watch, huge mansion or more money in the bank. The number one thing said is regret and more of regret they didn't value the things that meant the most to them! 

I write this blog for four very simple reasons...

1. I value everything and anything my step-father AL has given me and blessed me with. The gratitude I have for that man runs extremely deep and I love him just as much as my blood father if not more! The fact that he is battling Alzheimer's breaks my heart but I have it in the power of my crazy stupid mind to chase wild challenges (10 mile ocean swim in Septemeber!) to share memories with him and hopefully raise funds/awareness for neuro-degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.

2. Myself! I truly love writing these blog posts and my daily post on social media mainly for myself! They are reminders to me of what I need to focus on! They are reminders to me on what I am failing at! They are reminders to me of how much more I could do! They are reminders to me of what I am succeeding at! They are reminders to me of all the small wins I am accumulating! 

3. My kids! I hope that when my time comes my kids can stand up and share with the crowd how proud they were of me! How much they appreciated my small attempts to make the world just 1% better. What they don't realize is most lessons I teach or share, I learned from them! 

4. YOU! Rarely do people read this far into any post or blog entry...mainly because we have too much on our plates, we only search for the quick fixes and well no one really cares about self improvement unless it comes in a pill! If that's you then I still love you! However I have had too many people reach out after a post and say in changed the trajectory of their life, that they were in a bad place and they implemented one small strategy and their life changed or that they lost 200 pounds because I never allowed them to quit! 

So as you go through your day today! I hope you have a little fire in your pants knowing that you are dealing with the TIME ARROW! 

That arrow could care less how you treat others, how much money you have or how many followers you have on the gram! 

All the arrow cares about is that you are maximizing your time and MAKING IT COUNT! 

Adventure Awaits!

 

"Jobs fill your pockets but ADVENTURES fill your soul!" 

When I was a kid I was blessed to no have video games, no cable TV and most definitely no useless, distracting social media! 

My love, my passion and my summers where filled with swimming, catching snakes/turtles and galivanting up and down the Fox River on a canoe almost identical to the one above. 

You see, one of my best friends in the whole world and I would set out on very elaborate adventures. Well maybe they were only elaborate in our minds but all we had in the 80's were our imaginations and how grand we could make that imagination work! 

We would canoe miles down river (maybe this is when my endurance love started!) in search of GIANT carp (what a nasty fish!), snakes, turtles, spiders, bull-frogs, HAVOC (yes we were not perfect kids but those secrets will stay with him and I forever...ha ha!) and of course the freedom of being alive! 

How our parents let two 8-10 year old boys have that much freedom will always be a huge question mark but remember...it was the 80's! 

I remember one very HOT midwest summer day we set out to catch the illustrious GIANT carp that had been evading us for weeks. 

We had a small creek about 3-4 miles up stream called Turtle Creek (we had self named it due to the grand scale of turtles)! 

However about 2 miles in we could see a storm brewing that could possibly take us to the Wizard of Oz. 

We kept trekking along as two young boys would do on a mission to catch THE GIANT! 

The waves, the current and the wind however had different ideas which made this adventure even cooler as now we felt like we were on our way to catch MOBY DICK in the ocean (mind you this was a simple little river)! 

By the time we got to the creek the weather had severely turned for the worse and guess who was standing deep in the weeds waiting for us? 

OUR PARENTS! 

Did we get in trouble? To be honest I can't remember! What is the point of this blog? To be honest I can't even remember that...

Oh wait...

ADVENTURE AWAITS! 

My life seems to always be one adventure after another! 

While most of them revolve around extreme feats...most of them are amazing due to the company we share! 

You see...when my step day came into our life he was a very successful trial attorney! 

However he was blessed (so grateful this trait was passed down to me!) with the knowledge that material items while fun initially...in the end are a complete waste of money! 

That new watch...gets old!

That new car...gets old!

That new bike...gets old! 

That expensive purse...who gives a shit! 

What never, ever, without a doubt gets old....IS ADVENTURE! 

We didn't have any fancy cars growing up...my first car was brand new and I think in total cost 7,000 dollars.

What we did have though...was ADVENTURE! 

We went on amazing journey's, incredible vacations and shared so many laughs around the pure process of using our imagination and pursuing ADVENTURE! 

As long as my memory serves me...I will always remember those ADVENTURES! Whether it was with my best bud or with my family...those are the memories that are priceless! 

Stop working so hard to buy useless items as all those do is build clutter in your closet....instead find a job that you love or maybe just enjoy so that you have the time to clutter your mind with memories! 

Make It Count! 

Let It Go!

 

"Let it go!" - Elsa

There are very few keys to making the most out of your TODAY! 

When we wake up each day...show some gratitude for a few seconds that it happened and then go ALL in on COMPETING with what you have today! 

One sure fire way to ruin a good day today is to CONSTANTLY, CONSISTENTLY keep thinking about a bad yesterday! 

Elsa was brilliant is using those simple three words of..."Let it go!" 

Unless you are Doc Brown from Back to the Future...there is not a dam thing you can do to revisit yesterday. 

What has been done is done! 

The only thing or things you can do is...

LEARN, BE BETTER and EXPEL GRATITUDE FOR ANOTHER CHANCE! 

You see, the MIND is a very incredible and very delicate feature of who we are! 

Physically we can really crush all limits that are in front of us! We can train our bodies literally to be ready for anything! 

What holds us back from our full potential or pushes us to limit our limitations is...OUR MIND! 

Its too dark, its too cold, I am too old, I am not smart enough, no one will like me, I could never make the team, I quit, no one will read this blog post, I am too tired...and the list goes on for an eternity. 

The key is none of those excuses are of the physical realm but we can thank our mind for wanting to give up on us! 

Plus read that sentence again above and doesn't it sound pretty pathetic and not a way you would like to describe yourself? 

Now think the opposite...

I love the dark, the cold gives me energy, age is just a number, who is to say what is smart enough, those who love me will like me and support me no matter the circumstance, if I train harder then I will make the team, as long as one person reads this blog then mission accomplished, tired is the bodies barometer for growth...

Re-read that again and that is the person I want to be every single day.

However to add another layer of shit to the equation...now add in a disease process like Alzheimer's and NOW what is your pathetic excuse for wasting time? 

Wow! Your mind is silent now and you don't have much to say...

Life is 100% made up of what we make of it! Will there be days of unforeseen struggles? You bet there will be...that is what makes this journey so amazing. 

When times get incredibly hard or you see challenges as terrifying monsters...THIS...is when we break out the karaoke microphone and at the top of our lungs sing....LET IT GO! 

Nothing worth accomplishing in life happens without you having to work through some obstacle! 

Don't wait until tomorrow unless your Doc Brown and you know that tomorrow will come no matter what! 

Get off your ASS and make something of your time! 

I found this shirt in my closet earlier today and couldn't help but smile at the memory. 

When I was in college we had a dive bar that was our Cheers of the day! 

When I graduated my mom and step-father came to our graduation party and we set the bar on fire with energy and memory driven activities. 

This shirt was one memento to come out of that night and a memento that will forever make me smile! 

Make a list today of what you will LET GO...share, don't share...really doesn't matter but what matters is you recognize what's holding you back! 

I have nothing to hide so here are my top 5...

1. Keep challenging my limits because that is what I want and not what looks good to others!

2. Realize that I am not my father and that addiction will never hurt my progress in life! 

3. That I don't have to have all the answers ALL THE FUCKING TIME! 

4. I take it extremely personal when I can't help EVERY patient...mentally I can get any patient through adversity but sometimes my expertise can't help EVERY patient physically! 

5. That I have to be the BEST at everything I do! Honestly that one hurts but I need to realize that as long as I give my BEST in that moment that I can limit all limitations in life! 

Always Crush Life! 

Make It Count! 

One Epic Battle!

 

"More often than not, a hero's most epic battle is the one you never see; its the battle that goes on within him or herself." 

I think we can all agree that we took some history course during our illustrious educational career...RIGHT?

We had to remember dates! We had to remember timeframes! We had to remember the main characters and even sometimes the third or fourth cousin of the hero! (Well maybe not that detailed but it always felt like so much information that potentially would never be useful!)

I have one very, very, NOT immature, important question for you? 

Have you ever heard of...

"The Battle at Thunderblow!" 

Personally I have heard this battle many times over as a kid and it never ceased to amaze me at the share magnitude of power that the two main characters presented with! 

You see in 1946, The Battle at Thunderblow went down and till this day lives in the history books of incredible accomplishments. 

The two main characters were...the charming Lord Windesmear vs. the underdog Mr. Paul Boomer! 

The battle was of epic proportion and included famous feats, such as...

A Triple Flutter Blast, a Flupper, a Fragrant Fuzzy, a Threap, Flotching, a Sissler, a Plotcher, a Trail Blow and who could ever forget the most amazing Thunder Break! 

The critics in the 1940's hailed The Battle at Thunderblow as "A wind breaking virtuosity!"

To this day I can't believe that the world record was broken by the underdog Mr. Paul Boomer with a most magnificent Threap!

I can tell just from the hush tone that you have no idea what I am talking about...you are saying to yourself that your history teacher never covered this magical day in time! 

You see The Battle at Thunderblow is actually known as...The Great Crepitation Contest of 1946! 

That's right...all of this incredible athleticism centered around a FARTING pole! 

I know! I am extremely immature but in all truth I still have a teenage boy in me that thinks farting and farting jokes are still pretty comical! 

And NO...there really wasn't such a thing as The Battle at Thunderblow! 

One memory that I hope to never forget was every Christmas Eve at my Uncle Wayne's house we would break out a vinyl record (I sure hope everyone reading knows what that is...) and we would listen to this 15 minute comical recording of The Battle at Thunderblow! (you can actually just Google it now and listen online). 

I have heard the recording millions of times and probably could repeat much of its content but each and every time felt like a new time listening. 

It might be due to the fact that it was silly humor but my guess was it was due to the highlight that it brought the whole family together during a time of gratitude, a time of celebration and a time when life is suppose to be lighthearted. 

You see diseases like Alzheimer's are quite on the outside. There is no visible look! The hero carries on their journey but inside their brain is struggling to keep up. The hero is on an epic journey fighting like hell to remain strong! 

Unlike a crepitation contest there is no valve release to let out the pressure! 

So how do we help the hero remain on course? We remain calm and share the hell out of as many memories as we can! 

It won't make the neurodegenerative disease go away but what it will do is capitalize on the time we have left. 

Life is meant to be lived! 

Will there be difficult times...ALWAYS! 

Do we need to succumb to the difficult times...NEVER! 

All be can do is continue to put one foot in front of the other...

All we can do is laugh, smile and be grateful for the time we have...

All we can do is never take one second on that clock for granted...

All we can do is be like Mr. Paul Boomer and never let being an underdog stop us from being the hero in this journey...

Make It Count! 

Magic Water!

 

"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in the water!"

I was deep in a recent swim set starting to wrap my head around the fact that I have to swim an EXTREMELY long distance this coming fall when the idea of how magical water is hit me! 

Most of my magically successful (sounds like a cereal commercial) endeavors in life to some degree are represented by water being somewhere in the surrounding environment!

When I was a kid I grew up in what some would truly, undoubtedly believe was paradise. We lived on a river and across the street was a spring fed quarry that became our daily swimming hole for years! From the age of 2 all the way till my teenage years we lived in the water...

I actually think at some point my sisters and I started to develop gills because of our total immersion into the glorious liquid! 

So, you ask, what is so magical about water! 

Growing up I joined my communities competitive swim team! My jam was 100% the backstroke and nobody could take me off that high. Well maybe our Russian born coach who constantly yelled at us in the thickest of accents which most of the time I had not one clue what she was saying. 

If anyone has been on a swim team you know that the practices are long and the meets are even longer! So you have no choice but to gravitate towards developing friends to pass time! 

I met two pretty cool kids at the time whose names were Joel Kirkland and Matt Kirkland (last name sound familiar?). We were thick as thieves as what else is a young boy suppose to do passing time between events. 

So for those that are not familiar with the last name Kirkland...this blog is 100% geared towards my step-father as he battles Alzheimer's...guess what his name is...KIRKLAND! 

Yep...Matt is his son and Joel is his nephew. 

So years before life blessed me and more blessed my mom with Al coming into our existence...I got to know the family to a certain degree.

7 degrees of Kevin Bacon anyone? Most certainly a small world gravitational pull! 

Fast forward a few years and once Al moved in with us he would frequently join us at our magical watering hole. 

One day we were basking in our glory, playing tag in the water and simply living our best life when Al stepped up on the diving board and nailed a PERFECT 10 one and a half dive. It was like watching the Olympics and all of us kids had our jaws dropped to the bottom of the quarry in AWE!

Maybe not so magical to you but I will never forget that day and life is all built upon remembering the GREATNESS we observe. 

I decided to take a break from swimming in high school even though I had the opportunity to take it to the next level...the burn out was real! 

After college I happened to fall into what I would argue is the most incredible sport that is in existence!

TRIATHLON...

From sprint triathlons all the way up to Ironman...I raced for 20 years and each of those years I pushed the ultimate limit of what is possible. 

Part of fighting neurodegenerative diseases in life is to incorporate exercise/movement into our daily routine. While it will never guarantee a perfect shield it definitely will have a cognitive growth pattern of fighting like hell to prepare! 

Water has been a magical force in my life! 

Water is roughly 850 times more dense than air so when we swim its all about developing efficiency in movement. 

What makes you day? What makes your year? And what makes your life/story successful? 

EFFICIENCY! 

Water has taught me that the harder I fight the slower I go! Yet the stronger, more efficient and more knowledgeable I become...WELL...the skies the limit! 

Where do you find MAGIC in your life? 

Can't wait for my big swim in September but I couldn't be more excited about the person I will become over the next 7 months preparing in the magical elixir!

Thanks for your time! 

Always crush life! 

Make It Count!