The road to our personal destiny doesn’t have signs pointing the way and there are many crossroads. The map is already within each of us but we have to want to see it. The secret is to trust our dreams and keep going. If we wait for directions or permission from others we are just delaying what must ultimately be our decision and ours alone.

As adult athletes we have already made some of those decisions and started on our journey. Where it takes us is up to us. A warm spring day, the miles flowing smoothly beneath our feet, the fresh clean air energizing our whole being. It’s easy to say “Yeah this is what I was meant to be doing today”.

Dave

My mind is chaos, my body stressed to the breaking point, every fiber of my being inflexible and tight. The warm-up begins but I really just want a nap, maybe a second cup of coffee. Lap one is past and I’m hating every minute, I’m cold, my It band hurts. Lap two is behind me, one shoe feels to tight the other to loose. Lap three, I might just survive this. Lap four, the first mile is done, I start feeling a light sweat. My jacket is thrown to the side of the track and my arm swing is finally in sync with my stride. My thoughts have evolved from whine to Grrrrrrr. I’m at peace and all is right in my world.

It’s not just a step, it’s a start.

Dave

What are our dreams worth, sacrifice, compromise, conflict, secretly we do know the price of success. Doing without to achieve an envisioned goal is difficult since each day needs and desires arise that we feel must be satisfied if we are to continue on. Funny thing about those needs and desires is that we have trained ourselves to depend on them. We can train ourselves to use less of our resources and still thrive. Whether it’s losing a pound, saving a dollar or winning a national championship, when the decision is made that the dream is worth the price, all things are possible.

It’s not just a step, it’s a start.

Dave

Only the Brave

There is a children’s story about Lambert the lion cub that was raised by sheep. Lambert grew up believing he was a sheep. One day wolves were attacking the mother sheep that had raised him. In that instant he was changed forever, out of his mouth came not another bleat but the battle roar of an apex predator. He realized that he wasn’t a sheep after all. His eyes glowed with fierceness and a new found confidence.

I have seen that same look in the eyes of adult athletes when they finish their first marathon. Tears are often streaming down their faces but there is no doubt that something is very different. Worn down to nothing but the raw desire to keep moving, transcending exhaustion, they gain entry onto a plane of existence that is reserved for only the brave. The path walked may be the same after crossing that finish line, the athlete is not!

It’s not just a step, it’s a start.

Dave

Destiny

Everyone has a future, only a chosen few have a destiny. Chosen because they made a decision not to blindly accept what each day brings but to embrace the opportunity it offers. Destiny is not determined by what happens around us but by our actions. No destination is possible without a decision to start the journey.

Fame, money, power, even a royal blood line are not requirements for a life that has meaning. The direction our lives take are instead the result of what we envision for ourselves and what we have the courage to do. Once we are in motion it’s easier to keep faith with our dreams. Then is moving forward a requirement for a life that has direction? Yes, sitting and watching others live is just letting time pass not truly living.

Add motion to your life, experience the difference, once started few desire to ever return to a sedentary life. That first step forward might not shake the world but it can have the most amazing affect on every fiber of our being. Chose motion, destiny awaits, but it doesn’t come to us, we have to travel the road that leads there. What is destiny, each person must answer that for themselves. Here is a secret, every step taken makes that question easier to answer.

It’s not just a step, it’s a start.

Dave