Create in unknown grounds. Be a Pioneer. Most Awesome “Cycle Texas logo ever.

Go Make That Stuff.

“The manifesto is this: Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use – do the work you want to see done”.
- Austin Kleon, “Steal Like an Artist”. Workman Publishing Company, Inc 2012

Does this sound familiar to anyone that I’ve spoken to recently about “Fingerprintz”? For those that don’t know or haven’t heard, Fingerprintz is a type of doodle or Pen & Ink line art that I’ve been working on fervently. Rather than just simply consider my work simply a ‘doodle’, I like Sunni Brown’s TED video clip (click link). And as the tagline for the short video goes, “She makes the case for unlocking your brain via pad and pen”. I just kept taking it a step further, a little bit at a time.

As many of us do, we take time to relax and unwind and clear our minds. Everyone has their own particular way of doing this, mine happens to be drawing. I’ve done it ever since I can remember, all throughout school – grade school and beyond. It helps be focus, either by getting FOCUSED or not losing it. Either way it serves me well in helping grasp complex thoughts and processes, and it’s been proven to help others as well. It’s interesting to me that something, such as doodling, has such a negative connotation attached to it, when in reality doodling is how many gain or keep what others think we’re lacking…attention.

In any conscious, repetitive action that we do, patterns  become more apparent by studying and observing what it is that you’re doing. I say conscious because to the outsider, drawing minute, concentric, ever increasingly smaller or wider/bigger lines, over and over again might be seen as mindless…which is how Fingerprintz loosely defines itself as it’s own subgenre of line art (Fingerprintz get their name from the style and form that is most similar to a human fingerprint).

An enthusiastic search for material from which to learn and hone my skills soon turned to many dead ends. There wasn’t much to go on, and in a world where MOST anything is searchable by Google, NOT finding any information left me feeling flat. How am I supposed to learn about this? How can I improve? How am I supposed to describe what it is that I do? I was stuck. I wanted to draw, but I wanted to draw better. I wanted to show the world my very best, and to do that, I had to improve. But how?! And with that I stuffed the thought back into my mind, on the bench, ready to be used as a 6th player, a sub if you will. The game plan: create. Just draw. I’ll worry about learning more as I go along.

I had what I needed: pen (ink), paper, Add to that lines and curves and do it in black & white – so, I got started.

Funny how the one thing I was worried about started taking care itself once I just starting doing what needed to be done: practice
The more I put more ink on paper, the more I studied what was evolving right there in front of me. I started to notice how the lines themselves influenced each other and how it was that they shaped and formed the overall picture. Certain sections seemed to pop out more, how do they do that? Some areas seemed to recede or fade into the background, while others had a peculiar ‘movement’ about them… “Wow!” was all I could say as form after form, shape after shape materialized, a tangible manifestation from my mind to the real world.

Lightning Strikes

The creeping sense that I was now in unknown territory began to be frightening. I retrospect I think I’m glad it was frightening, the fear helped push me through the Dip. As the fear subsided and slowly started to dissipate, it allowed for more hopeful thoughts to invade.

Have you ever wanted to be a pioneer?

It’s not a question that the authors and bloggers that I’m fondly attached to ask, but it’s certainly an attribute (skill?) they help encourage. Part of being a pioneer is going where no one has before, doing what nobody has done before. Am I one? Am I a leader? If there is anything that I have learned from the likes of Brogan, MacLeod, Stanier, LaPorte, Godin, Kleon, Smith, Guillebeau and the likes is that its in all of us. I just had to find out what.

Now instead of worry about NOT finding anything in the big, daunting, gaping void, the goal was to expand into the unknown, embrace it and carve out a niche. Doing WAS the learning! And here is what I have to contribute:

The title of this post, “Most Awesome ‘Cycle Texas’ Logo Ever” is what I’m using to describe the confluence of many estuaries – the books, the authors, the bloggers and Twitter fans, the posts, the guides, and so much more- lead to a singularly huge thought.

What is the most awesome ‘Cycle Texas” logo?
and
Who dunnit?

Back to Google again to enter the search term, and this time, not only was I surprised, I was floored. Not one single Google image pointed to a picture, JPEG, pic, clipart, or PDF of what I was I looking for – so I made one.

The most awesome “Cycle Texas” logo ever (Facebook link)

Knowing full well that records, rules and statements are meant to be broken, it is my sincerest wish that this tagline for the logo, “Most Awesome”, be challenged. I look forward to seeing who steps up to the plate and what they have in their arsenal. This is how ideas spread, this is how we share, this is how we create remarkable.

When the day comes to cede the crown, it shall be done with grace and poise, kindness and curiosity, and the same boyish naiveté of wonder that has led me down this path of creative art that I love and enjoy. The cool thing is that I’ll still be able to say I was the first…a pioneer.

Who’s footsteps are you following in? What are they guiding, leading or lending a hand in? How can you move forward and evolve? Answer the questions for yourself and/or feel free to comment. Stare down the Void and don’t be afraid, Voids are just like that (sometimes scary) by nature.

Banff, July 2012

Getting back on track.

“Think of yourself as a toy train. All toy trains de-rail now and then. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back on track.”
-Anon.

It has been quite a while since I’ve checked in here. Admittedly it seems more like I checked out. A lot has changed in the last 6 months, a change so violent it literally shook up my world.

Change, as author and blogger Seth Godin talks about was exactly what I was looking for. In an act that mimicked a teenage revolt, I set out to challenge my beliefs and my integrity in a cross-country cycling tour, solo. ‘Faces for Change Ride’ was completed in July of 2012.

There is quite a bit I need to catch everyone up on. I truly consider this ride to be one of the most amazing things that I have ever done in my life.

So, getting back on track:
Time and time again I find myself waiting, waiting for the right time, the right moments, pausing…trying to think of the best thing to say, hoping for the best outcome. So much pressure mounted in such small decisions proves to be a suffocating circumstance, that you have only yourself, or, in my case, me to blame. Accepting that Responsibility is a huge task. The cure: Start.

I’m very thankful to have my friend, Zach Ford here with me today. He’s got a wonderful blog y’all can check out if anyone is interested in ALL things cycling in the DFW area. Click this link to check it out. He’s the asskicker I needed today to get these thoughts and words onto paper, err blog…whatever.

Finding Forrester

This is a movie I’m very fond of and there’s this one scene that I think sums up my post for today:Writing scene

In this scene, William, the Pulitzer prize winning author is giving his student (Jamal Wallace) a lesson on writing. “Write!” he says. And that’s how you get started with writing.

The miracle of ‘doing what NEEDS to be done’ or ‘doing what you HAVE to do’ is that when you start doing those things, things start falling into place. At least you won’t have to be playing catch-up all the time.

So, moving forward I’ll be talking about the ride, telling stories about the adventure and how it came to a close. At the same time I feel the need to simply write, so I’ll be touching on subjects that concern me currently and how they’re resolved and what decisions I’m making in their regards.

There is a huge air of excitement for me right now, it feels good to be letting go of any fears I had about getting started again. In the back of my mind I always promised myself that I’d get back on track. I just didn’t know how and where. All it took was to take that small step, make a decision and plant the idea firmly in my head that TODAY was the day.

There is a small smile creeping across my face right now. I think I’m smiling because I’m realizing just how easy it was. Such a huge fear powered by months of procrastination and all it took was a tiny step and a fearless thought to squash the paralysis. Then again, it’s very easy to Start or Stop doing anything. Stop eating so much, easy. Stop drinking, smoking, drugs…Start working out, start writing, start anything…all of it is easy-

It’s easy, the trouble is with maintaining it

This is where I’m at today and I really hope I’ll find it in me to STAY on track tomorrow.

Do you have any troubles with Starting or Stopping, Maintaining? Feel free to leave a comment and we can discuss.

It was a wonderful couple of days here in Thunder Bay and now it’s time to get on going. As much as I’m looking forward to getting out of the hills and onto the prairies (the hills getting here were vicious), from all the other accounts I’ve heard from other cyclists, the Prairies is where the riding really gets tough. Maybe not as tough physically, but definitely mentally.

Wide open land that expands in front of you to a horizon that never gets closer.

I’ve heard a couple of jokes about how flat and straight the roads are, the top two are these:

-You know you’re in the Saskatchewan when your dog runs away and you can still see him three days later, he just looks smaller.
-Ever heard of the photographer that went insane? Yeah, he tried to get a closeup of the horizon.

Today’s ride will take me from TB out to Raith, ON. It’s about 85 kilometers away, on the way to Winnipeg.

As you seen him come closer and disappear, that’s when I cut the camera, saddled up and bolted up the road another 50 yards. When he reappeared he was right where I was standing filming on the side of the road.

Sorry the video is only 11 seconds long, I think the adrenaline and pure excitement got the better of me, I started to shake and couldn’t keep the camera still. As he got closer all I could think about is, “RUN!” I’ve never been in a position where there isn’t a fence, barrier, wall, bars, etc in between myself and a bear.

clip-2012-06-23 05;57;34

Mosquito Haven -

Hey guys, as many of y’all know, I want to write a book about my cycling adventure in Canada. The following is a possible chapter in the book I intend to write. Hope y’all enjoy, cheers!

This story takes place Friday, June 15th 2012.

No sooner than I hung up the phone I felt a sting, and another. What in the world? This certainly wasn’t the first time mosquitos had tried to make a meal out of me, but the frequency of the bites seemed hyper accelerated, comparing to nothing that I’ve experience before.

Thinking that it was simply a matter of being on the beach, I ran back to my campsite just a ways back into the slightly wooded and grassy area. Putting a hundred yards or so between the river and myself seemed a likely solution.

Not a chance.

The winged infantry moved on me like the Charge of the Light Brigade, full speed, full force and without remorse. I was swarmed without another moments notice. Slapping my legs and flailing arms wildly I tried to fight them off which proved to be a losing battle.

Opening my saddle bags and tossing my bunjee aside I looked frantically for my cycling leggings in hopes that they would offer some protection, at least a temporary distraction from the assailants. I already had long sleeves on, I was good there. But my face must have been marked with a big red circle and X that read, “Free dinner.”

Thinking back to the conversation I had just ended with my sweety, upon wishing her good night I finished by saying that I wanted to use the last 15 minutes of sunlight to set up my tent. Those 15 minutes had disappeared.

It was dark. Completely dark.

Finding my headlamp/headlight and setting it to ‘bright” illuminated the immediate area and I had my first chance to actually see the mosquitos. I saw them alright, the same way you and I see a black storm cloud. Brooding and bubbling, black and thick.

Hundreds of miniature bloodsucking bats were all flying around, never ceasing to dive and land, pricking and sticking. The blood they sipped from my limbs was being replaced by some alien hate-fluid and filled my body with rage and anger.

Just 15 minutes ago I had hung up the phone, a phone call that’s sole purpose was to describe the picture perfect scene of the camp grounds that I found myself in. The flowing river, the sandy beach, the warm waters, the grassy knolls…just recently trimmed and groomed. The glowing stars, the cool breeze…you know, the scenic view reserved for postcards and senior golf resorts in Florida.

Not anymore.

This campground was the product of sirens and nymphs, who obeying the command of the Devil Queen Mosquito Goddess from Hell, who constructed this haven as part of a treaty to spare themselves bites, disease and infection and to lure unwary visitors closer to the nest so they, the Mosquito Clan may feed.

I’m not making this shit up. At least at the moment it didn’t seem like I was too far astray from reality.

How long had I been fighting the mosquitos? Too long, 5, 10, 15 minutes passed and I was no closer to setting up the tent than when I hung up and said goodnight. I had to do something quick, and that was just it…set up the tent.

One quick pat and rub down of my legs and arms, I told myself to focus on one thing for just 5 minutes. Set up the tent. No mistakes, no errors, no breaks to kill mosquitos, no slapping and no flailing about, no angry or interruptive thoughts. Nothing, for 5 minutes.

Nothing but clear and focused attention for 5 minutes.

It took me 7 minutes to set up up the tent. 2 more minutes were spent searching through my gear and tossing the pertinent articles inside my sanctuary.

I was done.

Hopping inside I found myself surprisingly calm, most likely from relief. My skin itched and burned. Sitting in quiet contemplation I thought back to other nights of preparing my sleeping arrangements. Other nights I’ve spent the better part of half an hour fussing over what to bring into the tent, what stakes go where and what angle to set them at to hold and secure the tent and fly. What angle will I facing when I get up? What view will I have? What direction is the sun coming up? None of it really mattered now, and I don’t think it ever did.

Only two events or happenings interrupted me later that evening before falling sound asleep:
1. There were three mosquitos that had followed me in the tent, they were quickly dispatched.
2. Laying my head down near the entrance of the tent, seconds after closing my eyes, an all too familiar buzz caused my body to twitch. It wasn’t that I was not that familiar with the buzz, it was the intensity of it.

Turning the headlamp back on and shining it towards the entryway, I counted 30+ mosquitos flying about and other quietly sitting together in different parts of the vestibule.

They were waiting.

Ha, fat chance! I’m never coming out of here…like never, ever. That is… unless, oh no, please God, not now, don’t do this to me…I have to pee.

The funny part is, at least it was to me, is that I wasn’t too annoyed by this simple biological calling. I had to go, so I went. Outside of course, but I took my time and didn’t rush.

I knew the mosquitos wanted at me, I knew I was gonna get bitten or stung, but it really didn’t matter. I had my bed, it was warm, I was tired and I had a great day of cycling. Nothing, not even buzzing and bloodthirsty mosquitos were gonna take that from me. I slept pretty damn well that night.

PS: The following morning I looked around at my clothes and around in the tent- If they were ever to make an R-rated version of Gulliver’s Travels, the one where I goes berserk and slaughters the ‘little people’, yeah…that would describe the scene. Bloodstained, gut spilled, mosquito-part-crusted-and-caked-on shirt, shorts and socks. It was brutal.

As always, please feel free to post comments and let me know what you think. Hope y’all had a wonderful weekend.

The slow blur

“Life is only a blur if you stop focusing.”

Everyday I make the promise to get online and make a post, most days I break that promise and it’s something that I intend to remedy. It’s part of the plan, but I need to turn it into a routine

Wake up in the morning, wash up (when available), eat (where I find a place), break camp (make the bed), etc. There’s a routine that we follow and they differ from person to person. We each have our own.

Let’s say that a routine is very similar to a plan. It’s a road map or circle of events that are linked to each other. The completion of one step leads to another, and so on and so forth.

The biggest difference between plan and routine that immediately comes to mind is that plans don’t always go according to their very nature. And that’s ok. I think they’re mainly there so we have a mental image of where we want to go or what we want to do and accomplish. If we stray too far away, we can look to see how to get back on track. A routine is something you do almost religiously.

How does this apply to “Faces for Change Ride”?

Part of having a routine in also having something you can count on (time, internet, a place to sit, etc). I haven’t been able to count on all these as of late. What’s needed? To make daily, or at least tri-weekly posts I need to have a plan, one that I can count on a bit more than the one I currently have. (My plan so far consists of riding, riding, riding, take a break here and there, eat, and keep on riding towards a location where I think I can stop for the night).

Admittedly, it’s a pretty loose plan, but it allows for fun and scenic detours, conversations with locals, learning a bit about the areas that I’m traveling through and so on. Yes, this journey is about experiencing new people, places and things, but it’s also about making plans, honing my routines, making and breaking habits and most certainly focus.

The slow blur…
is what I would describe as the process of remembering and recounting the days events. What did I do? Where have I been? Who did I meet? What did I see? At the end of the day when I’m settling down into my tent and sleeping bag, I try to organize all these questions and give them answers. But there’s just so much. It’s all a blur, and it occurred over the entirety of a day. Tack on two and three days to this, four and five days…I think it’s easy to see how it’s easy or life to just become a blur.

I’m so excited about EVERYTHING going on, I’m not leaving time to do what I originally made a promise to get done: write, read and blog. I need a plan and I need to eliminate some of the fluff and extras from my daily routine. As the blur begins to fade, guess what you have? Focus.

What routines do you have? Do you have a plan? What’s getting in the way of your plan(s)? What can you eliminate from your daily life that will help you focus?

As always, please feel free to comment and answer any of the questions. I really want to know.

Sidenote:

Today’s ride will be from Little Current, ON to Espanola, en route to Sault Ste. Marie, ON. I’ll be leaving the Island of Manitoulin and getting back on the mainland.

To see the route, click on the link: http://goo.gl/maps/Cvt6

I think this is a wonderful quote that can give definition to what I’m hoping to accomplish during this cycling adventure, in life in general, and for the future that is to come.

Reaching your hand into darkness

Reach your hand into Darkness...pull another into the Light

I’m sure many of y’all have seen the ‘reality’ show Fear Factor, a TV show in which contestants are put in seemingly dangerous, gross or otherwise adrenaline packed challenges for their shot at $50 thousand dollars.

One of the challenges that is often times met with quite a bit of difficulty is when a contestant must reach his or her hand into a veiled box, grab some sort of odd creature, thing or bug and pull it out. Easy enough right? Not really.

You don’t know what’s in the box so anxiety and fear grabs hold of you. “What in the hell is that?!” people shriek, promptly letting go and wasting precious time. It’s assumed that the first contestant has the short end of the stick. Everyone gets to watch AND prepare themselves for whatever demonic being is about to emerge in the hands of the guinea pig (guy/gal No.1). It’s awesome in so many ways, but what really sticks out to me is how hard it is for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th participants even AFTER they know what’s in the box.

Knowing what’s in the box is scarier than NOT knowing

While not always true, lets pretend that it is and extend that thought into other areas of life, particularly concerning doing, learning or experiencing something new.

Too often people settle and fall short of their dreams. Too often we think something is too difficult or hard, not worth attempting and don’t see a benefit in accomplishing trials that are survived only at great cost (think Spiritual, Emotional or Psychological).

Upon announcing that I was going to attempt a cross-country tour of Canada, the first gestures of acknowledgement that people understood what I was talking about were thoughts of Fear and Safety.

To date I’ve been warned of cars, trucks, weather, bears, pumas and other sorts of wild cats, fatigue, dehydration, crazed meth-addicted rapists, thieves, etc. The list goes on.

The scary part I conclude is due to the departure from a common safety zone that we all share. In this case, the city or home. I don’t think there are more dangers in doing what I’m doing, they’re just different than to what I’m accustomed.

Being far from my comfort zone is what this trip is all about. How will I cope with the unknown? How will I deal with unforeseen events? What if this? What if that? What can I learn? And once I learn it, how do I bend and shape it for my own uses? Will I dare reach my hand into the dark box?

Comfort is something we all want. That is, a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint. Well being, prosperity and the pleasant lifestyle secured by it.

There will always tomorrow until tomorrow never comes. We’ll never truly know when that day will come, but we live as though we’re well endowed with the plentiful assets of future days.

Within that lies my Interior Odyssey…

Interior Odyssey

What can I do today to make tomorrow better for myself and those around me? What do I need to do? What can I stop doing in order to accomplish that?

I hope you’re asking yourself those same questions. If so, what are the answers? Please feel free to share them.

Like a Virgin and Child

The experiences enjoyed on the journey have been presenting themselves at a pace I’ve never before witnessed. Each and every moment of the day contains elements of something new, yet they’re met with a familiarity of sorts, hence the title for this post, “Like a Virgin”. And if you know the next line of the famous Madonna song, sing it to yourself. If you don’t know it, here’s some help:

…Touched for the very first time

That last line is the perfect example of how this journey has been so far. Take it a step further and replace ‘touched’ with any other actionable word associated with a sense.

Over the last few days, in jest I’ve told myself that I would scream if met with yet another friendly, open and kind, warm, generous-hearted Canadian. If I had kept my word, I wouldn’t be able to talk, my voice too hoarse to make audible sounds. These sorts of people are abundant and plentiful in this part of the world.

Here are a few examples with an accompanying story:
- Tired and hungry I pulled up to a fresh fruit, homemade jam and preserves shop along side of Lake Ontario in a area named the “Fruit Belt”. Almost immediately before even saying hi and hello the attendants (a brother and sister team) called from inside, “Hey, you need a re-fill on water? Take that bench over there, sit down and rest. We’ve got a couple sample baskets of fruits, they’re yours if you’d like. Take as much as you need.”

Hospitality and generosity first, then came the usual pleasantries:
“What is your name? Where are you coming from? Where are you going? What brings you to this part of the world?”.  In an instant I no longer felt like a traveler, and more like friends that haven’t seen each other in a long time, bringing news from afar. Not just any news or tidings, my news, my stories. The rest you can just watch and read on the news or TV. Here and now, not later and over there.

- Garage sales in Canada. At some point during the second day of riding I felt a sudden and sharp pain in my knee. Every rotation of the pedal brought another stabbing sensation to my right knee. I continued on, adjusting my cadence (pedaling rhythm), posture, position, etc. Nothing helped. I needed to stop and rest and most importantly I needed to ease the pain.

It was Sunday, and I had noticed several signs announcing garage sales along the route. I’ve had plenty of luck before in Dallas, finding useful items at great prices, why not give it a shot now? Not finding any pharmacies or drug stores along the way, it somehow made sense. Pushing on, I was hoping to find an Ace bandage, wrap or brace at one of the sales.

Not five minutes later I made a left turn into a neighborhood, hopped off the bike and walked up to an elderly couple sitting on the porch sipping soda. Their daughter was busy in the garden pulling weeds and planting flowers. With heavy accents (Ukranian/Polish? Don’t ask how or why I know this) I was greeted and ushered into the garage. More pleasantries and conversation ensued while Mom showed off their various ‘for sale’ articles and which ones were NOT for sale.

Bingo! It took all of one minute to find my prize, a clean and almost brand new Ace bandage. The price, fifty cents. Having found what I was after, I dug around for a while longer hoping to find something more.

What great luck! Or was it luck? After everything else that’s happened this trip, I don’t think it’s luck at all, it’s just a matter of putting yourself out there. Do that, and the world will conspire to provide aide. Providence. Look that word up, it’s very important.

Not finding anything else, I sat down on the garage floor to wrap my knee. At some point during the conversation I had mentioned “Faces for Change Ride”, Malaria No More and the intentions for this epic cycling adventure.

“Hello? Uh…where is everyone?”. I looked up and neither of my hosts where to be seen. I felt a little strange sitting by myself in the garage fussing with the bandage that I still hadn’t paid for, when all of a sudden both mother and daughter emerge from the house with smiles, gabbing expressively with a certain quality of apologetic frame surrounding their faces. “Here you go, it’s not much, but it’s worth a few cups of hot coffee when you need it”… and with that, they handed me a $2 coin and a $5 bill. Somewhere between “You don’t pay” and “Please take anything you need” I managed to squeak out a thank you. Had I not been offered a cold glass of iced ginger ale immediately following their gesture, I might have been able to sound off with a more suitable and sturdy voice of thanks. For fear of letting my emotions grab a bolder hold of my conscience, I declined the latter offer. Jumping up from the garage floor, while trying to maintain my aims for a successful thank you I simply reached out to already open arms and gave Mom a hug and a kiss.

And goddammit…she should or could have stopped there, but didn’t. Her parting words for me were as follows:

“No need to give us thanks. We’re the ones that are thankful. We’re blessed to have met you. Good luck on your journey”.

- The Canadian roughneck (contractor, builder, mason, painter)
A few hours later, I’m now making my way around the “Golden Horseshoe”, which is the Eastern shore of Lake Ontario en route to Toronto. It’s been sunny, rainy, sunny again and it’s now raining…again. Wind, no wind. Gentle breeze, clouds, no clouds…it’s tough to gauge the weather around here. Traffic is moving at a steady but cautious pace.

“Hey man! Do you need some “night jammin’ blahbetyblah’s…” – “What? I can’t hear you”. I slowed down and came to a stop wondering what in the world was in store for me now. Some random guy in a pickup truck was talking to me out of the passenger window. Pulling up ahead of me, he stopped. “Do you need some “night jammin’ glasses?’, he said, waiving a pair of clear, un-tinted, plastic, wrap- around glasses in the air. “They’re great for night riding, they’ll keep the rain and bugs out of your face and they cut down on glare…Here, take these, I get them for free from work. In fact, take two pairs in case one breaks or you lose ‘em”.

Once again, I’m witnessing kindness and generosity in a way I’ve never experienced before. In that sense, I feel kinda like a virgin.

I also feel that it begs to ask the following question: Are these random acts of kindness or deliberate acts of compassion? The take away from this is I don’t think it matters that much. Yes, there is a big difference between the two and they revolve around opportunity. We wait for the right moment to say thanks. We wait for the right moment to do or display some good wanting  for it to not go to waste. We want to be acknowledged for what we’ve done and given praise.

Well, here’s a challenge for you all this week. Instead of waiting for that moment, go out and get it. It’s yours to claim and you don’t need anyone’s permission. Just go and do it. Stop waiting, there are opportunities all around. If you can’t find one, make one. Know that it starts with you, it starts from within us.

If there is a single word that strikes me as being the most pertinent in this context, it would be:

Demiurge (noun): A being responsible for the creation of the universe. Maker or Creator of the world.

In doing this cycling ride I’m creating my own adventure and creating my own world. I create my own opportunities and seize those made available to me. I’m encouraging everyone to do the same.

Beep, beep...who got the keys to...Providence. Vrooom!

 The title of this post could and should have been “Old School Blogging”, but given the circumstances all I can think about is the rain so I opted for that title instead.

It’s been a steady stream of mist and spray,  damp and mildly chilly rain, falling all day. Not that way I had envisioned getting started on my ride. It really sucked the wind out of my spirits, but it allowed for some much needed rest and I was able to catch up on some reading. If I ever had any doubts, now is the time to get rid of them and really concentrate on what I’m doing. I need to focus.

Rain, rain go away

Well, June 1st finally caught up with me. The day I had planned and dreamed of finally arrived, the launch date for “Faces for Change Ride”. I’ve replayed and rehearsed this day in my head countless times already and it was met with resistance. Rain, plenty of it…I hadn’t planned on that. How could it be raining?! This is supposed to be the big day! A quick flip through the news channels and weather info gave me a grim outlook on the day. It’s not gonna happen. Not today at least. So, locked away in my motel room I began to plot and plan. I needed some encouragement and I knew just where to find it.

Before leaving, my significant other, Denise, gave me a picture of us and a folded piece of paper with some notes she jotted down dating back to April 27th, 2000 (over 12 years old now). The entire package was nicely tucked away in a zip-lock bag and it was there to serve as a reminder for me. I had glanced over it while still in Dallas and there were several quotes and passages that spoke powerfully to me. I remember telling myself, “This is what I need to read when the going gets tough”. I was right. So I did.

“Whatever happens I can handle it – and if I can’t, I can handle that”.

The first part of the quote is something I’ve been telling myself over and over again. I put it to practice every available opportunity. Today was one of those days that I just couldn’t handle it. Was is hesitance, lack of commitment, unclear goals, uncertain plans, fear? Who knows, but I made a silent vow to not let it happen again.

Frustration and indecision set in temporarily and that’s where the second part of the quote begins to work it’s magic.

Not everything we plan works out the way it is intended. I’m fairly sure we all know that by now. The important part here is to not let Fear and Fear of Failure get the better of you. If you’re putting yourself out there, do it with clear intent. Do it with a clear purpose and focus on the goal. Only then will Providence move in.

Providence as noted by the dictionary is a noun. It’s meaning:
- the protective care of God or of nature as a spiritual power
- timely preparation for future eventualities

“Old School Blogging”, mentioned at the beginning of this post as a possible title is what I thought of as I read the cursive script. A piece of paper with thoughts and feelings aimed to inspire and uplift was now having it’s second run many years later. What really hit home was the second quote immediately following the first one. This time it’s Goethe (at least that’s what it says on the note). It reads as follows:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”

Hesitancy, commitment, Providence, decision…of these four words, the last three are the most powerful. Together or separately they each hold the power to trump Hesitancy. Arm yourself with them, make them your slogan, mantra or truism. In a game of “Rock-paper-scissors”, it’s a gun.

If you’re looking to start down a path and have questions as to what you’ll need, give those words a thought and begin it now.

On a lighter note, and as a means to add some humor to this post check out the video here.
Warning, it is NSFW (not safe for work) and contains adult language.

There’s a line hidden in there that sums all this up nicely. But just you miss it, here goes:

“You see a mousetrap – I see free cheese and a fuckin’ challenge”
-Scroobius Pip

Also, make sure to check out the map – June 2nd, 2012 this is the route that I’m taking:

View Bicycling directions to 41 st marks rd toronto ontario in a larger map

Find your three words - 2nd step to getting things done

Alright, so we’re on the topic of getting things done. In Part 1 of this series I talked about the importance of writing down your ideas and how the visual impact can help make heads or tails of the situation. Writing it down gives the doer a sense of direction. It provides a start and a specific goal to reach.

Once the idea is down on paper, make notes on what the available resources are and see how they combine and perform with one another. Conceptualize, imagine. These resources are your building blocks. Use them wisely.

The next step in getting things done is to “find your three words”.
What does this mean?

Chris Brogan’s opening blog post for 2012 talks about this. You can read it here.
To sum it up he says:

“…forego the idea of a resolution, and instead, come up with 3 words that will help you define your goals and experiences for the coming year”.

In surrendering and waiving off the notion that we must have a resolution, which may be too directed towards one goal, finding your three words offers a method by which you can accomplish many goals, not just one. Please do not confuse this with multitasking. I understand that your goal may have many steps involved, focus on the fewest and most essential.

My three words

Juan – Lean, Zoom, Fear.less (great explanation on this one!)

That’s it, those are the three words and here is the email I sent him:

“I’ve been going through my notes, thoughts, plans and ideas over the last year. Reflecting on where I have seen most of my personal development, focusing energy on what I think my strengths are and what I know them to be. All of this is made easier when I imagine and dream about where I want to go, what journey I am on and how much I lean into the twists and turns. My first steps were of caution and rationalization. While those steps have served me well, I am not doing and serving those in manner in which I want to. For this year I’m changing the strategy up a bit and I will make a wholehearted attempt at the following:
- Lean (as in lean into problems, lean start-up, lean and green, lean meat)
- Zoom (gain momentum, don’t stall, make quick and inexpensive decisions, poke the box and poke it in a different spot again, move forward and do it quickly… Zoom)
- Fear.less I will not look at failure as anything permanent. I’ll do it, anything, to give success a chance. Rather than take a good chance for success (which is easy), I’ll take a big chance at failure with a possible great success. Like a small stick at a big piñata… I’m gonna swing it faster and harder than a big, clumsy broadsword. Hell, I may even jab. Quick, focused and to the heart or head. Results will vary and I’m ok with that. Cheers!”.

If you read Chris’s post I’m mentioned in it and for some strange reason I felt proud for having contributed. That’s why I follow bloggers like Chris Brogan amongst many others. They don’t just write, they make you think. They don’t give you all the answers, they provide a method or a trail…something to get you started while leaving plenty of room for discovery.

Those are my three words for 2012. Those are the words I’m focusing on to reach the finish line of “Faces for Change Ride”. What are your three words? How will they help you? Give them some thought and write them down.