“Everyone has a story to tell, a lesson to teach, and wisdom to share… Life is a beautiful masterpiece bound together by your experiences. Open up and share your story; become an inspiration to others. You can make a difference because you matter. You were created with purpose. Live your life with intention, go out there and make a difference by being the difference.” ~Melanie Koulouris
We are surrounded by stories. They’re everywhere! They are the fabric of life as we know it. Words are the language we use to tell our stories even though they are completely inadequate to describe most of what we experience.
Different stories mean different things to different people. Some people actually believe their lives to be insignificant when viewed through their own eyes. However, when viewed through the eyes of another, what was once boring and insignificant becomes both interesting and inspirational.
If you have ever overcome anything, then you have a story to share. Sometimes even the most insignificant things have a story hidden within what otherwise might have gone completely unnoticed, if not for the details being filled in. The smallest act of kindness can have the most profound effect…
A man was asked to paint a boat. He brought his paint and brushes and began to paint the boat a bright red, as the owner asked him.
While painting, he noticed a small hole in the hull and quietly repaired it.
When he finished painting, he received his money and left.
The next day, the owner of the boat came to the painter and presented him with a nice check, much higher than the payment for painting.
The painter was surprised and said “You’ve already paid me for painting the boat Sir!”
“But this is not for the paint job. It’s for repairing the hole in the boat.”
“Ah! But it was such a small service… Certainly it’s not worth paying me such a high amount for something so insignificant.”
“My dear friend, you do not understand. Let me tell you what happened:
“When I asked you to paint the boat, I forgot to mention the hole.”
“When the boat dried, my kids took the boat and went on a fishing trip.
“They did not know that there was a hole. I was not home at that time.
“When I returned and notice they had taken the boat, I was desperate because I remembered that the boat had a hole.
“Imagine my relief and joy when I saw them returning from fishing.
“Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole!
“You see, now, what you did? You saved the life of my children! I do not have enough money to pay your ‘small’ good deed.”
So no matter who, when or how, continue to help, sustain, wipe tears, listen attentively, and carefully repair all the ‘leaks’ you find. You never know when one is in need of us, or when God holds a pleasant surprise for us to be helpful and important to someone.
Along the way, you may have repaired numerous ‘boat holes’ for several people without realizing how many lives you saved.
Make a difference…
Red Boat Story pulled from: bamradionetwork.com by Rita Wirtz, June 19, 2021, who credited the story to: Sharing is Caring, Sweden.
The Red Boat story was shared with me by a friend who knows how much I enjoy both stories and writing. I shared it with a room of individuals who were all moved by the words and now, once again, I am sharing it here with all of you to demonstrate just how significant our insignificant little acts can be…
Never underestimate an act of kindness or generosity. There is no way to measure the effect your words will have on another human being…
One of the elements of my own life story that doesn’t seem overly significant to me now because of the accumulation of years, is my own sobriety story. However, every time someone finds out I’ve accumulated over 31 years of sobriety, one day at a time, they’re almost always in awe. When I explain the days are the natural result of commitment and simply represent the outcome of choosing not to drink one day at a time, they don’t seem any less impressed.
If I hadn’t found the courage to finally tell my story, there might still be people out there thinking that they have to quit drinking forever, and because that seems so overwhelming to them, they never even try. However, when they hear about how I broke it down day by day, particularly in the beginning when it was really hard, then they understand that their commitment is only, “just for today.”
This subtle little difference, this insignificant detail can make all the difference between somebody deciding to make a change in their life versus saying there is no way it’s not worth it, it’s too hard! There is a saying that by the inch it’s a cinch and by the yard it’s hard and that’s totally true. When we take the time to break things down into the smallest components possible, what might originally have seemed overwhelming, is suddenly no great challenge at all and just another story to be told…
If you’ve ever struggled with drugs and alcohol and think there’s no way you could ever quit, please understand that’s simply not the truth. But rather than believe me, I would ask you to think about all the other things that you’ve done that seemed really difficult in your lifetime and simply ask you to think about how you did those difficult things? Each of the difficult things that you’ve ever done have all been done, one day at a time. And before you were ever successful at doing whatever the difficult thing was, you decided first in your mind to do it. You made a commitment. When we make a commitment to ourselves and then keep our promise, all kinds of magical things happen.
One of the greatest benefits of keeping our promises to ourselves is the development of self-esteem. Every promise kept is one step closer to having the kind of self-esteem and self-confidence that would make you, UNSTOPPABLE! The way that we go from unsure to UNSTOPPABLE, is by keeping our promises to ourselves, not all at once, but one day at a time.
The key to life is to keep the promises you make to yourself, one day at a time. It’s impossible to keep the promise of whatever it is that you’ve said you’ll do tomorrow, today. But when tomorrow comes, you have to show up, and you have to do the hard work, and you have to stay the course. And when you do, you will have done whatever needed to be done that day, and you will have kept your promise to yourself, and you will have built another layer into the process of becoming absolutely, UNSTOPPABLE!
Self-confidence is a one day at a time game. We build our confidence one day at a time with each and every promise we keep to ourselves. Once we get good at keeping promises to ourselves, then we can slowly begin to make and keep promises to others as well. As we do, our self-esteem grows, and when it does, we begin to believe that we can do almost anything, one day at a time. Suddenly, we understand that the only thing we ever must do is what’s immediately in front of us.
When we live in the now, when we live in the present, we can do, be, or become almost anything we choose. All skills are learnable. Simply ask yourself what’s between where you are now and whatever it is you ultimately want. Then, get busy closing the gap that exists between where you are and whatever it is you desire by accumulating all the skills and abilities necessary to close the gap, not overnight, but by steady, persistent, commitment, one day at a time…
“One day at a time” is a philosophy for success. One day at a time is a philosophy for living in the present. When we live each day with intention, with purpose, with commitment, we give ourselves the best chance to be our best. We are always best when we are in the now, when we are present.
If you ever find yourself up against the wall and feeling like there’s no way you can get through whatever’s in front of you, just remember, as my friend Michael reminds me on a regular basis, you can always come back to your breath. When we breathe, when we slow down, when we think, we ground ourselves in the present moment which allows us to block out the past and keeps us from worrying about the future.
Every time you struggle, remember, just come back to your breath. When we remember to breathe, we find the energy we need to do whatever is in front of us, we find the energy to do hard things.
Hard things are done one breath at a time. Hard things are done “one day at a time!” We can do hard things when we remember to breathe!
What’s your story?
Advance Confidently is the title of my next book, you will have to wait to celebrate its release as I celebrate my 60th birthday. I have concluded the world doesn’t need another self-help book from me right now, so I am listening to my muse and will write a sci fi personal growth story of self-discovery instead. Hmmm? Almost sounds like a QUEST, right? I believe you will be INSPIRED with the story that chose me to write it! I never saw it coming but now that it’s here, I can’t wait to share it with all of YOU! I know it will be worth the wait because that’s my commitment to you, my readers. Thanks in advance for your trust and patience!
In the meantime, I released a special audio short story on Twitter to commemorate my Independence Day and my 31st year of sobriety. You can watch/listen to the story here ( https://youtu.be/9zP4kk5OTlo ). You can find me on Twitter @bobby_kountz
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
“The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. Being alive is the meaning.” ~Joseph Campbell
Plug YOURSELF into a pathway, a process, or a framework.
Both blessed and cursed with the unique ability to think AND reason, humans are different than all other life forms. We were gifted choice, free will, or at least the appearance of it. Some would argue that no such thing exists…
The truth? That’s up to you… Yes, even the truth is a product of choice.
That which I believe to be the truth will be my truth. That which you believe to be your truth will be your truth. If I believe my life to be full of grace, gratitude, and abundance, then there is an excellent chance I will experience the same. If I believe my life to be devoid of pleasure, happiness, and joy, then there is an equal chance that is what I will experience.
“Your belief determines your action, and your action determines your results, but first you have to believe.” ~Mark Victor Hansen
I believe that hidden within each of us is everything we need to achieve anything we can imagine. I believe each of us was born with a gift. I believe that if we embrace our gift, it will make room for us. After all, we are human beings. Well, at least by outer appearance, we are human beings. Many believe we are spiritual beings having a human experience. This is where we come right back to what you believe.
Which do you believe is right? Are we spiritual beings having a human experience? Are we human beings having a spiritual experience? Or is it something altogether different…?
There is one thing I know that’s an absolute fact.
YOU are not an inanimate object. YOU are (Hu), the human element. YOU are the Swiss army knife of awesomeness! YOU are the MacGyver of mastery.
As a human, you have infinite capacity and a finite purpose. You were born with a gift that is yours and yours alone to share with the world. Your only priority in life is to transfer your gift to as many other people as possible. Musicians transfer their gift with their music, writers with their words, physicians with healing, craftsmen with their tools, artists use a medium. Whatever it is you do, or aspire to do, find a way to share your gift.
If you were an inanimate object like a curling iron, a regular iron, or a blender, then your options in life would be limited. If you were a tree, a dragonfly, or a grasshopper, your choices would be limited. Here’s the good news, you are none of those things. You are human and because you are, you can choose to do almost anything.
This gift, the ability to do, be, or become whatever you choose is both a blessing and a curse. Why? Because left to our own direction, it’s easy to wander, it’s easy to walk around undecided about what it is you actually want to do and the difference you want to make in the world.
Fortunately, there will come a point when you will feel “it.” You won’t know exactly what “it” is, you won’t be able to describe “it” clearly, you won’t be able to label “it.” You won’t be able to name “it”, but “it” will feel as real as if you could.
What is this unknown thing that you sense but can’t quite put your finger on? It’s the calling… Most of us ignore “it” when “it” comes… That is, we ignore “it” until we no longer can. There comes a day when the call is so loud “it” can no longer be ignored. What began as a whisper now follows you everywhere. The proverbial tap on the shoulder becomes so annoying that you get tired of turning around to look to see who’s doing it and instead you begin the process of self-discovery.
Self-discovery is the path to the promised land. It’s the place we’re most afraid to go because our ego fears what we might find there. If we were to find our true self, then that means death to the ego. And just like a momma bear, the ego will do everything to defend its cubs. We, are the cubs.
What do you mean Bobby, why are you referring to us as bear cubs in relation to the ego? Simple, I’m using a metaphor that most people understand. When we take a concept that’s difficult to understand and plug it into something that’s known, something the brain clearly understands and can process, then it makes what might otherwise be difficult, easy to understand.
You mean you chose a momma bear as an example because we all know from stories told about how momma bears protect their cubs, that we would understand that’s just how hard the ego will fight to keep us under its control?
Yep!
As long as we are under the spell of the ego, then there’s no way we will ever have the confidence to go after our dreams. If the ego is in control, we will acquiesce when we run into difficulties, troubles, and challenges, because the ego will be right there to tell us, “I told you so.” It will be there to say to us; ”Who do you think you are to do such a thing?”, you’ve never done anything like that before! “You’re going to fail, and everyone is going to laugh at you!”
Sound familiar? If not, then you can probably stop reading right now because this information won’t be for you. If you don’t feel any of those things or you haven’t heard any of those thoughts, then you’ve already somehow found a way to master your inner critic. The ego uses the inner critic to keep you playing safe and small because the ego’s job is to keep you safe.
Until you find a way to make peace with your inner critic, you will always be fighting the battle and I would suggest there’s a better way. It’s the way of self-discovery. As you discover who you really are and you begin to collect the evidence of all that you’re capable of, the ego slowly begins to change and starts to understand that you might actually be capable of doing the wild and crazy thing that’s been running around in the back of your mind, the thing it’s been trying to keep you safe from, all these years.
As the evidence mounts, if you embrace the ego as an ally instead of an adversary, you can get your ego to become a Benedict Arnold. And once that happens, you will have flipped the switch and for the most part, you will find your ego to be an astonishing ally.
What if? What if there was a process, a pathway, a framework for you to discover just how amazing you actually are? What if that process was self-discovery, and what if you had a framework to help you discover your truth?
The call was your awakening. The call is what has you reading this article right now. The call is what creates the insatiable curiosity you have about life. The call is your inner gift trying to find a way to express itself. Regret is what happens when people ignore the call.
At varying points in life, like milestone events, turning 30, 50, 60, at retirement, or lying on our deathbed, we think about all the things we might have done, could have done, should have done… when the hourglass has been turned over for the last time, there will be a reckoning. If we have lived our life If to the fullest, there’s a good chance we will gracefully watch the sand pass through the neck from the top to the bottom for the last time as we quietly close our eyes and drift away.
If, however, you have done like most, and put the important things on the back burner waiting for SOMEDAY, there’s an exceptionally good chance you’ll be wishing you could turn the hourglass over one more time.
As I write this, I am thinking about my own hourglass and how many more times I’ll be able to turn it from one side to the other. When the last time comes, will I have done everything that’s important to me? Will I have made the world a better place for my grandchildren? Will I have made a difference? Will anyone even know that I was here?
As a writer, one of the things I know for sure is that I will have at least left a trace, a fingerprint… I may not have created a tidal wave, or a tsunami, but I will have created a ripple and there’s no telling how far that ripple might spread…
Everything begins first with thought and then we take our thoughts and turn them into words to communicate first with ourselves and then with the world around us. We label things in an attempt to understand them. We use words even though they are a poor substitute for whatever it is we’re trying to describe. Since words are all we have, I do my best to describe what I see, what I think, what I feel, and what I believe. I believe with all my heart that as a fellow human being you have infinite capacity to do, be, or become whatever you choose, if you’re brave enough to begin your quest.
What do you want? Where do you want to go? What do you want to see? What do you want to be? What difference do you want to make in the world? What legacy would you like to leave behind? What would you like to accomplish NOW, instead of someday? Whatever it is, all you must do is turn it into a quest and then begin the process of living your quest, one day at a time.
Your quest will give your life meaning and purpose. Your gift will guide you through the process if you give yourself permission to discover it. And how do you go about discovering your gift? As you begin the process of self-discovery, you will begin to learn things about yourself that you’ve always known but didn’t KNOW. You will slowly become sure of certain things. You will begin to believe in your ability to do specific things. The more you do the things you believe you can do, then the more you will do them. And the more you do them, the easier they will become and when they become so easy they seem effortless, that’s when you know you are in your gift.
Your gift is the thing you do the absolute best with the least amount of effort and if you can find a way to do that, you’ll be well on your way to living a life of happiness, joy, and most importantly, freedom. The longer you persist in whatever it is you’ve been doing that isn’t your gift, the longer you will suffer. We will always be happiest when we are working with our gift.
When I wrote The Someday Solution, it was the beginning of something I didn’t even completely understand at the time. I have now come to understand it was the beginning of my quest, not the completion of it.
I have come to understand that when I write, when I’m with my muse, it feels almost effortless. As a matter of fact, as I write this now, I have a huge smile on my face because I know that whatever words appear on the page, are appearing as an expression of my gift, are being expressed as my gift. When I write, my soul expresses itself, and it is my greatest hope that my words will reach one other human being and wake up that something in them that has been ignored for such a long time…
It is my hope that my words will somehow wake you up to answer “your” call.
I believe there is a hero in each of us. I believe the challenges we face are placed in front of us to temper us the same way steel is tempered. I believe the challenges and difficulties we face are there to show us what we’re truly capable of. I believe they are there as proof of our strength and our courage. I believe they are there to teach us resilience. The inner journey of self-discovery is part of the hero’s journey, and your quest will be the process or framework that allows you to discover your purpose.
“Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It’s a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.” ~Joseph Campbell
“Advance Confidently is the title of my next book, you will have to wait to celebrate its release as I celebrate my 60th birthday. I have concluded the world doesn’t need another self-help book from me right now, so I am listening to my muse and will write a sci fi personal growth story of self-discovery instead. Hmmm? Almost sounds like a QUEST, right? I believe you will be INSPIRED with the story that chose me to write it! I never saw it coming but now that it’s here, I can’t wait to share it with all of YOU! I know it will be worth the wait because that’s my commitment to you, my readers. Thanks in advance for your trust and patience!
In the meantime, I released a special audio short story on Twitter to commemorate my Independence Day and my 31st year of sobriety. You can watch/listen to the story here ( https://youtu.be/9zP4kk5OTlo ). You can find me on Twitter @bobby_kountz
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
“Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason, mastery demands all of a person.” ~Albert Einstein
Everything begins with our thoughts. All things are created twice, first in thought, then in action. Wherever you are right now, look around you. Whatever objects you see, first existed in the mind of their creator, and only became manifest when acted upon with human hands. Even many of the natural objects surrounding us had to be gathered and placed by human hands to create their significance.
Our lives are no different than the objects surrounding us. Look at your life. The way it currently looks is most likely a result of your thoughts about what you believed was possible for you. Our lives are a representation of our thoughts. Our thoughts determine how we respond to external events and stressors. Whatever we currently have, or don’t, is most likely related to whatever we believed was possible for us. Please remember, there are always exceptions, but our hardiness or resilience equation, which also ties back to our thoughts, will directly impact our outcomes.
There is a phrase, expressed with some subtle variations, that was made well known by Earl Nightingale and other early pioneers in the field of personal growth and development. It also has strong spiritual ties. The phrase, in one form or another, can be found in many spiritual texts as well.
We become what we think about. “A man is what he thinks about all day long.” “Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” “As a man thinketh, so is he.” “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.” The phrases above are attributed to: Emerson, Hill, Allen, and Gandhi.
“We become what we think about.” ~Earl Nightingale
What made this short phrase so powerfully popular was the context in which it was shared by Nightingale. When Earl Nightingale wrote and recorded TheStrangest Secretin 1956, it sold over one million copies and received the first Gold Record for the spoken word. His work was responsible for launching and creating the field of business motivation and audio publishing.
Earl Nightingale is the only man I have ever known to use more quotes than me… And trust me, that’s saying something!
The following quotes are from the opening of The Strangest Secret.
“A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.” ~Marcus Aurelius
Disraeli said, “Everything comes if a man will only wait. I have brought myself by long meditation to the conviction that a human being, with a settled purpose, must accomplish it, and that nothing can resist a will that will stake even existence on it.”
“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” ~William James
“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.” ~William Shakespeare
“George Bernard Shaw said, “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can’t find them, make them.”
AWARENESS
“The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.” ~Nathaniel Branden
Our thoughts are constantly taking us into the future or revisiting the past. Unfortunately, this is where many of us spend much of our time. We are either thinking about the future or dwelling on the past. The future is kept for us. Impossible to go into debt, as was outlined in one of the greatest pieces ever written on time, by Arnold Bennett.
To be aware is to be in the now. Eckhart Tolle has made an entire career around this concept. The now is where we connect with our higher self. The now is the place where we exhibit our essence. The now is a place of being, not doing. When we are aware, we can see ourselves and our actions from the third position, which is the position of observer. It is from this place of observation that we learn we are not our thoughts, and with this awareness comes the realization that if we are not our thoughts, then we can change them in any moment. It is this awareness that opens the door of enlightenment.
Meditation has been called a direct route that will give us access to pure awareness, or to our higher self. It is the place that allows us to experience the space between the space, the silence between the silence, the pause between the pause, the breath between the breath. From this place of awareness, a door of infinite possibilities awaits. This door often swings on the hinges of gratitude, because “Gratitude is the little hinge that swings big doors” as was shared in the book, Dear Gratitude, by my friend and fellow author, Chris Palmore.
If you think your life is too busy for meditation, then that’s the first indicator you might just need meditation more than you could have ever possibly imagined… Fortunately, there’s a movement created by my friend and Executive Coach, Michael O’Brien, called the Pause, Breathe, Reflect, movement and you can experience meditation in 2-, 3-, 5-, or 10-minute segments on either Clubhouse or Insight Timer, your choice.
Meditation really is all about our breath. It’s about the awareness of our breath. When we breathe with purpose and intention, we open the door…
CHOICE
“Choices are the hinges of destiny.” ~Pythagoras
We are always at choice. Our choices create the life we live. The energy of the ego resonates at a lower vibration. The energy of compassion, forgiveness, gratitude, and truth resonate at a higher level than the ego. Another word for choice is discernment and you will find it often used when discussing mindfulness. It literally means to choose wisely.
Discernment is all about conscious choice and we often find books written on habit change discussing this idea of choice. When we ask the question, “What would my inner coach, or higher self, do?”, we are asking a discernment question.
TRUTH
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery
This element is all about being honest with ourselves. It may be best represented by the Delphic maxim of “Know Thyself.” Truth is the place where we create the courage to act on the conscious choices we have made because choice without action is folly.
Waiting in the shadows, our ego will attempt to distract us from living out and speaking our truth. The closer we come to our breakthrough while on our personal growth QUEST, the stealthier the ego will be about derailing us from our desired outcome. Self-mastery is the first step to the banishment of our ego and the birth of potential enlightenment. The ego will do everything to preserve itself.
When we can stand in our truth and take up the space of that truth, our ego begins to realize its days are numbered. This is where we typically meet with resistance, which is another tool of the ego to keep us playing safe and small.
SELF
“One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself.” ~Leonardo da Vinci
When we finally overcome the resistance of our ego, we will have an opportunity to meet our true self for perhaps the very first time. When we come into alignment with our true self, we will no longer feel at odds with the difficulty of choice, because our actions will finally be in synch with the natural laws of the universe. This is the place where we realize the difference between being in the world, but not necessarily of it…
Ego will have been put in its rightful place and awareness will be in the driver’s seat, at least temporarily. Ego is a persistent adversary and absolutely despises the back seat of the car and will do everything to regain its position. If it can’t regain position, it will quickly call “shotgun” at the earliest opportunity and push awareness into the back seat to take its place.
(A note on the term “shotgun” for anyone wondering. According to Wiktionary, the front passenger seat in a vehicle, next to the driver is referred to as the “shotgun” position because the position of the shotgun armed guard on a horse-drawn stagecoach, wagon train, or gold transport was next to the driver on a forward-mounted bench seat).
Self-mastery is available to all of us, but only if we are willing to walk through the trials and tribulations of self-discovery. The QUEST of self-discovery is not for the weary or faint of heart. It will most likely require us at a minimum, to do battle with at least one dragon, and we will most assuredly be forced to enter the cave we fear.
“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” ~Joseph Campbell
If you are wondering what awaits in the cave, here are a few of the elusive prizes we are all looking for: Happiness, Joy, Bliss, Wholeness, Oneness, Consciousness of the brightest and purest form, and an Awareness that transcendsthe bonds of everyday life and the presence of Light, Love, Truth, and Prosperity. Oh, and let’s not forget my favorite, Equanimity! This is the place of our unfulfilled destiny now realized. This is facing difficulties and excitement with equal anticipation. This is the NOW!
For us mere mortals, energy is rarely sustainable at this level. However, wouldn’t it be nice to visit it at will? That is the power of self-awareness. That is the power of self-mastery. That is the power of mindfulness. These are the ACTS! The potential prizes listed above generally emerge as we embrace the ACTS of Mastery. Act NOW!
Advance Confidently is the title of my next book, you will have to wait to celebrate its release as I celebrate my 60th birthday. I have concluded the world doesn’t need another self-help book from me right now, so I am listening to my muse and writing a sci fi personal growth story of self-discovery instead. Hmmm? Almost sounds like a QUEST, right? I believe you will be INSPIRED with the story that chose me to write it! I never saw it coming but now that it’s here, I can’t wait to share it with all of YOU! I know it will be worth the wait because that’s my commitment to you, my readers. Thanks in advance for your trust and patience!
In the meantime, I released a special audio short story on Twitter to commemorate my Independence Day and my 31st year of sobriety. You can watch/listen to the story here ( https://youtu.be/9zP4kk5OTlo ). You can find me on Twitter @bobby_kountz
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Mentor, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
“Success always leaves footprints.” ~Booker T. Washington
As I entered the woods and headed down the path of self-discovery and personal growth, the path less traveled, I fixed my eyes upon the ground. I knew that if I looked for clues, I would find the pieces to the puzzle cast aside on the path by those who’d passed before me.
I remember someone once telling me that success leaves tracks. At the time, I didn’t exactly understand what that meant. However, over time, I began to understand that as individuals progress on their path of self-discovery and personal growth, they cast aside the elements no longer serving them.
These remnants sometimes contain the clues to the same challenges we face. The individual that passed the test before us probably cast them aside at the completion of their QUEST. These discarded lessons often hold the answers we are searching for on our own individual quests.
It’s easy to believe that if something was cast aside, then it must have no value. There is nothing further than the truth. As a matter of fact, it is well known that what is one man’s trash, is another man’s treasure. And where are all these things cast aside, where might one search or hunt for all these pieces that might hold the answers to whatever QUEST you currently find yourself on?
Since ideas are difficult to see unless they are placed where we might find them, it can be easy to walk right past one without ever seeing it. For those of you reading this who enjoy hiking, or if you’ve ever walked anywhere in one direction and then turned around, you might very well understand how the trail looked completely different when we were walking in the opposite direction. On any given out and back, we will find ourselves seeing things we never saw on the way out to whatever our destination was, and on the way back, finding ourselves in wonder and awe of all that we missed on the way.
This is not unlike life itself. In our early years, when we’re on the path of striving, deep in the hustle and grind of survival and all that’s required just to make ends meet so we can take care of our families, we often miss some of the most important elements. If we had just slowed down a little bit, maybe, just maybe, we might have seen them strewn along the path.
What if we were so busy on the hamster wheel of life that we let a book or article recommendation slide right past us? What if that one book or article held not all the answers, but the one we needed to help get us back on track? And what if once back on track we discovered a new way of living? Don’t be a statistic. Slow down. As my friend and coach Michael O’Brien always reminds us, slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
Remember to Pause, Breathe, and Reflect…
We must also understand our why because littered along the path of personal progress are a multitude of shiny objects all vying for our attention and if we don’t know our why, if we aren’t crystal clear on our destination, then we will surely be distracted by one of the many other objects competing for our time.
There’s a phrase that helps to keep us on our path and that phrase is FOCUS. When we are clear about our destination, when we are clear about our QUEST, we will embrace all obstacles, all challenges, all difficulties. Anything the unknown throws at us will simply be part of the process because we are focused on the prize, we are focused on our goal, we are focused on the completion of our QUEST.
What does it mean to focus? Here is one definition!
Follow
One
Course
Until
Successful
Attributed to Robert Kiyosaki.
Another one I am very fond of is: Follow One Commitment Until Successful!
In three words it’s; Decide. Commit. Succeed!
When we are focused on our path, when we know what we’re searching for, when we understand that the only thing between us and our desired outcome is the gap between where we are and where we want to be, then all we must do is diligently work backwards to slowly close that gap, one day at a time.
Pulling from the great Steven Covey, “Begin with the end in mind.”
When we are focused, we can pick one specific thing to work on at a time, and when we accomplish whatever that is, then we can move on to the next thing. I know there are many that would argue it’s not that hard to multitask. Science would tell us otherwise, and if you’re interested in digging into this for yourself, then I recommend you investigate the results of multi-tasking and I’m sure you will find, exactly as I did, we’re not nearly as efficient as we believe we are when we divide our efforts instead of focusing on what’s most important to us.
Is it possible there might be a manual on how to achieve what one wants in life? Is it possible there might be a multitude of manuals available to us depending upon whatever it is we want for our life, or at least whatever it is we believe we want for our life, because often we don’t even know what we really want until we give ourselves permission to begin the QUEST? Many times, the answer we are seeking will only reveal itself to us once we begin the journey. We must be taking steps in the direction of whatever it is we desire to discover whatever it is we genuinely want, because sometimes what we desire is different than what we think we want.
As we grow, as we expand, as our consciousness expands, we suddenly find ourselves wondering why we ever thought so small to start with. A simple analogy to explain this concept is that if you only had a teaspoon and you went to the ocean you could only ever bring back a teaspoon at a time. As we become more aware we understand if we choose to, we can go to the ocean with a bucket. And eventually we come to understand that we needn’t take anything from the ocean at all, we can simply be with it and in being with it, be shown everything.
Life is full of lessons; the question is, are we ignoring the lessons or are we learning from the lessons as we experience them? Every lesson we ignore will repeat itself until learned. Therefore, it might just be a good idea to become a better student. And how does one go about becoming a better student? And what of these manuals that were spoken of earlier? Where would one find such a manual?
There is a secret place, often used, that holds almost every answer. It is a place not unlike a secret garden that if you do not enter you could never understand how much beauty resides inside, you could never visualize all the colors, all the patterns, all the details, all the variety that exists.
And what is this place of which I speak?
It is called, the library. In almost every town across the country, and across the globe for that matter, you will find a library. And hidden within the walls of this miraculous facility you will find answers to every question you could ever possibly ask based on any topic you could ever want to investigate.
The library can help you avoid the distractions of the internet!
How many times have you begun a Google search on a specific topic only to find yourself two hours later wondering how on earth you’re looking at cat videos? Or whatever other distraction caught your attention while you were in the process of searching for what was most important to you. And now, completely distracted, you can’t even remember what you were searching for to start with…
On the path of both success and failure there are multitudes of information. What I referred to as what’s been discarded hasn’t really been discarded at all but instead, captured on a page, ready for application. One of the greatest challenges of learning new information is application. It does us almost no good to read something and then not apply what we have learned.
Wisdom is not the accumulation of knowledge. Wisdom is the application of knowledge.
When we apply what we learn, we engage in the process of growth. When we grow, we get better, we learn new ways of doing things that may have once been ignored or accomplished through habit. When we engage in intentional learning and intentional application of what we have learned, this begins the process of change. This begins the process of growth. This is what personal growth and development is all about. It’s not about how many books you’ve read, it’s about how many lessons you’ve applied to your own life that make sense for you, based on what you want, that determines how much you have grown and how much you will grow.
Just like those who came before you, as you grow, you will discard what’s no longer serving you. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value. It just simply means it didn’t have value any longer for you and as you discard what you no longer need, you’ll be leaving a clue for the next person that comes behind you as to how they might move in the direction they want their life to go. It’s possible the piece you discard will be exactly what someone else needed or what they were looking for to make sure that they could grow in the direction they choose.
What if you decided right now, today, to turn your desire to learn more, to know more, to become more, into your own personal QUEST? What if you made a commitment to learn as much as you possibly can about whatever it is that excites you the most and what if everything you need is available for free and hidden in a place where you never thought to look?
Here’s a question? How much does a library card cost? Yep, you guessed it, they are free! I believe the reason there is no real value attached to a library card is because it’s free. The truth however is that a library card is invaluable. A library card represents the golden key that unlocks the door of opportunity. What would you do if you had the golden key to everything? Would you let that card sit idle in your purse or wallet, or would you begin to use it to accumulate the knowledge you need to achieve whatever it is you desire for your one wild and precious life?
Yes, the library is full of poetry as well. If you want to read about your one wild and precious life from a book instead of a Google search, then you could go to your Public Library and read all about The Summer Day. Or you could get some books that might help you create the one wild and precious life of your dreams, some books that might help you design and create your QUEST…
Whatever it is you choose to do, be, or become, there is a good chance that everything you need is waiting for you in your Public Library. The only thing missing from the equation, is you, and the application of what you learn. Learning without application is folly. Make a commitment today to go to your Public Library and begin your QUEST…
Here’s a philosophy:
Read, Learn, Apply, Rinse, Repeat!
Advance Confidently is the title of my next book, you will have to wait to celebrate its release as I celebrate my 60th birthday. I have concluded the world doesn’t need another self-help book from me right now, so I am listening to my muse and will write a sci fi personal growth story of self-discovery instead. Hmmm? Almost sounds like a QUEST, right? I believe you will be INSPIRED with the story that chose me to write it! I never saw it coming but now that it’s here, I can’t wait to share it with all of YOU! I know it will be worth the wait because that’s my commitment to you, my readers. Thanks in advance for your trust and patience!
In the meantime, I released a special audio short story on Twitter to commemorate my Independence Day and my 31st year of sobriety. You can watch/listen to the story here ( https://youtu.be/9zP4kk5OTlo ). You can find me on Twitter @bobby_kountz
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
“Without adventure into the unknown, we fail to lay the foundation for any success.” ~Lailah Gifty Akita
This past weekend, August 7th and 8th, 2021, I joined thousands of cyclists and volunteers for my 8th Pan-Mass Challenge. This year marked the 42nd year of this miraculous cancer research fundraiser event. To learn more, simply go to https://PMC.org and you will be viewing one of the most miraculous charitable organizations on the planet. The founder, Billy Starr, is as my friend Michael says, a mensch!
Why I ride…
All riders who commit to one of the PMC routes have an opportunity to create a support my ride, or “Why I Ride” page. Yes, even the founder of the organization has his own page. You can find it under his name.
First, I ride because I can. Second, I ride in honor of all those who can’t and those who are no longer with us. Finally, I ride to make a difference, to create a small ripple of goodness that has the potential to spread across the country.
This year, I rode in honor of Ron, who after many years of fighting the good fight, lost his battle with this dreaded disease. Ron was a “True Hero.” Ron was indirectly responsible for me agreeing to take on my very first PMC back in 2014 when he offered me the use of one of his bikes.
As I was contemplating making a commitment to take on my very first PMC, I was battling my inner critic, I was battling the unknown… The voice of self-doubt was thunderously loud inside my head! You see, in 2014, not only was I not a cyclist, but I didn’t have a bike, I didn’t have a clue! I hadn’t ridden 1.92 miles, let alone 192 miles over 2-days, and I had no idea how I would ever get prepared to take on such an epic journey, the event that would eventually become my personal quest!
Ron however, he had other ideas. He must have somehow known what I could not know. He must have seen something in me that I had not yet seen in myself. I’m actually a bit embarrassed to admit it, but as I was basically whining to the cancer support group about not having a bike, that’s when Ron triumphantly raised his hand with the excitement of a school age child ready to answer the teachers question and he proudly stated he had a bike I could ride, and he would be happy to help get me started on my journey. Then he just looked at me with eyes that said: “Now, what are you going to do?” As the hair stood up on the back of my neck and long before I ever uttered the words yes, with my excuse now obliterated with his generous offer, I made a commitment in that moment to ride my first PMC.
I truly felt divinely guided to simply say YES!
Ron took great pride in being the catalyst for my commitment to ride the PMC! I still remember going to meet him to pick up the bike which we agreed would be available to me for purchase if I decided I liked it and it served me well for the ride. Ron graciously provided me with a helmet, a pair of gloves, and some clip in pedals for later. He said they would come in handy after I became accustomed to the bike.
When I said YES to the PMC, I really had no idea that what I was really saying yes to, was myself… I was out of shape, at least 20 pounds heavier than I wanted to be, and devoid of the kind of confidence required to take on an epic ride like the Pan-Mass Challenge. I remember asking Ron if he really thought I could complete the PMC and I remember him saying of course you can, “IF” you are willing to make a commitment to training for it.
What I didn’t know at the time was that prior to being diagnosed with cancer, Ron had been a serious cyclist, so he knew what it would take for me to properly prepare for my ride. His Multiple Myeloma diagnosis and subsequent treatment had ended his days of cycling, but I know he was vicariously continuing his journey by helping me to prepare for mine…
Shortly after getting my bike, I connected with Terry from The Bike Shop and went out for my first official training ride with a group of riders that he led on the weekend. Terry began teaching me what I needed to know, and he fit me to the bike I was riding. I still remember just how much of a difference a minor seat adjustment made. He talked me through shifting and how to make sure I was up and off the seat on a regular basis so my rear end wouldn’t get too sore as I developed my riding callouses.
Who knew there was such a thing?
Terry talked me through a training plan and explained the importance of making a commitment to ride regularly. I became a regular member of the weekend riding group. I was surprised how quickly I adapted to the process and before I even realized it, I started to feel like a “real” cyclist.
I remember planning out some of my longer rides and discussing the results of my experiences of trial and error with both Terry on the weekends and Ron at the support group meetings. When I told Ron how things were progressing, I remember the look of pride and satisfaction on his face as he knew he had been instrumental in me saying “YES” to myself! He looked just like the cat that ate the canary. I could see how what I was doing was so meaningful to him… I believe this was the first time I truly began to realize that what I was doing was no longer about me and more about what the experience was teaching me about myself and others. We each have the ability to make a difference, to create a positive ripple in the world…
As it turned out, taking my training seriously paid huge dividends, because my first PMC was the coldest, wettest, event in the 35-year history leading up to my ride! I remember like it was just yesterday looking down at my pedal to clip in and feeling that first innocent drop of rain on the back of my neck…
As the National Anthem finished playing in the background and the buzz of thousands of cyclists preparing to start turned into a drone of excitement as the countdown began, I remember feeling like I was about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, the completion of my QUEST!
We were all to be tested that day as our trial by water unfolded. The rain that began as a steady drizzle quickly turned into a torrential downpour that continued throughout the entire day and the first 108 miles of the ride!
As we were tested by Mother nature, I remembered the look on Ron’s face the last time I saw him before heading off for my trip from Las Vegas to Boston and then to the starting line in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. I remember him saying “Go get em, you got this, you’re ready!”
I certainly didn’t feel ready. I would later come to realize that we are never “ready.” Well, not completely anyway, and that’s the difference between those that do and those that don’t. Those that do say YES even when they don’t feel ready and those that don’t wait for the magical day that never comes which is “someday.” They delude themselves into believing that “someday” they will be ready and that’s when they will finally say YES to themselves. The problem is that for most people, “someday” never comes… When they come to the end of their lives, they still have a stack of “somedays” and an hourglass that’s just been turned over for the last time…
Left now with a deep sense of regret, they become one of the statistics captured in Bronnie Ware’s book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.
My Pan-Mass Challenge experience opened my eyes to a life I never knew existed. When I crossed the finish line of my two-day ride, I had been transformed from unsure to UNSTOPPABLE!
When I returned to Las Vegas, instead of returning the bike, a purchase was made instead. I have ridden the same bike every year in Ron’s honor… This year was no different, except it was completely different… It was the first year without Ron…
Shortly after the completion of my first ride, It soon also became my mission to share my experience with as many people as possible. Before I realized it, a book idea began to form in the back of my mind. There was just one problem! I wasn’t an author, and I knew absolutely nothing about writing a book.
Now transformed though, I wasn’t about to let my lack of knowledge keep me from fulfilling my QUEST. I don’t remember exactly when it was that I began writing my book, but I do remember it languishing uncompleted on the hard drive of my computer until I finally found the courage to acquire the knowledge and help, I needed to self-publish in commemoration of my 30th year of sobriety. So, on the 4th of July, in the year of the pandemic, I finally published The Someday Solution!
The story of Ron and many others make up the pages of my book and as I completed my first PMC in his absence, I wanted to capture the story in an article I could share with the rest of the world so they would know that not only did Ron’s life matter, but their lives matter too! You never know just how much your life will impact the life of someone else. There is no way to know just how far the ripple you start will spread.
One ripple can be like the wings of a butterfly beating on one side of the planet where the wind from the wings becomes a trade wind with the energy to carry a ship that leaves the harbor on its journey to complete its QUEST. Ron was for me, the butterfly effect! He allowed me to become the captain of my own ship! Today, I am piloting my vessel on my own personal quest across the pages of the globe to achieve and accomplish what’s important to me which is to help others achieve and accomplish whatever is important to them, so they can leave their mark on the world and fulfill the legacy of their destiny!
It’s possible that Ron’s destiny was to simply be the spark or the catalyst for the completion of my journey, but since I believe I am only just now coming into my prime, Ron will have to watch from the heavens above to see just how far his ripple spreads…
Written with #Gratitude for Ron and all those touched by cancer across our country and the globe. Thank You Ron! Thanks for riding with me this year and helping me up and over the hills as I completed my ride in your memory!
I will be forever #Grateful…
Advance Confidently is the title of my next book, you will have to wait to celebrate its release as I celebrate my 60th birthday. I have concluded the world doesn’t need another self-help book from me right now, so I am listening to my muse and will write a sci fi personal growth story of self-discovery instead. Hmmm? Almost sounds like a QUEST, right? I believe you will be INSPIRED with the story that chose me to write it! I never saw it coming but now that it’s here, I can’t wait to share it with all of YOU! I know it will be worth the wait because that’s my commitment to you, my readers. Thanks in advance for your trust and patience!
In the meantime, I released a special audio short story on Twitter to commemorate my Independence Day and my 31st year of sobriety. You can watch/listen to the story here ( https://youtu.be/9zP4kk5OTlo ). You can find me on Twitter @bobby_kountz
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
