10 seconds

I was on a run today with 3 teammates. During the run we had to stop at a few traffic lights. We also took a couple breaks to stretch out some tight hips, shins, and backs. As we were passing by a nearby park, we decided to turn left onto the quieter, more scenic road instead of heading towards the busy room that always has traffic.

Theres a hill immediately after turning left. We ran up the hill and stopped at the top to stretch out again. This time, instead of staying in one spot and stretching, we stretched as we walked. We started running when we hit the stop sign. 10 seconds later, we heard the crash coming from behind us.

We turned around to see that a massive tree had fallen across the street, landing right where we had stopped. Relief mixed with worry as we wondered if anybody got hit. We ran back to check and, luckily, nobody had been walking, driving, or parked in the impact zone. The tree was in a fenced in yard and had broken the fence. The woman to whom the tree belonged came out and was thankful nobody got hurt (or worse). She said the tree was 85 years old and 19 feet in circumference.

If we had stopped and stretched for a little longer… If we had ran a little slower… If we had left the gym a little later…

The four of us ran home pretty shook. We looked up the whole way, making sure no other trees were close to falling. We were 10 seconds away from disaster. Wind, gravity, and old age were 10 seconds away from removing us from our bodies. 10 seconds.

I’ll be unpacking this experience a little more over the next few days and weeks. I believe this incident happened for a reason, that I was where I was for a purpose. What I know now is that “Hake Hey. Today is a Good Day to Die” certainly means a lot more to me now than it ever did before.

My Future Self

From January to July of this year, I wore a man bun. I kept the sides short and the top long because I wanted to, not because it was functional, easy to manage, or looked good. I wanted to. Long ago I vowed to not pay any attention to other people’s opinions. This is my life and I’m going to live it how I want, whether that means growing a man bun or doing yoga in the grass. My life and my terms.

I cut off my bun in July—I was ready for a change. Now, when I look back at pictures during my man-bun phase, I can’t believe how stupid I looked. The bun was pretty weak and I took way to long in between touch-ups. I looked silly and out of place, confused by whether I wanted to have long hair or be an athlete. Next time I grow my hair out, I’ll grow all of it out, not just the top.

But this has me thinking: I know I don’t care about other’s opinions, but when my future self casts judgement and blame, why do I listen? Who am I, really, if I’m constantly changing? Is my future self myself or is that another person, drastically and unequivocally different from who I am right now? If we’re serious about not caring about what other’s think, should that include ourselves, too?

Maybe we can learn from ourselves without judging ourselves. Maybe we can look at our past selves and love the person who became who you are right now. Maybe we can recognize that our future selves will want to look with distain on who you are now, but we are the one who can stop the judgement in its tracks.

Radical self love, now and in days to come. Learning from my past without judging it. Being who I am while loving who I was. This is what I want to be.

Are you Irreplaceable?

So tonight I’m presenting in my Perspectives in Leadership class. My classmate and I were asked to “enhance a discussion” on Trait Theory. This leadership theory says that effective leaders possess similar characteristics, such as intelligence, determination, self-confidence, and integrity. Makes sense. Trait Theory has its flaws, too. One flaw is that good leadership is always developed.

All things considered, we will be talking about being irreplaceable. Like the Beyoncé song. Here’s some guiding questions:

If good leaders have innate qualities, are they considered irreplaceable? Should they be irreplaceable? If a good leader dies and nobody replaces him or her, were they really a good leader? Or is leadership something more profound, something less ego-driven, something that ought to be replicated, replaced, and modeled?

If Bill Belichick died tomorrow, would the Patriots be dominated?

If LeBron couldn’t play on the Lakers, what would the team look like?

If Serena Williams disappeared, what would happen to Women’s Tennis?

Here is my theory: Good leaders are replaceable. They work to set up systems to ensure organizational success and they spend time developing their followers into leaders. Their loss should not be the death of their company.

But this theory is temporal. It doesn’t mean you should strive to be replaced. It means quite the opposite. You should be irreplaceable by becoming a leader and building up those around you; then you may be replaced.

It’s a team approach, an ego-less pursuit. It’s something I will be struggling with my whole life.

I am uniquely irreplaceable. That is why I must be replaced.

Commit to Something Meaningful

When you commit to doing something every day, there will be days when the commitment seems unimportant. I committed to blogging every day for the rest of my life. Today I woke up in Canada and drove 500 miles home. And here is my daily blog post.

I don’t know what this blog will bring me. Neither clients nor notoriety have manifested over the past month from my daily posts. But I believe in what I’m doing. I believe it is meaningful for me to write this blog every day. I’m confident one day it will be meaningful to others.

Put yourself in situations where you do what you don’t want to do everyday. I can’t promise you glory; I can promise you perspective.

Consistency Over Perfection

We don’t have the most glamorous Instagram page. We don’t have the most beautiful first product. We don’t have the baddest blog on the internet. We don’t have fancy filming equipment and personal photographers. We don’t have our own gym.

But we have a dream of helping people discover who they really are through meaningful exercise. This is how Paul and I became who we are now. It was through suffering and growing during hard workouts, stressing and straining over barbells that were sick of being lifted. Our dream grew as our passions grew deeper. And we’re still just figuring it out.

We won’t have the nicest Instagram page. But we will show up consistently every day until this mission is done. I will blog every day until this mission is done. We may not have thousands of followers, but we have each other’s backs. We’re going to make some waves. We hope you’re there to catch them.

Drive Slow & Don’t Forget Your Wallet

Today I stopped by the grocery store on my way home. My goal was to pick up some snacks for the six-hour journey to Lake George, NY tomorrow. Upon arriving to the grocery store I realized I forgot my wallet. The only currency I had in the car were 3 dollars in quarters. I was about to go buy a bar when I realize the refuel light was on. If I ran out of gas, I was going to need those 3 dollars more than a protein bar.

I didn’t think about using the debit card in my Apple Wallet, or paying via Apple Pay, or using any of the other 5 virtual payment apps I have. I was stuck in my own small-minded bubble, too shy to work out a solution with the cashier. Instead I drove home—very slowly. Speed kills the gas tank. I made it.

One day, those 3 dollars will come in handy. I’m sure of it.

You TikTok Famous Yet?

I’m not TikTok famous yet, but I will be soon.

It’s fascinating how Social Media becomes generational. Not many 20 year olds are on Facebook anymore, but if you’re 30 and up it’s your go-to social hub. And if you’re currently in college and not on Instagram, most would say you’re missing out—it’s the place to be.

But now TikTok is what’s new and fun. It’s a video sharing app where you can do fun edits and add in music to the background. Videos go viral almost as fast as twitter (only there’s no news agencies or politics so it’s still fun). Most users are young, and this makes the older ones (like Howie Mandel) that much funnier.

It won’t be long until Instagram becomes Facebook and TikTok has CNN ads, leaving the next platform to arise for kids born after 2015. One thing is for sure: this social media thing isn’t going anywhere. So you better get on it if you want any attention.