That’s the nature of sports discussions now—the nature of all discussions. For some reason, we as a culture have to reduce the things we love to either or. Popularity and support have to be a zero-sum propositions, where the light can only shine in one direction.
Crystal knew I needed to be reminded of my purpose. She knew I had let this winter be filled with self-doubt, uncertainty, and discontent. She had seen me dreaming of more
One of the sayings we have on the parking team goes back to my driver ed instructor. “There are no accidents—only collisions.” I don’t think it was an accident that all of these situations intersected as they did. I prefer to think God planned a collision with her that night.
13 Hours will not be go on my list of favorite movies. As with the military movies that have preceded it, I hope I never have to watch it again. It is, however, one of the most important movies I’ve ever seen. I’m grateful someone made it—and that they made it indelible.
I don’t need a lottery jackpot to pursue those goals. Chances are, you don’t need a Powerball payout to move toward your ideal vocation, either. Sure, we might have to sacrifice more, save more, or be more creative with our time, talent, and treasure in order to accomplish our grandest dreams. We might need to let go of some relationships, status, or security.
Just as the first step in financial order is knowing where your money currently goes, personal analytics can give you a baseline for future comparison. Just as a food journal can alert you to the difference between your perception and your reality in your diet, a personal activity tracker can separate your intentions from your behavior. While there’s no cure-all to make your resolutions happen, a points system can at least give you actionable insight.
Rather than blame social media for invading the holidays again this year, harness it for wonderful Christmas memories.
Local media should still celebrate local business culture. Municipalities should still offer financial and infrastructural incentives to businesses of all sizes—encouraging both local startups and organizations that are expanding or relocating. All of us who love our community should market the heck out of where we live and why we love it. We just need to save the charity for nonprofits and give our neighbors reasons why shopping local or shopping small is the no-brainer option that’s best for them.
Over the years, I’ve learned that one of the marks of a healthy culture is its exports to others. So, retention cannot be the primary benchmark by which I’ll measure buy-in for the rest of my promotional career. That said, I will never stop being proud of the moment when a raw, untrained kid in khaki corduroys asked, “Who’s with me!?” and everyone else in the room answered, “I am.”
Over the last three years, a series of things in which I’ve taken pride have become embarrassments.
This isn’t an exhaustive list, any more than it’s an easy one. These suggestions can get you in the right headspace, though, which will help all of you build your own list.
But I just promised him what he wanted and let the 50-something smirkers play through. Then Tim and I got up and out-drove them.
It took me a while for all of that to fade back to my normal levels of entitlement and insecurity. It took me realizing that I have a good gig. It took moments where my friendships were worth more than money, where freedom didn’t have a price tag. It took experiences that seemed to have mystically dropped me into the right place at the right time.
I’ve not run into Bob since that encounter. I’ve thought about writing him a letter. I’ve wanted to thank him for demonstrating humility—for being an example to me for the rest of my life. I’ve wanted to apologize for telling my story at the expense of his much better ones. My guess, though—from my short time with him—is that Bob wouldn’t have told unsolicited stories.
One of the things I’ve seen or heard people foregoing for Lent is social media. I can surely understand wanting to curtail an addiction to the likes and comments, favorites and retweets, shares and pins. If envy and comparison are temptations, abstinence from streams of others’ photos and videos could be a helpful detox.
I find that Life gives us a lot of challenges like that. There’s a gratification waiting for those who press past obstacles, detractors, or fear. That doesn’t mean that we should all run to to play with venomous snakes or tight rope walk between skyscrapers. Part of fear’s biological role is to help us measure and evaluate situations before proceeding. But part of that natural response also scares up enough dopamine and adrenaline to reward the courageous.
That’s what my Christmas “letter” did, too, even if retroactively. It added incentive where I shouldn’t have needed any. It gave me the chance to turn vacations and weekend explorations into a thematic ego trip. I became the writer you see in the credits of reality TV shows—not that I was lying or finding a story that wasn’t there but that I was intentionally guiding others’ perception of me through carefully edited snippets.
It’s not surprising that illusionist shows are advertised all over the place. The entire city is a slight of hand trick. Vegas successfully convinces you it’s the ultimate resort, a place where you pay for unmatched entertainment. Not even Disney could make a theme park this extravagant. The sounds and lights and fixtures are all meant to distract you from the reality of loss, even from the mass of bored and crestfallen faces slumped in front of machines.
My alma mater shunned my book, even though it was the first by a graduate of their writing program. I’ve dropped between $2,000 and $3,000 on the project. A church friend found a signed copy at Goodwill, and I purchased a signed copy back on Amazon. My guess is that The Outfitter hasn’t moved any copies. Nobody (other than me) has been profoundly impacted by its contents, as far as I know. That’s all okay.
As you learn your writing rhythm, you’ll learn when, where, and how to get the most out of your time at the keyboard. Some of these elements will impact your efficiency more than others. So, be aware of procrastination triggers and distracting stimuli. Pay attention to patterns in the process—good and bad—and determine ways to diminish the negative and promote the positive. That’s how I got this list.
It was past his bedtime now; it was past mine, too. The clock in the car glowed with the green numbers that spelled midnight. Following the trafficker’s flares, I pulled into the river of taillights.
In the silence, Timmy’s mind must have wandered from the game and to his brother’s coming departure for college. “I’m gonna miss you,” he said slowly, looking at his new ball and then out his window.
I chose to move to Lynchburg and have fallen in love with it enough to call it home. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that my wife and I are factors in my sister and some of our closest friends emigrating to what we lovingly call “LynchVegas.” Here are the selling points with which I would counter the Lynchburg skeptics.
Pastors like to talk about Jesus’ first published miracle happening at a wedding, but I’m not a pastor. I just play one on TV. And pastors like to mention that God attended the first wedding in the Garden of Eden. But I read that story last week, and Jesus didn’t make Eve repeat any vows or have Adam get a ring for his bride. He just brought Eve to Adam.
We didn’t blow out any candles or eat any cake. Nobody sang the happy birthday song—let alone had to volunteer to start everybody singing it. Greg didn’t opened any gifts; and there wasn’t a stack of cards. I don’t think I saw any table cloths. Yet, as we walked back to the equipment sheds, Greg told me, “This may have been my best birthday ever.”
Tonight, I’m choosing not to think about the Ravens’ new playoff chances or their altered offense’s chemistry. Tonight, I’m not going to feel sorry for Peyton Manning working with a third-string center or Chip Kelley coaching without a full stable of dynamic receivers for the NFL version of his Oregon offense.