Ride for Passion

Archive for the ‘Football’ Category

Finding your passion is about more than just fulfilling your cravings or desires. There is a difference between passion and desire. Passion that comes from your natural tendencies, or what can be called “purpose,” is not dependent on your circumstances. You can tell the difference between the two because of how you feel when you do the activity. Doing activities inline with your passion that comes from purpose will make you feel energized, alive and make you want to continue the activity even more. You can lose track of time, become obsessed and maybe even have to give yourself time limits on how much you engage in the activity. You are like an addict.

On the other hand, doing activities that fulfill desires that are circumstantial can make you feel satisfied and content. The more you do the activity, the more satisfied you become and less interested in continuing the activity. One example of this is the love of babies or small children. Someone whose passion is to be around them might want to run a daycare center or be school teacher, whereas, someone who wants to be a parent will feel that deep desire fulfilled by birth or adoption.

Your true passion is like a soul-mate activity. It is the thing that makes you feel alive when you do it. Recognizing your passion that comes from purpose, or your natural tendencies, can often happen if you think about what you would want to do if you had all of your needs and desires met. If you had all of the money in the world, finished traveling and had all of your wishes and desires fulfilled, what would you want to do with your time?

Some people say they have a dream or passion about something at which they are not very good. Just look at the American Idol tryouts. Everyone thinks they are the best. But they often have not taken any time to learn or train to be the best. They have a desire but not a real passion. People who find their true passion often want to be good at what they love. Wanting to learn more and putting forth the effort to do so is a natural part of pursuing your passion.

A great old friend and family member passed way a few weeks ago. It gave me pause to reflect on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. “BA” was a humble man, a career Navy Veteran and a restaurateur. He had deep spiritual beliefs that belonged to no religion. He taught me much about human existence. And even from his hospital bed, he calmly prepared us for his imminent passing. What grace, what beauty, what generosity.

“BA” came into our lives 17 years ago or so, and watched over us. He took delight in everything about our family, particularly our dogs, who he often stayed with while we were away. He watched me spin my wheels trying to figure out who the heck I was, from battling alcoholism, to becoming a successful songwriter, comedy writer, and wannabe entrepreneur. He was much more than just a little bit special.He helped me to realize that you gotta indulge your passions with the little time you have left. And, it’s always “a little.” I figure you can either give it up and ride out the rest of your life, which, by the way, is fine if it makes you happy, or you can proceed full-tilt in pursuing your dreams until you’ve accomplished them or literally died trying. That’s me in a nutshell.

I gave up on life when I was much younger. Not because of any traumatic experience, but because I was just happy to be drunk and stoned all the time. “What the hell?” I thought. Well, now I feel like I’m making up for lost time. The shorter my life becomes, the more I crave living in the pursuit of every passion that stirs inside of me.

Yes, this does most certainly include making a very comfortable living in spite of the doom and gloom of our Great Recession. With the long odds of financial success becoming even longer, the greater the challenge, the more I want it! To say I’m driven, is quite an underestimation.It’s not all about the money. Or, maybe it is. Is that how you define success? It’s just one variety, I suppose. But, my passion for finding monetary success through my creative channels (which I must nourish to flourish) is never-ending. I have many endeavors, at least one of which I feel will come to fruition if I just press on a little harder each day. That can be daunting and all-consuming, to be sure. But, it is who I am. And, it IS what makes me happy. It could even be one of those situations where once you attain it, you’ll wish you hadn’t. Maybe it is all about the journey, not the destination, after all. I sincerely have no clue.

The training was complete and it was finally time to ride. I loaded the pickup with the two bikes and started down Interstate 80 headed west towards Wyoming. I was making the journey in the truck by myself as Susan and the girls were flying out a couple days later. I enjoyed the drive through the western states. When I get in the drivers seat, my mind starts to work. I love just driving and thinking. I couldn’t wait for the bike ride to begin.After a couple of days visiting with my sister and her family in Portland, it was finally time to ride. Susan and I arrived at the hotel we were staying at prior to the start of the ride. The nerves were starting to pick up in my body as I was thinking, “what in the world have we gotten ourselves into?” We wheeled our bikes into this beautiful hotel, on to the elevator and up to our room.

After getting very little sleep due to the excitement of the event, Susan and I grabbed our gear and the bikes and headed to the parking lot for the start of this journey. We were not sure just how many miles we were actually going to be putting on our bikes, but we knew it was more than 200.As we arrived at the starting line, the sun was peaking out over the buildings in downtown Portland. We started to introduce ourselves to the other riders that had joined up with for this ride. People from all over the country had flown in, drove over and pedaled their way to this event.

Finally the time had come. A prayer was said and we locked ourselves into the pedals of the bikes that would be a part of us for the next three days. Though we had guides, the ride was really on our own. We were to go at a pace comfortable for us and enjoy the sites of the Northwest.I remember starting down the streets of Portland at a pace that would’ve matched Lance Armstrong, at least that was what I had dreamt the night before. The excitement of the day and the adrenaline flowing through my body kept telling me to go faster. Thankfully, I had a wife who reminded me over and over again, to pace myself; this was just the start of the ride. I had to be reminded that the finish line was our ultimate goal, not how fast we started.

It seems I have to be reminded of this often in my life. It is not how you start, but how you finish. My personality tends to lend itself, more times than not, to come up with a great idea and start running as fast as I can towards the intended goal. As I sit here now writing this and my leg is shaking at feverous pace with excitement of the thoughts running through my mind. Now, I don’t believe this is a bad trait to have, one of excitement, enthusiasm, and love for life. The issue I have faced is, how do I keep the excitement I have for life and at the same time have the patience I need to enjoy the ride.

Hockey, the great Canadian pastime, is also a booming industry. Hockey is a pervasive sport that is enjoyed by boys, girls, young men and women, and an ever-growing group of “oldtimers”. Certainly not old, but perhaps no longer young, oldtimers continue to enjoy actively participating in the game as they come to terms with the realization that the NHL scouts will not be calling.

Canada is not the only country swept up by this fast paced team sport. Where did this fascination with hockey first begin? Some say it may have come from the British field sports of “hurley” or “shinty”, or perhaps the French version of field hockey which used a wooden stick called a “hoquet” to bat a ball or cork around. Nevertheless, somewhere, sometime during a long cold Canadian winter, some hardy folk tried playing a version of field hockey on ice. The game soon became well known in Scandinavian countries as well as in Russia.

So it is no wonder that North American hockey organizations are now offering hockey schools and tournaments abroad. Of particular interest to many hockey enthusiasts, especially the oldtimers, is the opportunity to combine a hockey tournament with a destination holiday through different European countries. Imagine, after a day on the ice in international competition, enjoying some sightseeing: mountain biking or hiking through mountains in Austria, touring quaint villages and castles in Italy, and attending an authentic Oktoberfest dinner in Germany. An organized international hockey tournament holiday creates the perfect opportunity for your partner to join in on your hockey friendships.

Retired professional hockey players offer hockey schools and fantasy camps in many locations, presenting opportunities to learn from and play with the best all over world. But if a European vacation is too big an undertaking, you can still travel with your family and friends, and enjoy your sport within North America, in such places as Lake Placid, Chicago, Las Vegas and Montreal.