Leopards At Your Backdoor

“I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.” ― Og Mandino

There are days when we feel the entire weight of the world has just been placed upon our shoulders. Your boss or co-workers seem to be making your life miserable. There are people in cars, those other drivers, on the road purposely getting in your way, caring not to help you to get somewhere faster. Your friends don't seem to call any more, the house has another roof leak and everyone in your family are constantly arguing.

The reality of what life is offering you at this moment isn't very pleasing.

You begin to ask why you have it so bad and why all of these things are happening to you. You tell yourself, "I'm a good person, I smile at other people, I stay positive. If I'm doing all of these things, why is it happening just to me?"

Life is what is happening; as simple of an answer that I can give.

Circumstances occur everyday to to everyone in life. It may certainly feel like you are the only one with these issues, but lots of other people are going through the same thing. The reason it feels like only you is circumstance causes you to narrow your focus in life.

We narrow our focus on just those things that are associated with your life. A survival technique I suppose, but is a way for our brain to allow itself to cope with all that is going on. This narrow focus can be both good and bad.

Good in that it forces us to take account of what is happening around us. It takes away the distractions of other people and events so we can concentrate on solving the issues before us. Bad in that it disconnects us from other people, from those who can truly help us through those rough times.

To know that you are not alone.

The feeling of being alone when trying to overcome a problem can be demoralizing. But if we surround ourselves with family, friends and other people, words of encouragement are sure to follow. When you begin to hear the encouragement, advice and ideas, you begin to see life may not be nearly as bad as you think.

In a suburb of Mumbai, India, living can be stressful as well.

In a metropolitan area with the population soaring to 18 million people, you can imagine the kinds of issues faced in any big city. You might even think that living in the suburbs is quite nice. As with many of our suburbs in the US, the city of Mumbai has caught up with this suburb called Mulund which is northeast of Mumbai. Like any major metropolitan city most anywhere correct?

Yet most of us living in the suburbs do not have to contend with leopards.

This suburb of Mumbai borders the Borivli National Park. As one may see deer in our garden on an early morning, think of encountering a leopard sunning on your patio in the afternoon. A resident was mauled a few years ago.

You see, it is all a matter of perspective.

So you think you have things to worry about? Yes, I am sure you do. I would not want to say your issues are any less important. Problems, circumstance and those things we confront are very individual in nature. Each of us, no matter where we live have issues to deal with in our lives.

Just do not shut your self out from the rest of life.

There is so much help and support out there for you. It is difficult at best when you try to do things all on your own.

Seek the support you need.

Surround and connect yourself with others at all times. Those connections will help you get through the worst of times. those same connections will also be there to share with you the best of times.

Stay inspired my friends.

Overcome Your Barriers

"Do not allow the problem to choke and destroy your vision." ~ Joseph Primm

Overcoming barriers to success in your life is about looking beyond those barriers. You need then build your life regardless of those same barriers and continue on with that life after the barrier is overcome. Life is going to place circumstances in front of you all along the way.

That is just the way life is.

It doesn't seem fair, it doesn't seem to be justified when life hits you upside the head. None of those things are under your control, life is just happening. What you are in control of is you. You control how you react, how you respond, and how you deal with the barriers will determine the outcome.

Your vision belongs to you and no one else.

Once you give up, the barrier has won the battle for your life. The barrier will now own your vision and not you. The barrier will have choked the vision from you and determined your life for you. The barricade to success, the locks and chains that keep you from living a great life will all grasp a little tighter.

Do not allow these barriers to choke and destroy your vision.

Take hold of your vision and overcome the barriers standing in your way. Reach beyond your current situation and see what life holds for you. Own your vision and realize it.

If you think your barriers, your obstacles, your "lot in life" are too much to overcome? Then watch this video and remember to always stay inspired my friends.

Yes You Can

"The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering." - Ben Okri

Nick Vujicic was born with no arms or legs. But he has taken his life beyond the physical challenge and made a difference in the lives of others.

There are so many things that could pull us down in life.

There are things that have tripped us up, knocked us down and having you believe there is no way of getting back up.

It can be overcome, you can rise again and carry forward. As Nick says, it does not matter how you do it or even how long it takes you. What matters is that you do it and that you finish strong.

Pick yourself up, dust off the pain of self-doubt and move forward.

Keep moving and finish strong.

You can learn more about Nick at Life Without Limbs.



Stay inspired my friends!

Detours in Life

“We make a lot of detours, but we're always heading for the same destination.”
― Paulo Coelho

Life is full of twists and turns that even the most knowledgeable person can not predict. The goals and visions that you set forth in your life will lead you down a path that is full of unknowns.

The journey of life will have its detours.

There will be detours encountered along the way and are a fact of life. It is how we respond to those detours, and obstacles that will determine our ability to succeed in life.

Many people will choose to allow an obstacle to cancel all plans. They will set up shop, staying where they are. Forever they will go about their new found business of life, wishing things were different.

Your life is much more than that.

Obstacles do not keep you from your goal. Take the detour and find your way, a different way to your vision or dream. Success will never be an easy path, it will take time and adjustment to achieve it. But you will achieve it if you keep trying.

Stay inspired my friends.

Boldly Overcome

Bee Bold

"Begin, be bold and venture to be wise." - Horace

Change has to start some "where" and at some "time" if you truly want to get to a place in life that you would rather be. We can dream every day and even wish for it to magically appear. But even dreams have to encounter opportunity in order for them to ever become a reality.

And one might wonder where to start. 

One first step is to 'write down on a piece of paper the dream or goal'. This step is crucial and is your first accomplishment in reaching your goal. It is a physical and real thing once the goal is on that piece of paper taped to your bedroom mirror.

Chris Pringle refers to this empty piece of paper as your dream being empty.

Not until you write it down does it begin the journey. It creates movement that will have you boldly go forward to make a change in your life. Of course, none of this happens with out some level of fear. Each of us have examples of change inspite of our fears.

Some of the fears I've encountered are;

- When I was 19, my girlfriend became pregnant and we married. The fear of this change gripped me, but I took it on and today (although divorced from her) we have four wonderful boys.

- When I dreamed of a better job after six years in a 'go no where' job, could I truly perform? I buckled down and learned everything I could, then found the company I still work for after nearly 30 years of employment.

- When my marriage fell apart after twenty-one years, my normal and comfortable life evaporated. Boldly I found the means to move forward, develop new relationships and marry once again. Today, still the four wonderful boys, but also an amazing wife and four amazing step-daughters and grandkids.

- When my position in the company seemed to languish, I dreamed of performing more consulting type work. I took the steps to move out of my comfort zone and take on a new role within the same company.

- When my mother developed Pancreatic Cancer, the fear of losing her took hold of me. When I moved past the fear, I was given a gift along with my father and siblings of spending countless hours with her in the final days. I overcame the fear of her dying and was presented with the opportunity to learn and experience her life story.

When we boldly overcome our fears, the dreams we dream big take shape. 

Find a way to get past those fears and begin the wonderful journey. For it is with movement that we will come upon opportunity that otherwise would have evaded us. Life will throw many things at you whether you remain stationary or not.

Helen Keller once said, "Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold."

Overcoming fear and moving boldly towards a dream will have its danger, but it will also have its opportunities. Take hold of those opportunities by being bold in life, by being unafraid to meet up with your dreams.

Stay inspired my friends.

Defeat

Defeat III - Self-portrait by Todd Marinovich

"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure." - George Edward Woodberry

Failure is one of the biggest fears that many people have in life. Failing at work, failing in relationships, failing at school or failing at trying. It grips us to the point that we settle back into a stagnant frame of mind. The safety of not trying to do anything takes over our lives.

It is at this point we stop growing. Our life will be as it always was and change can never happen if we allow the fear of failing to overtake our mind. We have now accomplished true defeat if we let it happen.

When we step out and try, defeat is merely a teaching point on our road. We take the lessons learned and turn them into an experience that places us closer to success. But you will never know unless you step out and try.

Let go the fear of failure and gain more in your life. The dark walls you surround yourself with will fill with the brightness of light. As you make your attempts and failures occur, your steps forward will not cease. You will continue moving forward with the new found knowledge towards greater things.

Stay inspired my friends!

Enduring the Typhoon

“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” -Molière

Sure enough, that is right where I had flown into, sitting in a 24th floor hotel just on the north side of Hong Kong. It was early on a Saturday evening as we drove from the airport to the hotel. The streets were dry, the winds seemed a bit strong and strangely there was very little traffic.

After traveling for eighteen plus hours, it took me a while to come to the realization that I had arrived just prior to a storm. A storm called Typhoon Usagi that would eventually cause the death of twenty-five people and pack 100+ mile per hour winds. I had entered into the path of an obstacle that was not standing still but about to overrun me.

The choices were clear at this point; run or endure.

The idea of running was actually not much of an option as airline flights were being canceled, trains were already scooting out of the area and getting on a boat didn't seem to make sense. So endure the storm is what it would be. The high winds, the water coming through the seals of my window and knowing that my meetings would be canceled.

All of us will encounter a storm at one point or another. Many times, the storm will come to us and we'll have to make a choice. Either we run or we endure.

When we overcome, push through or defeat our obstacles, the outcomes will be greater than you could imagine.

Stay inspired my friends!

Overcoming Your Fear

"So I will find my fears and face them or I will cower like a dog." ~Bright Eyes "Another Travelin' Song"

So many times we are confronted by our own fears. We encounter them and we are stopped in our tracks. The path we are on, the one that we felt was finally going to take us to a greater life becomes complicated by fear.

When it comes to fear, another lyric from the song above also says, "I'm not surprised but I never feel quite prepared." We travel our path of life and learn not to be surprised by obstacles. We learn that these things are going to happen. We even learn from past events to ready ourselves for these moments. Yet somehow we end up feeling never "quite prepared" for that moment.

But when the moment arrives, will you cower from it or will you stand up and overcome the fear? And why should we overcome fear? There are four reasons why we should overcome fear.

1. Fear Limits Our Full Potential
2. We Can Never Fully Run Away From Fear
3. Fear Is A Waste of Our Energy
4. Fear Is All In Our Mind

There are probably a hundred other reasons to overcome your fears. My belief is that the most important reason is because fear 'limits' our life. It prevents us from fully enjoying and having a greater life.

Overcome your fear and achieve more in your life and stay inspired my friends!

Nicodemus Moves Furniture

"Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them." -Orison Swett Marden

My wife and I recently moved into a new home after many years residing in a former house. It was a challenge for us as it would be for anyone. Change of any kind will do that to you. It can create anxiety, doubt and obstacles you may never have thought about. For us, this change was planned and it gave us a reasonable amount of control over that change. Some people are not as fortunate.

Change is sometimes thrust upon us by circumstance.

For this particular move, we hired a moving company famously and simply known as Two Men and a Truck. Two guys and a big truck show up at your house to help you move from one place to another. It was a perfect solution for me as I get a bit older, the lifting, the heat, the up and down stairs takes its toll. Having two younger guys doing the heavy lifting worked out great.

One of the guys was a 23 year-old named Nicodemus; Nico for short. He informed me that yes, he had indeed been named after that Nicodemus. So it had peaked my interest to hear more. I soon learned through the small talk of the humidity, heat and long day that he was married, with a small three year-old daughter and going to school working to earn an Associate's Degree in electronics.

As the work day ended, the paperwork was being drawn up, we sat at the kitchen table talking. I find it soothing that even though we had no food on the table, we were gathered at a table where so much is shared. It is here I learned that he had attended two years at a west Georgia college after he left high school.

What he said next set me back in my chair.

His short college career mimicked my own in many ways and as I listened, I couldn't help from being drawn back in time. You can read about my own similarities in Changed Lives. But simply put, he dropped out of college to support a new family. Now at the young age of twenty-three he has a beautiful three year-old daughter.

Nicodemus talked a little bit about the obstacles he has had to overcome. He spoke of circumstances of his own doing and others that life throws at us. It is his daughter and wife that continue to be his driving force as he puts it. So he works days moving other peoples furniture and nights going to school working on that degree.

There will be more circumstance, more obstacles to overcome I told Nicodemus. I gave him encouragement as I talked of my similar road to where I am today, sitting at that table, talking of success and victory. I told him that the day will come when he is not the one moving the furniture. It will be success that he finds, as all of us can by walking through the obstacles that enter our lives.

He was grateful for the encouragement and as he was leaving I asked him if he knew what the name Nicodemus meant?

In the heat of the mid-afternoon, he turned to me, smiled and said, "Of course I do. It means 'victory of the people'." With that Two Men and a Truck drove away in the light rain.

Will you overcome the obstacles in life or cower to them in fear? I say be fearless and push through to victory, to success.

Stay inspired my friends.

All to Give

"I will grow. I will become something new and grand, but no grander than I now am. Just as the sky will be different in a few hours, its present perfection and completeness is not deficient, so am I presently perfect and not deficient because I will be different tomorrow. I will grow and I am not deficient." -Wayne Dyer

Our lives are full of choices regarding how we are willing to give of ourselves. We choose to apply either small or large amounts of energy to accomplish a task. Many times we choose to give nothing as we are afraid of failure. The idea that you could attempt something and not complete it frightens you.

There are times when you give only a partial effort as you believe the perception of having tried is all that is needed. You step half way, keeping one foot firmly planted on solid ground. A goal can never be achieved by half-trying. When you give all that you can in attempting those things in life, there is no failure in not achieving the goal. In many respects, you may find that what you eventually achieve is not necessarily what you first wanted.

A great example comes from a friend who recently passed away.

Belinda is a dear friend of our family, one of those people everyone should have as a friend. As many of us are, she was not as athletic as she once was. But this particular day, the goal she wanted to achieve was only forty feet away.

It would be equivalent to some twenty steps if walking, but this forty feet was straight up. It was a climbing tower with varying challenges for even the most fit. The goal or reward once reaching the top was an exhilarating zip line ride down over a lake. The ultimate reward after accomplishing a tough climb.

Belinda was determined and resolute in not letting fear or physical limitations from achieving the prize. So up the first ten feet of cross bars and transitioning to a netted ladder. Difficult climbing if one is not used to using the many muscles in your legs and arms on a daily basis.

Exhaustion was beginning to make a presence when she made it through twenty feet of climbing. The next ten feet involved climbing a swinging ten foot log. There are foot pegs at various points, but again the physical requirements will take its toll.

The fear and trust in the equipment always plays with you mentally as you climb for the first time. A chorus of encouragement rang out as Belinda made it up to the thirty foot level. By now though she had given everything physically that she could. She had expended any remaining amount of energy that her body could muster for the final ten feet.

I have heard the phrase "giving it all" said many times but it isn't often that you truly see it happen. Many times people are said to "give it all", but have more left in them. This time I saw it unfold before us, Belinda had given all that she had. There were words of encouragement and adoration for a great attempt.

Belinda may not have achieved the goal she set out for, but I do believe she achieved something else. It was a prize found inside, a new found belief in herself and the possibilities in life.

You see, all of us will learn something about ourselves when we step out and as we move towards a goal in the belief that we will succeed. Accept that your mission to succeed may result in finding something completely different. The end result may mean achieving something far greater for your life.

Give it all when moving towards a dream and embrace what you eventually find. Belinda achieved perfection in that moment and so can you. Stay inspired my friends.

Embracing the Good

"Bad things do happen in the world, like war, natural disasters, disease. But out of those situations always arise stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things." -Daryn Kagan

The recent destruction of a town in Oklahoma, loss of life and devastation due to a massive EF5 tornado can be very hard to comprehend.

There were nearly 13,000 homes destroyed or damaged, affecting close to 33,000 people. Damages to structures alone will likely top the $1 billion mark, which doesn't include the damage to the psyche of people. It has been reported that over 350 people were injured and sadly 24 people, including 10 children, were confirmed killed.

All of us know how horrible this storm was due to the many news stories. We also know it doesn't take an EF5 tornado to completely overturn your life. It could be a house fire, terrible car accident, divorce, job loss, sickness or a terminal illness. Bad things happen to people nearly every minute of every day. Pretty depressing if you think about it from that perspective.

But good things also happen to people nearly every minute of every day. A new home is moved into, a car trip to Grandma's home, a marriage is embraced, job promotion, healing occurs and a baby is born. The human spirit is reaffirmed in the aftermath of destruction; we out shine the darkness that happens in our lives.

Do not let the news make you believe life is simply one horrible event after another. Those things do happen and we will always rise from them. Embrace the goodness that happens. Believe in the power of all the good things that do happen every day, every minute and every breath of our life.

Stay inspired my friends.

Overcoming Obstacles

Benjamin Franklin by RadmanRB

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." -Helen Keller

Benjamin Franklin left us with many great things that have endured and remain relevant even today. Many see him as one born into greatness and a life of ease. But this is far from the truth of the obstacles he had to overcome.

One of the things he did was serve as an apprentice in a print shop to his older brother. Now you have to understand the time and place this occurred. This would be in Boston back in 1718 and was basically indentured to perform the menial tasks while learning the trade. His brother who was much older and would take out his frustrations on Benjamin by beating him.

He persevered and was able to see that there was another way. During these times it would mean trying to gain his freedom from his apprenticeship only to find that no one would hire him as his brother had put the word out. So it was through various means he set off for New York, nearly penniless and no letter of recommendation in order to get hired.

To read of the obstacles or 'rocks within his wagon' is quite astounding to read. But I will not say that his trials and tribulations were any more then what someone else may have endured. As I have said before, tell me your sad story and I'll tell you a hundred sadder stories.

As I read about Benjamin Franklin, he didn't let these issues deter him or lessen his enthusiasm to better himself in life. Much like you need to do in life, continue with a positive attitude to overcome whatever confronts you. Benjamin Franklin said when writing his autobiography, "as I reflect on my current happiness, I can honestly say that if I were given the opportunity to live my life over again from the beginning I would do so."

He goes on to say that he would like to correct certain things in life...but knowing if he could not he goes on to say, "nonetheless, even if both requests were denied, I would still accept the offer." Make what you can of life in such a manner so that you can say without pause that you would accept the offer to live it all over again.

Stay inspired my friends.

Overcome To Achieve Greatness

"For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him he must regard himself as greater than he is." -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

So here I am, currently flying at 36,000 feet in a Delta 757 airplane, writing and making my way to Seattle. The landscape below me is much too far away for me to discern anything other than a few roads, mountains or fields.

If I look really hard though, I can pick out certain things such as certain large bodies of water or rivers famous to all. The most famous of course being the Mississippi River and as we passed over the Great Salt Lake. All look small and rather insignificant from such a long distance.

Even the Rockie Mountains and the Cascades look tame from such a far distance. They appear to be mere road bumps on our way to a destination. The goals we set for ourselves are at the end of that journey. Our destination looks easy from a distance.

While the distance seems to be much too far, the obstacles do not look all that intimidating. But as we get closer. As we come in with the distance being shorter, those obstacles all of a sudden get bigger. As we see them grow taller and wider, the mountains tops are greater and the rivers much broader than we expected.

It is at this point we might become discouraged. It is at this point many people may quit. What it reminds me of are the pioneers that made their way across the the great plains. These brave souls had a goal in mind and that was to find the west coast, to find fortune in the California, to find new opportunity.

Can you imagine as they slowly made their way across the flat lands, the heat, the wind and everything else they had to endure. I imagine them getting well into the area we now know as Colorado, only to be greated by the peaks of the Rockie Mountains.

The discussions that must have taken place had to have been heated. How far would they have to go. Would they make it before the cold and snow of winter set it. Some people must have said forget it, we'll stay here and go no further. They gave up on their dreams and settled for what they had.

Others pushed on, seeing the mountain tops as gateways to their dreams. They didn't seem them as obstacles blocking their way. They knew to rise up to the top would allow them to see the destination even clearer.

Many of those people made it through, dreams fulfilled and greatness achieved. The mountains, the rivers, canyons, or wide lakes did nothing to deter them from grabbing hold of what they wanted.

You will have similar obstacles in life. There will be mountains to face and wide rivers to cross, but each can be overcome and they will be overcome. Keep reaching, keep moving forward and move those mountains, part those waters and reach your destination in life. I know you can.

Stay inspired my friends.

Thunderstorms

"We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Early one morning, I was awaken by the crashing boom of thunder. It was the type of thunder that rattles the very walls of the house. There was very little lightening to warn you of the coming thunder. At first is was odd not to see the lightening followed by the thunderous sound.

Quickly though it lulled me back to sleep. That in itself would amaze many of my siblings. I am unsure how it developed, but I had a deathly fear of storms when growing up. And since I grew up on the plains of Nebraska, large thunderstorms were common.

The mere thought of a raging storm filled with lightening and thunder raised fears of great proportion in me. There were times in which I felt so afraid and would cower in a basement corner. The fear holding a tight grip on me in a way I couldn't explain.

Fear can have a debilitating effect on you in ways that can crush your ability to do anything at all. It stifles and takes hold of your entire life. Fear basically keeps you from moving on with your life.

Take the news stories of the telecommunications giant AT&T agreeing to purchase T-Mobile for $39 billion dollars. A staggering sum of money, but with many individual people affected. I know many of those people that work in many various positions. They range from sales associates, to managers and even regional directors. Each of these people will be affected; both in good and bad ways.

One of these folks is a store manager and recently admitted that she at first could have gone to fear with the news. She could have thought the worst; allowing doom and gloom to cover her life. But she resolved to trust first in her faith and secondly in her ability to push through whatever happens.

You may think that is a naive way of thinking. But it is always easier to go to the negative. It always takes more effort to remain positive. Success and achievement take effort.

When the storms come crashing through your window, will you allow fear to rule? Or will you face the fear with resolve to overcome it?

I can tell you that my fear of thunderstorms caused me sleepless nights. Storms ruled the day until I realized that it wasn't the storms; it was the fear that I was allowing to rule my life.

The first crack of thunder still wakes me at night, but it also lulls me back to a gentle sleep. Fear remains outside to fend for itself, far from the life you are building.

Overcoming Anything

"Fear is your greatest obstacle - so question your fear. If it does not serve your greatest life then do not make it your master." ~Joy Page

As you go through life, there are going to be obstacles attempting to weigh you down. There will be things that try to slow you down. There will be people that try to stand in the way of your dreams. Take the life of a man named Barry Pincus. Born in Brooklyn in the early 40s, his parents divorced when he was just two years old.

As he grew up he learned to play piano and learned what he could of music. His mother then remarried when he was nearly 13. She married a man named Willie who drove a beer truck for the Schaefer Brewery. It was through his mother's new husband that a whole new world opened up. Willie had a record collection of Jazz and Broadway musicals that vastly changed the way Barry Pincus viewed his world.

As he grew up, Barry Pincus worked his way through Julliard's School of Music and worked in the mail room at CBS Television. Like many others, he started at the bottom in the mailroom and worked his way up. Life probably couldn't get any better for Barry Pincus some thought. But he kept his dreams intact and there was nothing that was going to keep him down. Even after marriage and an emotional divorce that would set many back, Barry Pincus ventured on.

He started work at composing music and performing at small gigs. He even wrote jingles for commericals to support himself and to feed his vision. Eventually he connected with a person by the name of Bette Midler and the two performed with Barry being the musical director. The two became a very successful pair and Barry Pincus gained popularity as well.

Barry Manilow is how Barry Pincus is better known. He is famous for his multitude of songs and very successful performing career. He did much of this in the face of harsh music critics. Many called his music 'sentimental garbage', a tough remark for anyone to face. But Barry Manilow persevered in his dreams and remains very popular today.

Barry Pincus could have 'folded his cards' many times when others set out to criticize and place those obstacles in his path. Your life faces many of the same challenges. Never give up. Always believe in your dreams, believe in your visions.

Overcome the obstacles in your life and find your greatest life.

Whitewater Fear

"We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot." ~Eleanor Roosevelt

There are some of you that may be aware of my lacking skill in the area of swimming. For the greatest share of my life, I have feared drowning. In a previous post called "Help, I'm Drowning", I spoke a little bit about why I've had this fear. Many may call it silly, but one person's road bump is another person's mountain.

So I have begun a process to confront and get over this fear of the water. A previous kayak trip was a start and then this past weekend, my wife Laura convinced me to go with her and others to raft upon the Ocoee River in the lower, eastern corner of Tennessee. I will be quite honest to tell you that the fear began building inside while signing in at the outfitters location.

We chose to use one of the best outfitters in the area called Ocoee Outdoors. Our adventure was going to take place on the middle Ocoee River in class III and IV rapids. Oh joy I thought to myself, at least I'll die around family this fine day.

As we road the bus to the top of the course and I could see the rapids off the right side of the road, it just got more intense for me. This process of taking a raft down the Ocoee isn't a sign a form and jump in the river type of process. You go through a short safety lesson at the base camp, you get a semi-long bus ride about 13 miles up the river to the start. There is another lesson with the boat, oars and signals by your assigned guide. So there is plenty of time to think about what you have just gotten yourself into.

I was trying to think of every excuse in the book on the bus ride to the top. Could I get sick, could I trip and fall getting out of the bus; what would be my escape plan this time? So many times before, I was able to find a way out of having to deal with the fear. This time it just wasn't going to happen.

I won't bore you with the details of my trip down the river. The description of the rapids and ride are available at American Whitewater. But to say the least, the first rapid was a III+ called Grumpy which forces you right into the thick of things. From there on down, just over 20 more rapids to go.

And as you can see, I'm writing today so I survived my fear. I survived the trip down the Ocoee River. Have I overcome my fear? Not yet, but I'm working on it. Next step is to start those swimming lessons again that I quit taking nearly forty years ago.

Overcoming your fear of anything in life requires confronting it first. Admitting that it exists and understanding the impact it has on your life. It certainly has affected my life and those around me for many years. But now I can change my life, my attitude towards the fear, and so can you.

I'll let you know how the swimming lessons go once I start. Keep me honest folks if you don't hear that I'm taking them. And then send me a note about how you overcame your own fears. I'd like to put together a book about how we each have done so. Together we might just be able to help a few others overcome their own fears.

NOTE: Yes, that really is me in the picture (back left), my wife Laura (back right) encouraging the whole way. Up front taking all the water are my wifes good friends Sarah on the left and Rachel on the right. Our guide Valerie was fantastic; making sure we hit every rapid (thank you very much) and giving us a great tour of the five mile stretch.