The Blog of Champions Part of a Nutritious Breakfast

Going Under The Knife

No, not plastic surgery. I just found out today that I have something called ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJ). Essentially, it’s an obstruction on the kidney, that impedes the flow of urine. It’s also been the source of my back pain. It’s congenital, and it will require surgery. You can read more here. They do this operation on babies all the time, because they test for it now, but they didn’t when I was a little one. It’s a minimally invasive surgery, and I’ll be out of the hospital in a day or two. I’m not worried, and I will use it as an excuse to watch TV and do nothing. I’m looking forward to the operation removing my back pain.

I've never had surgery before. The only close was when I had 4 teeth removed when I was eight. Even though it's minimally invasive, and it will cure my back pain, it's still weird. I mean, it's surgery! The operation won't be until the summer, so I have some time to process it. It shouldn't be too bad.

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Cross Country Skiing

I went Cross Country Skiing today. For the first time in my life. Inspired by the Olympics, I thought I should try it. Let me tell you--it was much harder than it looks.

We went on the beginner track, which is pretty flat the whole way, except for one little gully. Without any instruction, I didn't have a grasp of the techniques. I just kind of went with what felt right.

Besides my harrowing experience going down that little gully--where I fell twice, and then just walked down it--I loved it. The views were tremendous (like this one below)

And it was peaceful. Barely any one was out there. It was pleasant. By the end, I started to get the hang out, and on the last hundred feet or so, I was really motoring. I'm going to do it again. But, maybe, with some instruction first.

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That Moment of Clarity

There's a time in life where something clicks in. Where everything feels right, where everything goes right, and you know just what to do. It's a time of direction rarely felt. It's a time of clarity rarely seen. This time is different for everyone. Maybe it's when your child is born. Maybe it's after a death. Maybe it's after a lucky break. Maybe it just happens. For me, this time happened recently. It happened unexpectedly. But, it happened. And I'm glad it did.

I was watching the movie Nobelity. Here's the trailer:

They interviewed Jody Williams who won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, for getting a international treaty banning landmines She won it because of a passion. She won it because, as she said, she got off her ass and did something. I watched this video in awe. In awe of Jody Williams. In awe of the determination, the passion she has. I watched this video in awe of the people affected by land mines. Not because they've been struck by one. No. I'm in awe that they are doing everything they can to make sure their life goes on. There are little kids, in impoverished countries, learning how to walk in prosthetics. Their determination is inspiring.

I've been very fortunate in my life. I have everything I can imagine. I don't have to worry about how I'm going to pay the bills. I'm lucky. While life has thrown some unexpected turns at me, I'm grateful that my life has gone as smoothly as it has. I'm grateful that I don't live in a country where I have to worry about land mines. I'm grateful that I have the family I do. I'm grateful for everything. And I'm lucky.

It's funny. My birthday is coming up in about a month. And, the only thing I wanted was an iPad. I thought (and still think) it's the coolest thing ever. It would be awesome to have. And that's where that moment of clarity, that moment of direction came. That's where everything clicked.

As I was watching this video, the thoughts of the iPad came into my head. I thought about how cool it would be to get one. And, just like that, I looked back up at the screen. I saw a young boy, not more than 3 years old, trying to put on his prosthetic leg. Living in Cambodia, that boy is probably impoverished. He probably wonders where his next meal is coming from. He probably wonders where he's sleeping that night. He probably wonders if he's going to get out of poverty. He probably won't.

And here I was, lusting for an iPad. It dawned on me. I was being selfish. There is someone who doesn't know where his next meal is, and I'm sitting here, lusting for an iPad. For the first time, I was disgusted at myself. Disgusted for thinking about only me. Disgusted for not realizing the problems of others. Disgusted.

I don't need an iPad. Hell, no one does. I have an iPhone. I have a laptop. I've done just fine without one. An iPad is about $500 dollars, give or take. I was going to spend that money on an iPad. But, after watching that 3 year old boy, after ridiculing myself for being so selfish, I decided to do something good.

Instead of that $500 dollars going towards an iPad, that money will be going towards a charity. I have not decided which one. I may break it up into two charities. I don't know. What I do know is that I'm not going to sign the check and be done with it. I'm going to follow up. I'm going to donate my time to whatever organization I donate to. I want to get off my ass and make a difference.

You may be sitting there and thinking, "It's just $500 dollars. So many people give that money. He's not going to think about it afterwards. He may end up buying an iPad the next year." But that's where you're wrong. You see, I had one of those moments of clarity, of direction, where everything clicked in. I realize I didn't need anything. The only thing I really need is socks. Other than that, I need nothing. I'm lucky. There's a 3 year old boy who needs my help. He needs my money. He needs me to think about him. And that's what I'm going to do. Whatever charity I pick, I will go all-in. I will donate money. I will donate time. I will spread the world. That three year old boy, and millions of others, need it. If I don't provide that help, if I don't provide my time, who will? I can rely on others to make a difference. I have to make it myself.

My moment of clarity came unexpectedly, while watching a movie. I didn't plan it. I didn't know it was coming. But, I've embraced it. You see, my moment of clarity is this: I can't sit back and watch others suffer. I can't sit back, knowing that I'm able to give, and not do anything. I can't sit back and let that child in Cambodia suffer. I just can't. I never had this paradigm before. I've donated to charities before. But that was it. My moment of clarity tells me that I have to do more. My moment of clarity tells me that I can't sit on my ass on watch people suffer. I can't watch that poor Cambodian boy suffer in poverty, while I lust over an iPad. My moment of clarity broke me out of a spell of "me, me, me" and put me into a mindset of "how can I help others less fortunate".

My birthday will be uneventful this year. I'll have a nice dinner with friends and family. I'll blow out the candles, and make a wish. And then I'll write a check to a charity that needs it. I'll follow up with my time. I'll follow up with my heart. For my birthday, I'll be getting the satisfaction of getting off my ass and making a difference. And socks.

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Resolutions

First off, hope you and yours had a wonderful New Years. I know I did. Now, onto the important stuff. Every year, we make resolutions. We make lists, and we make goals. Rarely, do we keep them. Resolutions are made just out of respect for tradition. They often don't mean anything.

This year, I want to make my resolutions mean something. I don't want it to be an empty gesture. So this year, my resolution is simple: Do one thing every day that makes me happy. Whether it's listening to a great song, blogging, seeing a friend, or whatever it may be, I want to do one thing every day that makes me happy. To me, that's meaningful. That's special. And it's a resolution that, hopefully, I can keep.

Here's to resolutions...

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It’s Been A Decade Already? Really?

So, two more days, and this decade is over. Personally, the decade went by really fast. It feels like yesterday that the clock turned to 12:00, and a new millennium was starting. Yet, here we are, ten years later. Ten years. In a few days, we'll be counting down from 10. We'll say goodbye to this decade, and hello to a new one. What will the next decade have in store? Who knows. But, we do know a lot happened in this decade. A lot.

10,9,8...

This decade was defined by one moment, in my mind: 9/11. Say what you want, but that was the one moment that changed a country. It changed the way we view life, the way we view the world. We became skeptical. But, we became patriotic. We stood up and were not going to let a bunch of terrorists ruin our nation. We didn't get out the way. We fought back. Out of all of that, we had a riveting World Series. Diamondbacks-Yankees. I remember crying when the Yankees lost. Yeah, I was upset my team lost. But, I thought New York needed it. They needed a win. They needed that ticker-tape parade. They didn't get it. But, baseball did serve as a healer. And when George W. Bush threw out the first pitch, his thumb up, and threw a perfect strike, he had completed the best moment of his Presidency. I still get chills down my spine.

7,6,5,4...

This decade has had its ups and downs, for sure. We had an economic collapse. People lost their jobs, their homes, their confidence. And while it's not perfect yet, it's getting back to normal. This decade has been historic. We elected Barack Obama to the White House. We became interested in our government. This decade has had heroes. This decade has had goats. This decade has been an incredible advancement in technology. This decade has made strives towards peace.

3,2,1...

I'm under no grand illusions that this decade wasn't rough for some folks. It was. There were rough times for me as well. There were rough times for people I'm close to. But, this decade has offered some amazing moments. The inauguration of Obama. His victory speech. The amount of patriotism after 9/11. The 2008 Olympics. Usain Bolt. Michael Phelps. The Giants Super Bowl win. We saw iTunes, iPods, iPhones. We saw blogs. We saw social media, Facebook, Twitter. I don't know what the next decade has in store. No one does. I do know that this decade has been filled with incredible moments. It's been filled with tremendous personal growth. And I can only hope the next decade has incredible moments.

Happy New Year!

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My Mission Statement

I was asked recently to write a mission statement for my life. I had done exercises similar to this. This was the first time that I really sat down and thought about it. What do I want my life to look like in 20 years? How do I want to get there? What will make me successful? It came down to this. Here's my mission statement (with a reflection below it)

"Understand the past, live in the moment, embrace the future."

Throughout my life, I've had successes and failures. I've had ups and downs. But, in particular, I've struggled with three things: Past, present, and future. Now, I know what those words mean, and I understand their importance. What I've struggled with is dealing with them. For too long, I've lived in the past. I would stay there, trying to fix old mistakes, re-living them in my head as if it was happening now. I would rather dwell on the past than live in the moment, for I was fearful of what might come next. For me, there was a strange comfort in the past, knowing it had already happened, knowing it couldn't get any worse. By living in the past, I've missed out on the moment. My body was in the here and now, but my mind was absent, in a distant world not of imagination but of past events, constantly shaking my head at the things I had done wrong. I missed the bird flying by. I missed the leaves falling off the tree. There were too many sleepless nights, where instead of peaceful dreaming, I was bogged down in a world of my mistakes, even if they weren't mistakes. I was playing Monday Morning Quarterback, every day of the week. I missed out on the moment. I don't want to miss out the moment. I want to be in the moment, revel in all its beauty, and finally, put the past behind me. What happened has happened, and there is nothing I can do to change it. The only thing I can do is understand the past, understand why, and move on, so I don't miss the moment. My greatest fear in life is missing the moment. My greatest struggle is not being in the moment. My life from now on will be dedicated to the moment, so I can live in, understand it, and most of all, enjoy it.

The other thing that has troubled me in life is a fear of the future. Fear of what life has in store for me, fear of failure. I've seen people around me succeed, coming from backgrounds worse than me, and there's an inherent fear of not reaching that plateau, of not reaching the level of success that I expect, of not reaching a place of financial stability, and of happiness. I used to fear the future, a fear that sometimes debilitated me, a fear rendering me speechless. I would spend hours in solemn contemplation, trying to devise ways to ensure success, only to later realize that success is what you make of it, not something pre-determined. It took me awhile to understand it. It took me awhile to not fear the future. As a wise person once said to me, "When you embrace the future, you can succeed." That's why I'm determined to embrace the future, to never fear something I control. My future is what I make of it. I'm determined to make it mine.

I don't want to make any grand assumptions that I will always live in the moment, that I will never live in the past, and that I will never fear the future. Because I can't. There will be times where I will fear the future. There will be times when the moment passes me by. But, on my last day, I want to look in the mirror, and be able to truthfully say: That I understood the past, and did not dwell on it; That I lived in the moment, careful never to miss it; And that I embraced the future, and did not fear the results. If I do that, if I can truthfully say I accomplished those goals, than I know I lived a life worth living.

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What’s That? You’re Famous?

I wouldn't say I'm famous, but appearing on the radio is pretty cool. Anyway here is the link to my radio appearance on Strait Talk with Anthony Strait (I'm on about 25 minutes in) Enjoy:

Jeremy on the Radio

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