My most beautiful post : The Slump

Not even close to a beautiful read, but this short, simple post was the first time I recall being more transparent than usual and writing about a rough spot I was going through. The truly beautiful part is the huge list of caring, supportive comments that I received from friends, acquaintances and strangers!

My most popular post : 17 Location Independent Entrepreneurs Define “Home”

Based on stumbles, tweets and FB shares, this one wins, for sure. This is likely due to the awesome list of travelers that contributed their thoughts to the post, and to whom I am very grateful!

My most controversial post : What Do You Listen To While Writing?

Okay, so I apparently really don’t write anything all that controversial. Hmm . . . Tim Ferriss would be disappointed that I am failing to attack any of the “3 B’s.” Perhaps I’ll consider that more in the future. However this one- a post in which people somewhat disagree- will have to suffice for now!

My most helpful post : Fly for free! Travel Hacking tip #1

This probably wouldn’t have been what I thought would have been most helpful. But after having numerous friends and readers tell me that they took a shot at this and banked some serious bonuses, I surmise that this just might be the winner here.

The post whose success most surprised me : On Trust. And Never Ever Looking Back.

Just a little observation made while bungee jumping . . . the social media and comment love was not expected!

The post I feel didn’t get the attention it deserved : The Way Out

Following the aforementioned slump, loads of people stepped up and offered me valuable thoughts on digging oneself out of those low spots in life. I was am appreciative and felt they were deserving of their own post.

The post that I’m most proud of : A Lesson From The Inaudible Sound Of The Invisible Sun

. . . wherein I get schooled by legendary drummer, Rakalam Bob Moses!

—–

Thanks a ton to Matt for the 7 Links nomination! And now, on to my list of nominees:

Ryan of Ryan Goes Abroad

Joel of the Blog of Impossible Things

Natalie of the Suitcase Entrepreneur

Lach of The Art Of Audacity

Mars of I Luv Empire

Get to it, gang!

(photo by ganesha.isis)

Sometimes it’s quite acceptable to let time pass and allow yourself to be comfortable for a little while. There’s nothing wrong with kicking back a bit and enjoying where you’re at, appreciating how far you’ve come, and not beating yourself up about constantly striving to reach new goals and milestones. I have to remind myself of this from time to time.

But there also come points in your life when it’s time to get off your butt, face real fears and fight your way to a truly landmark achievement.

One of the most enormous personal challenges in my life begins today. I can’t swim. I know how to swim (and have had more than a couple friends try to assure me of this), but I can’t. Being largely left-brained, the technical process makes complete sense to me. But [what I suppose might be defined as] a fear of water keeps me from engaging in said process for more than about 25 yards. On a good day.

For most of my life, I have let myself be scared by the warning “don’t go near the water- you can drown,” rather than “learn to swim- it could save your life.”

I have yet to be able to cross the length of the lap pool at the gym more than one time without having to rest and get psyched up for the next go at it. And my last visit yielded a whopping zero passes straight across without a stop- usually caused by water in my mouth or a stupid mental freak-out. Sinking underwater and practicing exhaling through my nose doesn’t occur more than three or four times before my heart rate goes through the roof.

So how to force myself to overcome this? I recently joined my buddy Steve in registering for the sprint distance of the Portland Triathlon, which takes place on August 21st . . . exactly two months from today. And not even remotely close to prepared. Am I an idiot? Yes, yes I am.

Along with the [totally doable] biking and running, the sprint tri requires swimming 750 meters open water in the Willamette River.

750 meters ~ 820 yards ~ 33 times across the gym’s pool

I don’t intend to be the slightest bit competitive in August’s race, but I do fully intend to dive in, survive and finish. To that end, I have two months to go from being able to cross 1 time to being able to do it 33 times. Nonstop.

And, when I say I have to, I mean I have to. It’s time. In my travels, I want to enjoy all of the activities that the gained swimming skills will allow. I want to feel confident that I can indeed save my life (or another person’s) if the need should arise. And, more importantly, it’s time to slay this dragon that’s kept me cornered and fearful, once and for all.

My plan? Well, I don’t totally have one. But starting today, I’m committed to spending at least an hour every day possible in the pool. Right now, getting comfortable being in the water, under the water, is first priority. I’ve had a couple of lessons in the past and will make a point of getting a few more along the way to that sprint.

Would you care to help? Please?

• Keep on me and hold me accountable. Tweet me, Facebook me, email me, call me, text me- whatever it takes. I want and need this to happen . . . but I’m scared as hell. I need a hundred ruthless coaches leaning over my shoulder, breathing down my neck and screaming at me every morning.

• Post a comment below and tell me about one of the toughest personal challenges you’ve ever faced. Or, one that you still need to.

And, lest I forget to say it in the midst of your shouting coaching: thank you, thank you, thank you!

(photo by jayhem)

The back of it read:

(click image for larger view)

In case your browser has difficulty displaying the image, I’ve included it below. No problems viewing? Read it again anyway . . .

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up.
It knows that it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or a gazelle,
when the sun comes up you’d better be running.

- Anon

Are you the gazelle, running to keep your head above water, overcome fears and struggles, and stay alive?

Or are you the lion, hungrily and fiercely chasing what has to be yours?

Above all else: Did you wake up running today?

(photo by Stig Nygaard)

I’ve officially been blogging for a year and a half now [insert confetti and noisemakers here!] and the time has come to make some changes. I’m currently working on rebranding PowersPercussion.com, and I would love your help. Scratch that- I need it! This guy has zero design-sense. I can seriously use all of the help I can get.

The Issue

In addition to the process of dealing with an entirely new look graphically (with the help of Germany’s own Mars Dorian), I am also badly in need of a tagline that succinctly explains what a visitor should expect from my site. I recently sent an email out to several friends, which included this:

My two goals to [somehow] achieve simultaneously are:

#1. Represent the “drumming performer and educator” side of myself- informing people about my gigs, group percussion programs, world travels and adventures;

and #2. Represent my “coaching” side- as I tailor the site and blog toward teaching musicians, artists and other creative-types to implement ‘lifestyle design-esque’ tools, techniques and services.

This is where I desperately need some assistance. How do I create a short tagline that successfully gets that across, while not confusing the bejeezus out of anyone?

Below are three examples that should give you a clue as to where I’ve been headed with things. They feel a bit buzzwordy to me, but I’m stuck and can’t seem to conjure up that magic phrase.

* Hit It Hard. Live The Dream.
* Music. Travel. Lifestyle Design for Creative Types.
* Music. Travel. Creative Lifestyle Design.

Your turn. Thoughts? Ideas?!

The Feedback

An enormous “thank you” to Joel Runyon, Joanna Robert, Lauren Rains, Logan Smith, Tessa Zeng, Robert Modzelewski, Matt Koenig, Jeannie Mark, Abe Cajudo, Steve Prager, Steve Schob, Tyler Tervooren, Colin Wright, Mars Dorian, Nora Dunn, Maria Brooks and Lachlan Cotter for the many thoughts and suggestions that I quickly received! Here are some of them:

• Who says you need a tagline? I don’t have one. Sean doesn’t have one. Think Traffic doesn’t have one [note: actually, they do]. If you’re having trouble coming up with one, try not having one. See what happens…just a thought.

• I definitely love “Hit It Hard. Live The Dream.” It’s fun and cool. The others are nice, but almost a little too general or seen it already. You could come up with a play on words with the saying “Marching to the beat of your own drum.” which really says a lot about how us lifestyle designers do things. It’s a little corny though, so it needs to be tweaked to sound as cool as you are

• How about these off the top of my head? “Powers Percussion: Drumming adventure into the listening life.” / “Powers Percussion: Interpreting the Music and Simplifying the Adventure.” / “Powers Percussion: Simply Striking Rhythm into Life”

• ”Hit it Hard. Live the Dream” captured my attention, because you’re starting to turn drumming into a metaphor that conveys your philosophy re: lifestyle design! Wonder if you can turn the second part of that into the reverse…a metaphorical way of using ‘coach-esque’ phrasing to describe your traveling musician adventures! The other two taglines tell people what you’re about, but they don’t show in the way that metaphors do, you know?

• ”Educator. Coach. Adventure Drummer.” / “Tools for a creative and profitable life.” / “Live the creative life you’ve wanted.” / “Smash fear. Live the creative, profitable life you’ve dreamed of.” / “Musician. Entrepreneur. Coach. Educator. Helping you live the creative life of your dreams.” / “Hitting life hard: music, entrepreneurship, and making it happen.” / “Hitting life hard: music, entrepreneurship, and life design.”

• I think you should have this description with the details of points 1 and 2 on an “About” page as well. But in terms of a tagline here are a few I thought up that focus on your amazing teaching skilz: (notice I concentrated on drumming, percussion, rhythm): “Seeking the Rhythm of Life” / “Commonsense Advice on Finding Your Own Rhythm” / “Drumming Up Success Through Music & Travel” / “Have Drum, Will Travel” [note: which is a phrase that I have used some in the past] Personally, and this is just me, I wouldn’t use any tag line with the words “Lifestyle Design”. To me it’s just so cliché and overdone these days. Seriously, when I hit a blog that even mentions lifestyle design my defenses go up. I don’t know what it is but I just cringe when I hear it now. What does it even really mean? OK, mini-rant over.

• I like the first one. “Hit it Hard. Live the Dream.” I prefer punchy and succinct. You can always explain the rest in your About page. That’s my thinking.

• How about “Powers Percussion. Adventures in rhythm and teaching to get you ahead of the beat.” ?

• ”Have Drum. Will Travel” / “The life of a creative nomad.”

• for the site: “Mark Powers – Sticking it . . . to the man.” [LOL, tied for my all-time favorite reply!]

• I would keep it simple. “Music. Travel. Life.” Or something like that. Or, you could go a different direction. Something like: “Living in the backbeat.” Or . . . “Playing to a different beat.” Those kind of elude to what you’re about as a musician trying to experiment with new ideas. They might need some tweaking, but you get the gist . . .

• I like the first one, personally. Hitting it hard is something that resonates, while also relating to drums and (subtly), sex. Win win win. [tied favorite #2!]

• I really like your first one (“Hit it hard. Live the dream.”), but it’s not entirely succinct enough and explicit enough for SEO etc. Maybe include it somewhere else on the site, and say something a little more plain but non-confusable as your tag line? Then again, maybe it’s not all about SEO . . .

• I like this one: “Music. Travel. Lifestyle Design for Creative Types.” It seems to match your goals, and represent what you’re trying to accomplish.

• ”Proving that drummers are musicians too.” eh? Okay, then . . . “live the dream” is definitely a powerful hook to have in there; and something about “lifestyle design” is pretty descriptive also.

The Plea

This is where you come in. You are the ones visiting the site and reading the posts. What is my website about to you? How do you think I can embody the two points mentioned above in a short phrase or two?

Got a catchy idea? I’d love to hear about it!

With so many extremely creative friends out there, one of you has got to be sitting on that magic catchphrase right now. I’ll even buy you a drink [or four] if you come up with something I decide to use! Thank you, thank you in advance for anything and everything you shoot my way.

Leave your thoughts in a comment below and help me get over this hump and on my way to a brand spankin’ new site! Purty please . . . ?

Forget that “life is like a box of chocolates” nonsense. Life is like a bungee jump.

I know, I know . . . back the jolly trolley up, didn’t I say the big bungee jump was going to be on June 6th?! Well, it is (and you should come along!), but there ended up being another. Yesterday.

I’ve got such cool, crazy friends. Crazy #1, Joanna, made the snap decision that, since she can’t make our scheduled group jump, she wanted to go anyway. Right now! I get a call from her on Sunday morning, informing me that the day’s registration at bungee.com had closed but, on their site, it looked as though there were potentially three spots still open. A quick call to fellow percussionist and Crazy #2, Steve, and about an hour later, we’re piled in a car, crossing the border into Washington! Not sure if they would even allow us to jump, we GPS’ed our way to the company’s private bridge outside of Amboy, cold hard cash in-hand.

So, this is where I go into how we got to do it, and how exhilarating of an experience plunging 200 feet over a river at 68.3 mph connected to a bunch of rubberbands was, and how we’re all going back again, this time to take a running leap off the bridge, right? Nah. All true, but that’s so yesterday. Borrrrrring- I wouldn’t want to put you all to sleep.

No, here’s the scoop, Sparky: what I want to share most with you is- all adrenaline sports aside- what I really learned on that bridge . . . about life.

Trust

Steve and I are standing at the edge, observing as other bungee’ers are each taking their turns and marveling at the many thick, strong elastic bands connected to the jumpers’ harnesses. He turns to me and asks, “what is it about our brains that doesn’t let us get beyond the fear of something like this?” He was right. You stand and watch person after person climb over the edge, throw their arms out, leap away from the platform and have the ride of their lives. One after another safely succeed in this feat, screaming about how incredible it was as they’re reeled back up to rejoin us. Some even [gasp] do it again right then and there!

We see over and over again that it’s safe. That others can do it- right before our very eyes. But many of us are terrified. Frozen in fear. What is it that disallows us from trusting in the system and just freaking going for it?

This happens everyday in many of the non-thrilling-seeking aspects of our lives. How many things have you seen someone else do, maybe even someone you personally know well, but still decided that, for some reason, you can’t? Why? What makes what is possible for him/her, impossible for you? What if you changed that paradigm. Imagine for a moment what might happen if you were to decide for yourself that, “I can do whatever the hell I want. On top of that, whether or not I’ve ever seen that anyone else can.”

Never ever ever ever ever look back

I’ll keep this one short. As we were driving away from the jump site, headed back to Portland for a celebratory cerveza, all sorts of excited conversations were bouncing between us. One of the biggest (and I think that this is HUGE) was a shared observation we had standing on that bridge. Put down the CrackBerry and pay attention . . .

Almost without exception, every single individual who so much as hesitated when the jumpmaster yelled out the countdown . . . did . . . not . . . do it.

“Wait, wait a second. Give me a bit. Uh . . . whew. Wow, I uh . . . okay, okay. [deep breath] Alright . . . ["Three, two-"] No, no, hold on. Hold on. I just need. Okay, s#!+, I can do this. Whew . . . uh, nope . . . nope, I’m climbing back over.”

I couldn’t care less if you ever want to leap off a bridge. I couldn’t care less. What I don’t want you to do is to EVER stop and second guess yourself when in pursuit of a personal life goal. What’s important to you? What eats at you day-in and day-out, deep down begging for you to give it an honest go. Whatever that thing is, if you’ve been putting it off until now, it’s probably because it’s scary. Am I right? A little scary to set out on that path? Maybe beyond scary, you’re petrified. Frozen in fear. Putting off that leap you want to take.

Do not hesitate. If you stop, look back and reconsider, you are almost guaranteed to quit.

—–

Similar experiences? Please share in a comment below, pass this post along to your friends and join me in my group bungee jump on June 6th!

Nearly everyone of us has, at one point or another during our defiant youthful years, had a parent ask, “so, if all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you, too?” Well, regardless of your current age, here’s your chance to reply, “why yes, mom . . . yes I would!”

Three and a half weeks from today (Monday, June 6th), while he’s in the area for the World Domination Summit, Calgary-based buddy Matt Bailey and I are leading a group of daredevils like yourself on a leap off the highest legal bungee bridge in the United States! [only 2 hours from Salem (let's carpool!) / 1 hour from Portland]

This is something I’ve been wanting to check off my own bucket list for quite some time now, and I can’t think of a better way to do it than with several other friends! I know, I know . . . deep down you really want to cut loose, get crazy and do it but, only fifteen seconds into reading this post, you’ve already come up with an excuse or two why you can’t.

• It’s on a Monday? Darn- I would, but I can’t get off work.
• Ooh, $107 is a bit much.
• I’m scared of heights.
• I’m too old for that craziness now.
• Maybe later, when I have more time to think about it and plan/prepare.

While they may seem like legitimate reasons, those excuses are still . . . um, er . . . excuses. Are they similar to the “logic” that’s actually kept you from seeking out other adventures that you’ve only vicariously experienced through other people? The same self-speak that’s kept you from accomplishing other goals in life? If so, you owe it to yourself to get off your butt right now, follow the two ridiculously easy steps below to get registered and come along! I guarantee great camaraderie, an exhilarating thrill and quite possibly, a life changing experience.

Come the evening of June 6th, some of us will be sharing laughs, amazing photographs and incredible stories about doing the highest bungee jump in the country. At the same time, others of us will still be sitting on the couch [again], flipping channels on the tube [again], bored [again].

You can watch the waves, ride the waves, or make the waves . . . it’s your call.

You in? Here’s everything you need to know and do:

Date of jump: Monday, June 6th, 2011 – starting at 2pm
Total cost: $107 [incl. tax] for 1 jump. 2 jumps for $140.

Step 1 – Register and pay the $27 deposit at http://bungee.com/bzapp/bungee_masters/midweek.html
(Click on the calender and make sure to find June 6th, which will be highlighted green. Click and get yourself signed up!) Note: Read FAQ and make sure you fit the requirements.

Step 2 – Email me [ powersmusic (at) hotmail (dot) com ] or comment below to let me know you registered!

That’s it- you are officially all set for the experience of a lifetime! Matt and I both thank you for joining us and look forward to seeing you there!

—–

** Not in the Washington/Oregon area? Wherever you are, plan your own local bungee group experience! Or take a gang skydiving (oh yeah, I’m doing that with Joel Runyon and 40+ others on June 3rd, as well!). Or ziplining. Paragliding. White water rafting. If you do, keep me posted about it and I’ll help spread the word!

(photo by Esparta)

One of the books that has most influenced my approach to teaching percussion lessons is Barry Green’s The Inner Game of Music. Based on principles found in the highly championed The Inner Game of Tennis and Inner Skiing, by Tim Gallwey, the book is a beautiful collection of concepts for musicians to apply to their practicing and educating.

Amidst the many terrific ideas Green lays out, are the simple philosophies of:

1. Not telling a student that a section of music, or exercise, is going to be difficult; and

2. Not suggesting that he/she try to get through a passage.

Informing someone that something is difficult, before a first attempt has even been made, is one method of setting them up for failure. I have seen firsthand very real physical tension quickly build up in a student after I’ve spoken something like, “Alright, take this one slowly. This line is super tricky.” Before he’s even given a chance to take a stab at it, he’s already holding his breath, expecting obstacles, and is subconsciously aware that he very well may not be successful. In fact, in some cases, he’s pretty much sure that he won’t be.

I’ve found that just as important as not defining passages as difficult, is not defining them as easy. All it takes is one blunder in the middle of a purportedly “easy” musical phrase, and an otherwise confident player starts to crumble. “I suck. I can’t even play through this easy section.”

LUKE: “All right, I’ll give it a try.”
YODA: “No. Try not. Do . . . or do not. There is no try.”

Try. That’s another biggie. I’d be willing to bet that you’ve had this experience: you ask someone for help, or to accomplish a task, and their response is, “yeah, I’ll try to get around to that.” And what happens 95% of the time? They don’t do it. Why? Because the word “try” is their out. It’s their escape. “Well, I only said I was going to try to.” Try is a fail-word. They either don’t want to complete the chore at hand, or don’t think that they have the ability to. Either way, a person trying to do something is not a person fully committed- intending, under any and all circumstances, to make it happen. Simply ask someone (a student, child, etc.) to try to do what’s needed/desired, and you’re essentially giving them permission to fail.

While I’m far from perfect at this, I’ve altered my teaching approach to allow my students to experience the exercise, the challenge, the music for themselves. Let them find what they can and cannot do; where their strengths and weaknesses lie. Be a guide to them, but avoid unnecessary pitfalls. When they’re having trouble, rather than saying, “go ahead and try this passage again,” say, “nice job! Play this one a few more times . . . and just a little slower.” Set them up for success from the get-go and everyone involved will benefit.

Can you apply this to your daily life? Hells yeah!

How many times have you been set up for failure by others (or yourself) who focus only on an endeavor’s difficulty and say that that lofty goal is a bit beyond your reach or ability level?

“That guy/girl is just a little too far out of your league.”
“Nobody passes the audition for that school.”
“Just get a real job like everyone else. Starting your own business is too much work.”
“Of all ideas you could come up with, you pursue that one? Why not something easier and more realistic?”

How many times have you listened to those words and let them keep you from going for it? How many times did you set out to simply try something for a bit and see how it goes, and then run from it as soon as the going got rough?

I encourage beg you to seriously consider those questions and decide whether there are “difficult” things that you have only merely “tried” to accomplish in your life. Things that, deep down, are truly important to you and might deserve/warrant another honest go.

What would YOU be doing with your life right now if nobody had ever told you it was difficult? What current tries could you become more deliberate about?

Share in the comments below, and let’s support each other in this quest of trying less and doing more!

(photo by yapsnaps)

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The Inaudible Sound of the Invisible Sun. I sure learned a lot from that guy.

“That . . . guy?” you ask.

Yep- that what he’s called. By some, anyway. Rakalam (which somehow translates into “the inaudible sound of the invisible sun”) is a moniker that was given to legendary drummer, Bob Moses, by his spiritual guide. Although (or maybe, because) my lesson with him partly felt as though I were inside of a lost chapter from an old Carlos Castaneda book, Rakalam altered my musical and non-musical life.

I took much, musically and otherwise, from that encounter. One of the biggies is something I’ve certainly written about before, but deserves needs repeating. If not for anyone else, at least for myself to hear again.

A few years ago, I had the honor of spending three hours alone with Moses, in a classroom at Boston’s New England Conservatory. After I perform a short requested drumset solo for him, he leans toward me, closes his eyes, processes what he just heard . . . and then slow raises his eyelids.

“You . . . have lots of great ideas. But . . . you didn’t commit to a single one of them.”

Damn. Ouch.

But he wasn’t done. Oh, no. He went on, venturing to guess that, outside of music making, that lack of commitment was most likely reflected in nearly every other area of my life. “Great ideas. No commitment.” Double damn.

But these words were not spoken to break me down. Quite the opposite. Bob explained that the ideas, the heart, the potential, the desire, the nucleus, those were all there. What I needed, and sorely lacked, were commitment . . . and intent. (Crap, I am in a Casteneda book.) If I were to grow and succeed, I had to find a way to fully commit to an idea. One tiny little idea. Rather than bouncing back and forth between a hundred of them. Commit to that one little idea, develop it, develop it some more, and then develop it some more. He made it very clear that an entire drum solo could be derived from nothing but one tiny idea. A miniscule motif that, if fully committed to and developed, will gradually and organically grow into something bigger, more engaging and more powerful than anything your [limited] ears and brain would ever have created. Commit to an idea. Succumb to it. And simply be the vehicle that allows it to reach others.

Wow- how that applies to life, huh?!

How many times have you come up with that simple, yet incredible, idea that was going to knock everyone’s socks off? Or had that little epiphany that was going to change everything forever? And how many times did you make a note or two on the topic, but eventually ended up sidetracked by other ideas? Newer, fresher, incredible ideas. Maybe you tried that first idea for a bit but, as it was taking a while to show any yield, you jumped on to another. Then another. And another. Finally, your schedule got too packed, and you had to give that first idea up altogether, to make time for others.

Now imagine what you might have done, created, written, built, initiated, discovered, solved- had you only stuck with that first “brilliant” concept. What if you had followed through, from inception to completion and realization?

—–

Now, don’t think for even a second that I’m preaching some “holier-than-thou” mumbo jumbo here. “You people should be doing this, then you could be like me.” Oh no, no, no . . . like I mentioned above, this post is written to myself perhaps moreso than anyone else. God knows I’ve certainly got my own commitment issues. I claim that I’m going to accomplish a pretty ridiculous list of things this year. But I’m already behind on several of them. Could it be time to pick just one small goal and kick some serious butt on it? And any former girlfriend reading this is chomping at the bit, dying to jump all over me in the comments about having no right whatsoever to talk about this “commitment” thing. I know, I know. Throw me a bone here . . . this is me workin’ on it.

And, Bob? Thank you.

—–

Thoughts? Do you suck at committing to, and developing, one small idea at a time? Do you rock at it? If so, what’s your secret? Share in the comments below!

(photo by The Cleveland Kid)

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I hate asking for help. I usually pride myself on autonomy and self-reliance. And, I’ve recently been reminded how extremely limiting that can be.

“Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.” (Helen Keller)

For a while now, I have been planning a project titled Amaloboozi. I will be traveling to Uganda, East Africa this fall, to record an album of music with youth choirs and musicians in the region. The audio tracks will be turned into a CD when I return to the States, and 100% of the sales will directly benefit Show Mercy International. SMI is doing some incredible work in Uganda, providing a home, food, education, clothing and medical care to scores of orphaned and abandoned children.

Closing in fast on the date of my March 27th fundraiser for the project, I have been trying to do it all. Coordinating things at the venue, scheduling the entertainment, marketing, collecting donations for a silent auction, budgeting for the trip and recording, handling audio/video details, designing a poster, building a website . . . the list goes on and on and on.

And I’ve been pulling my hair out.
(Yeah, yeah, smartypants . . . I know I don’t really have any hair, but stop it- you get what I mean!)

Or rather, I was pulling my hair out. Then, about two weeks ago, I finally came to my senses, snapped to and realized that I couldn’t do it all by myself. I needed some . . . (gulp) . . . help. I mean, I could do it all. But there is no way that the event would turn out all that fantastic when I’ve spread myself too thin to give ample attention to each (or, any) of the many details. And I have so many friends who have strengths in areas where I don’t.

So I got my head out of my butt, swallowed my pride, made a few phone calls, posted a public plea for assistance on Facebook, and BAM! Like magic, friends and acquaintances started coming out of the woodwork to offer their time, services and donations to the project!

In a matter of hours, I had gathered together a small team of individuals to help me make the upcoming fundraiser not only a reality, but a success.

I will be updating the Thank You page of the Amaloboozi website regularly, listing everyone who is helping to make this project happen. I sincerely thank all that have joined me already in supporting Show Mercy and the children of Uganda.

—–

If you would like to help, please visit Amaloboozi.com to learn more about the project, spread the news via email, Facebook, Twitter and good ol’ fashioned word of mouth, and consider making a tax-deductible donation.

Moreover, if you’re in Oregon, it would be great to see you at the fundraiser:

Sunday, March 27th (2-5pm)
at Clockworks Cafe- Salem, OR
more info

—–

Time for you to gather your troops! If you’re anything like me, it can really be difficult to invite others to jump aboard your project, buy into your vision and devote time and energy to it.

But stop for a second and ask yourself these two questions:

1. Is it a worthy cause?
2. Are you passionate [I mean really passionate] about it?

If the the answers to both of these are yes, then why wouldn’t others want to be involved?

Make a short list of people you know who may be better than you at one or more of the tasks at-hand. Perhaps they are more efficient in a particular, more educated on a specific topic, or more socially connected in certain circles.

Whatever the case, block out fifteen minutes, take a deep breath, and start dialing. I would be willing to bet that, in the end, you’ll be super glad you did!

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Comment below and tell us about a time that gathering and rallying your troops helped you reach an otherwise potentially unrealistic goal.

Better yet . . . tell us how you need help now. Maybe some of the rest of us will be able to help by joining your ranks!

(photo by Cherie A. Thurlby)

Thought I was going to die last week . . .

Seriously. Have you ever been “that guy,” dry-heaving over the toilet (or next to a tree) late at night, swearing that, if you make it through just this one time, you’ll never touch alcohol again?

Well, that was me. Except I was suspended 2,000 feet above the ground.

One week ago was my first opportunity this year to get back into the skies with my paraglider. Early Friday morning, I got bundled up, loaded up the wing, harness and radio, and headed east of Portland on I-84. Reaching the town of White Salmon, I cross the bridge into Bingen, Washington and meet my flight instructor, Dan, at our LZ (landing zone) along the Columbia River.

After a pre-flight equipment check and a bit of review, we’re on our way up a nearby mountain. We throw on our packs and hike out to the launch site.

I lay my glider in a clearing, wait for an acceptable puff of wind, pull the wing overhead, and I’m off! I run down the hillside until the air being forced into the canopy pulls me away from the ground. Ahhh . . . it’s been months, but I’m flying again! It’s been a while since I’ve hung under this nylon and kevlar aircraft. I definitely noticed my hands shaking a little as they held onto the brakes. But those nerves disappeared as I got comfortable, nestles into my harness, crossed my legs, and began admiring the unbelievably beautiful Columbia River Gorge a couple thousand feet below me. The flight . . . this flight . . . was fantastic. Smooth air and a decent landing, right near the center of the LZ. Awesome!

On to flight #2 . . . Not so good. Back up the mountain, hiked in, all set to go.

A little wind and I’m in the air again. However, not so smooth this time. What we call “ratty” air. Unpredictable. Bumpy. Providing the kind of ride that makes you sick to your stomach. Which I might have felt, had I not been more consumed with thoughts of sheer and utter death. As I got away from the mountain, the ride got worse and worse. It felt like God was using me as a yo-yo, throwing me around from side to side. One second, I see my canopy shooting straight out to my left (rather than staying above me). The next second, it’s headed the other direction. Meanwhile, I’m hanging on for dear life, probably overcompensating on one brake to the next the entire time.

No amount of reading proper techniques and troubleshooting in a textbook can ever prepare you for an “oh s#!t” moment like this. Let me please get both feet safely on the ground and I will never do this again.

Nearby in the sky is Dan, calmly radioing instructions- most of which went misunderstood or completely ignored by me in my current state. It seemed like getting out of that turbulent air took an eternity. But we did eventually get out of it. Dan raced ahead, beat me to the LZ and talked me through my approach and landing.

Still feeling like my heart was ready to blast through my chest, I shoved the glider into its stuffsack and walked over to meet up again with Dan. I spoke the only thought that was in my head. “Dude, for a little bit, I thought I was gonna die up there.” His response: “Yeah . . . you could’ve.” And that’s the number one thing I love about Dan- he’s just a no-s#!t sort of guy.

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He went on to explain that situations like this (and my landing in powerlines last year) are giving me the experience so that I will be able to think clearly during similar scenarios in the future. “You’ve got to increase your bump tolerance,” he said. “You’ll get used to being tossed around. Even my pucker factor was high.” [Pucker factor I take as how tightly the fear makes you tense up and squeeze your butt cheeks together ] “I was just glad I wasn’t you up there. You were probably scared to death.” Thanks, Dan . . . yes, yes, I was.

Hmm. Increasing your Bump Tolerance. Oh, man- how that applies to other areas of life. We all hit so many bumps, roadblocks and obstacles in our paths as we pursue goals we’d like to accomplish. How many times have you (or someone you know) run into one of those . . . and quit? And why do we quit when that bump is actually just our first opportunity to learn and gain valuable experience? Experience that the next guy/girl doesn’t have. Because they did quit.

All of our goals are different. I’m not saying that you need to go build your Bump Tolerance by jumping off mountaintops. But I am encouraging you to stick it out, especially when the going gets tough. Well, unless that’s you heaving over the toilet. Then maybe you should let that one go. Put the money from those fourth, fifth and seventeen beers toward that trip you’ve always wanted to go on!

As I’ve said before, and regularly preach to my drumming students: If you do now what other people won’t do, you’ll be able to do (for the rest of your life) what other people can’t do.

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How can this concept of increasing your Bump Tolerance be applied to your life?
Share your thoughts in a comment below!

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(photo by Andrew Rivett)