The Hardest Thing I’ve Ever Done

#MyHardest For many, answering the call of “the hardest thing I’ve ever done” is probably a simple task. The answer immediately comes to mind. There are things in my life that have been hard no doubt, but I also can’t help but be humbled in the shadows of David Goggins, Marcus Luttrell, Adam Brown, Chris Kyle and the countless other brave men and women who have served, given and sacrificed so much for their country.

I think of the men and women who pioneered and settled the west. The hardest thing I’ve ever done will never include, “I walked with my family from Ohio to Oregon in search for a better life.” I’ve never had to go without food for a couple days, never had to hunt, kill, slaughter an animal so my family could eat.

I am not nor will I ever have a Hugh Glass [dude from The Revenant] type of experience or existence. It’s just not real.

The Hardest Thing I’ve Ever Done Hasn’t Happened Yet

Cop out? Maybe so, but I can’t justify calling my personal challenges hard when I know so many, including ancestors of mine have done some really hard shit that no one in this generation can possible comprehend. One of my Great Grandfathers fought in the Civil War. Two more in the Revolutionary War. Another sailed from England to get here. They also settled in and established Ohio and Iowa. With nothing but what they brought with them. Imagine building your own house. From scratch. No Tim The Tool Man Taylor stuff. From absolute scratch. Most Americans have NO clue or understanding about what it took to get here.

Pretentious rant over, here’s a list of my “hard stuff” (in no order of hardness)

Be present for my mother’s last few weeks on Earth and all that entails
Stop smoking cigarettes cold turkey in 2002 (the first 3 days are effing lame)
Buried one of my best friends in 1994
Buried another in 2006
Came clean to my wife in 2007 that I was an alcoholic
Withdrawal from alcohol took about 2 weeks (literally thought I was dying)
Reconnected to my highest self in my sobriety (still sober)
Finished the Russian Kettlebell Challenge and earned my RKC in 2009
Periodontal Surgery under local anesthesia in 2010
Lost another dear friend in 2011

The Hardest Thing I’ve (N)ever Done

Since 2009, I’ve been on the lookout to push my physical limits as a means to connect to the divine, infinity and my own personal divinity. I’ve come to the conclusion courtesy of a few great mentors that I am an infinite spiritual being having a temporary human experience. I’ve also been able to release myself even more from my ego. Don’t get me wrong, my false sense of self still shows up once in a while, I just have a better command over the conversation. 😉

I’ve also realized that the same energy that keeps the solar system in place is also in me. I have all the energy in the universe in my body. When I press a heavy kettlebell, I say to the universe, “I’ll push and you pull.” That cooperation has served me in my exercises, my personal life and my business life. Knowing that no matter how hard “life” may get for me, I’m not alone here.

There is a greater energy and consciousness that will help pull me along as long as I am doing my part by pushing.

I think the hardest think I’ve ever done has been to allow my life to happen. Allowing the reality of being a spiritual being here to experience the physical world and all that it has to offer. You don’t have to die to connect to the divine. Divinity is within you. I am pulling back the layers of ego, looking for the divine in others and wondering in this world and all the blessings available.

With all this being said and at only 44 years old, I think the hardest thing I’ve ever done has yet to come. I’ll get back to you on on that. For now, I am focusing on the daily hard stuff…

The Hardest Easy Stuff Ever (4 hard stuff tips)

Start your day with your gratitudes, goals and dreams. Do this every day. Not just a couple times a year.
Go the extra mile. In all things. Be consciously aware that everything you do and everyone you encounter is an opportunity to do, give, be, and have more.
Study and Train daily. Not just your body, but your mind. Everyday, do a little something to get and be better. The universe is in a constant state of expanding, changing and growing. You should be too.
Leave people better than how you found them. Some people are assholes. Can’t really get around that. However, what does that have to do with you? Jack shit. That’s what. You got two choices. One’s easy, the other is hard. The easy route is to be an asshole back. The hard route, which is why it’s called “taking the high road,” has you choosing to smile and send love. [note: still working on this]