The Reward

I’ve done a lot of good things in my life. Helped a lot of people, made quite a bit of money and was blessed to travel to foreign lands. In other words, I have been beyond blessed. And just like everyone else, I have had some dark periods, and done some stupid shit. I had to overcome a lot. But I was smart. I knew I needed to surround myself with strong, ethical people. And I don’t know how I pulled that off, but I did. The overwhelming majority of my friends were 15–20 years older than me. And they took a chance on me. They crafted me into a person that I am proud of.

I started in the martial arts at a young age. Here is another blessing. My instructor believed in meditation as much as the style of karate that he was teaching. So I became a thinking man. And as a thinking man, I craved education. So I got it. A lot of it. But at the end of the day, it was meditation that taught me pretty much everything.

Here is the thing about personal development. It is hard work. You have to look at the parts of you that make you cringe. Truth be told, there was work to be done, but I never judged myself. That was a lesson that my circle taught me. But I worked on myself. I am still working on myself. And while I feel I am very well adjusted, I am nowhere close to being the man I want to be. You know the saying,” I don’t quit when I am tired. I quit when I’m done.” That’s me. There is zero quit in me. And the result…

I think the greatest thing I have ever done, was to level up enough to attract a woman like my wife. A couple of decades are behind us, and she is still the one. It was kind of a crazy week, so I called her from the road yesterday. Had a brief moment of chit chat, when she asked if there was something I needed. I said,” Truthfully, I just was missing you.” That got me thinking later in the day. After all of the hard work that I’ve done on myself. After all of the bullshit that I have gone through in my life, she is the reward. I have devoted my entire life to service. Being married to her for all of these years, is better than all the money, traveling and experiences that I have had. It is like validation of the caliber of man I’ve become. Because souls like hers do not settle. You ether keep up, or you keep out.

I have had an amazing life. Marked by extreme highs and extreme lows. The meditation taught me long ago how to accept and override the lows. I literally became the most positive person I know. In return, I attracted the strongest person I know.

So there it is. I am built from many influences, but doing the work was the currency that got the reward. Women like her come around but once in a lifetime. And I will spend that lifetime earning her daily.