For the past 18 days, we’ve been leading, training and preparing our team… the most important part of our jobs. (Yes, I want the place to look good and work… but the people are way more important.)

We had our culminating moment for Orientation last night. After a great slide show of our staff in the Cove, we headed down to the (newly refurbished) Rec Hall. A few final words from Kate, myself and Dana for the team. And, a nice treat – four short talks from both returning and new staff members.

Becoming Yourself

When DH Jessie spoke, she mentioned being a ‘camp hater’ before she even arrived here several summers ago. Her boyfriend had been to camp a year prior and wouldn’t stop talking about the experience. “It felt a bit cult-like.” (I’ll take that.)

She charted her first summer’s path from ‘hater’ and someone who struggled to jump in to where she is now – doing everything in her power to get back here as a DH.

When Jessie spoke about the importance of camp to her, one line really stuck with me:  

“Camp didn’t change my life because it turned me into something new. It changed my life because it made me comfortable enough to be who I already was.”

This is what we want for all of our kiddos… and our staff.

We are excited to get everyone here tomorrow. Enough planning. Let’s go to camp.

PS: I’m pretty terrible on email when the kids are here. If you need me, call the office at 570.798.2716. I’ll get back to you as soon as I possibly can!

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A LONG time ago, Confucious said “study the past so you may divine the future.” Not too long ago, one of the great English writers (George Bernard Shaw) said ‘What we’ve learned from history is that we don’t learn from history.”

We at Weequahic do our best to learn. So… let’s talk about some history.

A History Lesson

Pre-1952: This was an old farm – cattle & apples. They (both the people and the cows) loved the lake.

After taking part of WW2, Mr. Art Lustig was the Athletics Director at Weequahic HS who also ran a summer day camp. When the polio epidemic really got going in the 50s, the families came to Mr. Lustig and asked him to get their to a safer, more fun place.

So, in 1953 Camp Weequahic opened with Art and Mollie as the directors… and still the AD at Weequahic High. They and their family ran camp until 2008.

In 2009, Kate and I showed up. Sue was not too far behind. In fact, we’ve worked together for 22 of our 24 years in camping.

When we started here, there were 90 kids, 45 staff, a third of whom were 17-year-old newly ‘graduated’ from Weequahic kids. It was a camp with great bones that needed a lot of work. Due the work of people like you and others who are warmly remembered though no longer with us, camp grew to what it is today.

More Important History

So… that’s the history in a nut shell. But that is certainly not the whole story.

To get that, you’ve got to talk about thousands of counselors who’ve walked this hill, built community in those bunks, taught and learned. Hailing from dozens of countries, they left their homes to live and laugh and learn and teach in the middle of nowhere.

It’s the story of massive wins – Prince William talking about how camp literally made him a kinder person, more than a dozen staff marriages, of life-long friends, of new, more exciting more self-actualized growth. It’s also the story of massive learning on all of our parts.

It’s the story of kids from dozens of countries and US states that see this place as their home, where they are their true selves. The pressures of the world fall away, the comparison trap of social media, the demands of school and activities. Instead, our campers in the past have been able to interact with new mentors in a new place with people just. Like. Y’all.

Be Here Now with Love

One of my favorite writers in one of my favorite books said: Gratitude looks to the Past and love to the Present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead.

So, let’s talk about the present and let’s do it with love.

Look around you. Look at the person next to you. We humans have been doing this, exactly this, for millennia. Under the stars, around a fire for warmth, community, protection, love, dance, celebration, food and more.

The past echoes loudly here in the present. That’s one of the reasons why this feels so good, so comfortable.

Counselors, you are now a part of the story at Weequahic. We are weaving this beautiful chaotic patchwork quilt of our moments together. We are experiencing the infinite presents of ‘now.’

Does that mean we are always the same? Heck no.  

There’s an old saying about a person and river. You can never see the same river twice. The water has changed… and so have you.

It’s the same here. You are different… even if this is your 28^th summer. The kids are certainly different. Each summer is literally a new adventure.

Future

We make plans for the future. We teach you our traditions, listen and learn from you and others about new ways, we build our culture together. We do this to prepare y’all to help create amazing for the kids arriving in 8 sleeps, the UPS driver, the guys painting the courts, the kitchen and cleaning team and everyone else.

We can look to the future and be greedy or fearful or lustful or any way we wish. Or… or. Or we can quietly recognize the future with hope while remaining rooted in the present moment around each over and over and over again.

So, in the week ahead, let’s continue to build this quilt this is our 2026 summer culture. Let’s give each other grace and patience. Let’s push each other – good naturedly – to be our best selves. Let’s get ready for the best summer of our lives… together.

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(Wait… that last sentence sounds a lot like… me. Let’s move on.)

Seriously – the tech in our pockets and all around us is really incredible. It allows for so much good. And… and. It can really hold us back.

Worshipping… What?

One of the drawbacks of social media culture is the productization of ourselves. We set up stories – mostly through images and posts – that we want to people to ‘buy’ with their attention and, if we really think about, their approval.

We make decisions on vacations that focus on posts that will sway others to think of us a certain way rather than exploring what we are truly curious about and experiencing with our travel mates. We pose. We construct. Very little is actually what is going on but rather the story we want to tell not to ourselves but to others.

It leads us all closer and closer to the idea that the shot must be perfect, that the words must be perfect that we… must be perfect.

Y’all, that’s not us. And while some will argue that has been one among us who reached perfection in the human condition, the odds are really, really not great that you and I will get there.  

But yet, rather than worshiping Yaweh or Buddha or God or something larger and greater than ourselves, our collective behavior and choices scream that we are very close to worshipping… perfection in ourselves. And that, in the words of David Foster Wallace, will tear us up.

(Parents, it’s an incredible read and something I talk about – though not in so many words – around the campfire with our campers.)

Perfectly Imperfect

Just as important, the chase for personal perfection holds us back.

Here’s a list of statements we often say to ourselves in those quiet moment: “I’ll be happy when…”, “I’ll be worthy when…”, “I’ll be accepted when….”

Let me help you finish those. In this modern society, young (and not so young) people often complete the above statements with ‘I’m perfect’ or ‘it’s perfect.’

The ironic thing? Those who really are happy or feel worthy or are accepted aren’t even thinking about themselves. Instead, they accept their imperfections with grace and humor and humility. They think of others more than they think of themselves. The contribute to the greater good of their family, their classroom, their team, troop… or bunk.

As Shannon Alder has said, “There is no perfection, only beautiful versions of brokenness.” The pursuit of perfect is a great way to beat yourself up and stop you from actually flourishing and growing.

You want the good news about your imperfection? Everyone else is imperfect, too. And even better, your imperfections will line up perfectly with a lot of people. As C.S. Lewis has said,

Friendship … is born at the moment when one man says to another “What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . ..

You are perfectly imperfect. Rather than hiding these little foibles or eccentricities, recognize them, accept them and start contributing to the lives of those around you. You’ll get plenty of ‘likes’ that way. More than you can possibly imagine.

Have a great weekend, kiddos.

PS – How would I love you to answer those ‘when’ statements above? ‘…I decide to be so.’

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The azaleas are blooming. Our dogwoods have announced their presence and the redbuds are singing. It’s the latter flowering tree that has me thinking today about beauty in the cracks.

We have two, big redbud trees in our backyard, planted before we got here in 2005. The top of one of the trees broke nearly off in the winter. I looked at it for weeks, thinking of way to safely remove the large, hanging branch, too high for me to reach with a ladder or climbing.

I got busy and forgot about it. Until last week. As the plants began to pop their Spring colors, I looked up and noticed something incredible:

That big branch that was barely hanging on had flowered up just as beautifully as the rest of the tree.

Kintsugi

There is a tradition of art in Japan called ‘kintsugi.’ It describes a process of rebuilding a broken bowl, cup or pot using gold, silver or some other precious metal to bind the pieces back together. In doing so, the function returns and the vessel itself is even more beautiful than before.

Its beauty comes from the cracks. Broken things can still flower.

There was a push in the ‘90s and early ‘00s to raise children to think they are perfect. As a society, we were so concerned about our young people’s self-esteem, how they held themselves. Turns out, this well-meaning approach to parenting led to those who had a hard time dealing with the cracks which life created in them.

Full disclosure – you aren’t perfect. (Goodness knows I’m not either.) You are going to make a lot of mistakes over the course of your life. All will leave a mark – some more than others. Sometimes, you’ll get nicked. Sometimes, you may feel broken. But….

Beauty comes from the cracks. Broken things can still flower. As long as you have something else. Read on.

Binding with Beauty

I vividly remember the days of braces, acne and my fumbling attempts at relationships. It’s a tough combination that comes seemingly at the worst possible time: late middle school and early high school. The combo and timing just about floored me.

Yet, I had a life-line in Mike Selleck. Mike was our youth leader growing up. From 7^th grade onward, he showed our group that it didn’t matter what we looked like, the grades we made, the failures (or successes) on the sports fields or recital halls or budding relationships.

We were loved and accepted, completely and unconditionally. And we enjoyed this incredible mix of fun and actual thinking that he and his team orchestrated every Sunday evening for years.

From this incredible combination, we flowered. We thrived. We had a refuge, a place where we could go each week to get re-filled in the best possible way.

He provided that which we all need – acceptance and love, fun and growth – to give us the space and tools needed to bind up our nicks and our fears and our broken pieces.

Many of us remain connected. I had lunch with Mike a month ago. Certainly, a lot has changed in the group of 23 of us from graduation until now. But all remember the beautiful binding that Mike helped create in us.

Beauty comes from the cracks. Broken things can still flower.

Beauty at Camp

Am I waxing poetic? Maybe… yeah. With Passover and Easter, both of the ‘worlds’ in which I live are experiencing a meaningful week. It’s got me in the mood.

Kiddos – you are going to make mistakes. A lot of them. At home, after school, at camp. All the places. So will your friends. So will your parents. So will I.

What matters is what we learn, how we bind ourselves up and how we move forward.

The good news? You can have help in all three of those next steps. In fact, I would argue that having the help is what creates he beauty.

At Weequahic this summer, the camp counselors can’t wait to help, to demonstrate it themselves and support you (and each other.) We are going to provide a space that is crazy fun and, at the right times, thoughtful and meaningful. And, you are going to have a lot of support at as you move forward.

You are going to do great. I know it. How? Because I know…

Beauty comes from the cracks. Broken things can still flower.

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It’s natural for us humans to strive, to reach for things higher than our current situation in life. I did when I was your age. Still do… just for (very) different things.

(I don’t believe many middle and high schoolers are praying for a safe summer and for their children to become good men. If you are… well, we should talk.)

Having goals are good. Something to aim at is important. We all should strive to become better versions of ourselves each and every day.

Here are two questions: at what are you striving? And, what are you missing in the process?

The Little Moments…

This morning, I put a new razor blade on my razor. (Again… you’ll get there.) The difference was enormous – no discomfort. Just smooth sailing and a much better shaving experience.

For some reason, I stopped and thought ‘Man – that was great’ and smiled.

Then I thought… why don’t I think that more often about a lot of things? And, for the next hour or two, I did.

A long part of the road from our house to the airport was super smooth. The fact that I could listen to a podcast out of my phone struck me as close to magic. The gentleman driving our parking shuttle at the airport was kind and thoughtful, especially towards Kate. A baby being held in front of me in the TSA line gave me the biggest smile you’ve ever seen….

Now… how many times have I missed these little moments? How many times have I been so busy with other things on my mind or rushing to the next ‘goal completion’ or just not present enough to recognize and enjoy them.

Millions of times. And we all do it. Head phones in. Head in the calendar. Eyes on the screen…. Hm.

But it’s the recognition of these little things that lead to a…

Big Life

My grandmothers grew up with pretty much nothing in a material sense. While they lived within a few hours of the ocean, they didn’t see it until late in life. They raised their own food, sewed their clothing. The Great Depression was on… and they didn’t even realize it.

When I asked Munner what she thought was the greatest invention in her lifetime – refrigeration, vaccines, rockets, tv, etc. – she answered immediately: air-conditioning. Growing up without in the Deep South sets a different perspective.

But yet they had big lives.

Big families. Sunday dinners at which both friends and families sat together. Card games that would go on for hours, punctuated with laughter, jeers and more. They had deep faiths, strong bonds with their neighbors, and were concerned about their community.

They didn’t ‘finish’ rich in terms of money or accolades. But, they were deeply loved and gave that love unselfishly and unreservedly to those around them.

Near the end of their time with us, I got to hold Ginny’s hand during a hard moment at Two Lights. Munner invited me for a glass of sweet tea and a pimento cheese sandwich on a Tuesday.

I’m happy to have those memories. They are more than worth the two hours in the car, missing a round of golf, playing a video game or whatever else I was doing as a young man.

A Mother’s Advice

I was reminded recently of a quote I love:

“If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” – Mother Teresa of Calcutta

With all the marvels of today, it’s easy for us to strive for bigger and ‘better’ things. However, it’s actually more important to do and appreciate the little things.

Loving on your (sometimes annoying) little or big sibling. Cleaning up the table for your parents who’ve dealt with today more than you can realize right now. Rubbing your partner’s feet. Caring for the pet. Calling your grand parent out of the blue, just to say ‘hello.’

These things… these little moments are those that will change the world.

How? The same way the oceans were formed…. One drop at a time.

Have a good weekend. Can’t wait to see you at camp.

PS – How does this relate to camp? Well… just about every moment at camp is a little one. And, without the distraction of school, after school activities, your phone, your games, etc… you just get to be where you are.

At camp, we can truly be present. And enjoy that for what it is: A gift!

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Kate and I ‘received the torch’ from the Seffer and Lustig families in 2009. They had built Weequahic from the ground up starting in 1953.

We dug in and started building on the wonderful foundation and traditions (Tribals, Olympics and more) the Seffer and Lustig families created while instituting some of our own (Campfire by Sly Lake, GAC, Swim the Lake and more.)

No matter what, though, no matter who is running camp or how long the sessions or what names of the color war teams are – it’s all about the kids and staff.

The people are what make camp – then, now and forever.

Claire

I first met Claire in her home outside of Philadelphia. Then, as now, we met with every family prior to camp. I remember her being quiet and interested with a twinkle in her eye.

When she told me soccer was one of her favorites, she leaned in and her face got serious and excited. I could tell this young lady was a competitor. Creating a life with Director Kate and spending so much time with Associate Director Sue, I know the type well.

Claire started with three weeks – the Tribal session. After two summers, she was one of the first to switch to ‘Olympic’ session. A few of her friends had moved to Super Six and she had another commitment early in the summer.

This was the first of the lessons from Claire – the courage to be flexible. We had always hoped a camper would change things around in order to make both their busy summer lives and camp work… but we didn’t think it would happen. And for a 14-year-old girl to do it?

Claire knew what she wanted and she just did it.

Saying No

The second lesson happened either that or the next summer. I’m hazy on the timing but not on the lesson.

True to form, this young lady was a fierce competitor at Weequahic. Always first to join a team, compete with other camps or within Weequahic. She wanted to move, to exert herself all the time.

Prior to arriving back at camp late in her time with us, her mother called to talk about her concussions. Claire had dealt with a lot of them. Her mother was (rightfully) concerned and wanted to know how they’d affect her at camp, especially with her athletics.

Now, we were always scratching and clawing to grow camp. At the time, I was definitely a ‘yes’ person, at least to the parents and the kids.

I didn’t want to say ‘no’ to anyone and I didn’t want to upset anyone at any time. So, we accepted her back within some strict guidelines. Claire was on board… kind of.

That summer, I had to say ‘no’ to a lot of her questions. When she came up teary to me, pleading to play and compete, I had to say ‘no’ for her safety. When she enlisted her counselors – who loved the girl – I had to say the same thing.

It’s hard to see anyone who wants to compete and play so badly and tell them ‘no.’ Especially when you want them back as a CIT. But ‘no’ it was, and it was the correct call.

Sometimes (a lot of times, actually) ‘no’ is hard… and correct.

Friendships Across the Bunks

I’ll be honest – I was pretty old-school when we started at Weequahic. When girls used to tell me some of their best friends are boys or guys tell me, ‘We are just friends’, I didn’t really believe them. I’ve read enough about evolutionary biology to be dangerous… and a little cynical of those answers.

Claire taught me differently, especially with her friendship with Budow. They were tight. They were buddies. They loved each other in a way that true friends do, with trust, care and vulnerability.

Their special friendship opened my eyes to see so many others of these friendships at camp between our campers. Funnily enough, when I asked a CIT last summer about what camp had taught them, she answered ‘Guys and girls can really be just friends. I love that about this place.’

Me, too. We humans need connection and care. Claire and Budow represented the best of this.

Final Lesson

When Claire graduated as a CIT, cried her last tears in the Rec Hall and departed camp, I lost touch with her. A wonderful camper, someone who stood out amongst the pack, and… well, I turned my focus to the campers in front of me rather than those in my past.

This was and is a mistake. And one I intend to rectify.

Had we stayed in touch, I would have known about her matriculation to a great university. I would have known about her work within healthcare, her continued connection with Budow, how her faith and connection to Judaism continued to flourish. That she had been sick and that the complications were growing.

Time is doing what it does… moving forward. We will all have hard moments like these in a well-lived life. Sad? At times, of course. And full of beauty and laughter, lessons and love. If we only see the bad or challenging, we aren’t really looking.

We are going to miss Claire. She was a bright light in the world and one who taught me many things. Thank you, Claire. We are better for having known you.

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Director Kate has used Claude and Gemini to develop a new bunk log system that will both improve the info we get from our staff each night (still no screens in the bunks!) and for us to review. We’ve updated our menu, created new guidebooks for staff, improved our inventory controls and more.

I’m sure we are barely scratching the surface of what this new set of tools can do for us. Use cases abound, even at camp in the Pocono Mountains. AI can certainly help summer camp.

However, artificial intelligence is not even close to the most important AI at Camp Weequahic. Here are the top 5 most important AIs for camp… at least at Camp Weequahic!

Authentic Inclusion: Building Friendships at Camp

This is what we all want, isn’t it? To find our group, to be accepted for who we are now and who we are becoming. At Weequahic, we build connections before camp starts with our Pen Pal program. New campers are bunked with other new kids their same age. New kids start building friends quickly thru the activities they’ve chosen together. All of this is done under the watchful eyes of our selectively chosen and personally trained staff. Camp begins and ends with community which is why this AI is number one!

Active Interaction: Getting Kids Off Screens

At Weequahic, we move and play and create with no phones, social media or comparison. Campers interact with each other and our staff and enjoy spontaneity like nowhere else in their lives. (There is a great podcast on those two points with Jeff Leiken.) From the time campers wake up until their close their eyes to dream about the next day, they are actively interacting all over camp.

Attitude Influence: Teaching Kids How to React

Camp is the perfect place to realize that we control our response to actions… and to practice that control. Without the dopamine rush of video games and the phone, our kids have more control over their nervous system and their emotions. With those near-peer counselors modeling the behaviors and responses we want, campers’ attitudes are changed for the better.

Audacious Independence: Building Independence in Kids

Parents want to protect their kids. We have three of them – we get it! The idea of shipping them off to camp is a scary one, especially if you’ve not done it yourself. (More than half of our families have no ‘summer camp’ experience.)

Camp is the perfect place for kids – and parents – to build what feels like audacious independence. They pick what they get, choose their programs, solve their problems, and more. Of course, all of this is in a supportive environment that keeps everyone safe… while allowing kids to expand their comfort zones. This broadens their world, brings happiness and builds confidence. It’s among the great benefits of summer camp.

Always Improving: One Idea at a Time

This one may be for us. We can’t help it – we are competitive with ourselves. This will include new tools like artificial intelligence as well as a lot of old tools: books, paper and pencil, a phone and a whole lot of conversations. Whether we improve how we train our team, the offerings at camp, the message at campfire, the activities… camp should always be improving while keeping the core – the continued growth of our kids and staff – of utmost importance.  

So, there you have it. Five AIs that are a lot more important than artificial intelligence at camp. Do you agree? Disagree? What did I miss? Happy to go ‘old school’ and talk about it any time.

Until then, have a great weekend and may Spring start quickly. The faster it gets here, the faster we’ll all be back together again at camp!

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A New York City-based researcher and teacher on emotions recently gave a talk to a high school of 1500 students. He did a bit of research with them prior to his talk. He asked them all to let him know (anonymously) which emotions they most often felt at school.

Now, when I think about what y’all will be feeling most, I would have bet money the answer would be ‘anxiety.’ That’s been the main source of anxiety for the parents with whom I speak about you during the year.

Well… we ‘adults’ would be wrong. The emotion most felt by these 1500 high schoolers?

Envy.

That means looking at someone else and wishing you had what (you think*) they have. A better grade point average or hair or social media following or calmness or whatever. Surprising but true. But it’s holding young people back from being their best.

How do you get past it? Two ways. Here’s the first:

Reframing

Some of you wear glasses or contacts all the time. I wear two different sets of frames often. My sunglasses help me when I drive to see new campers. The other lenses I use are to help me read (and type this!) As I get older, this part of my vision continues to get worse. It’s not terrible… but I definitely need these ‘reader frames’ to help.

I also wear another set of frames from time to time that no one sees: the green-eyed envy frames.

Shakespeare wrote a line in Othello talking about envy:

O, beware, my lord, of envy; ‘tis a green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat upon which it feeds.

I read that a long time ago and it always stuck with me. When I look at someone with a repeatable, effortless golf swing, I’m envious. Someone who can handle the intricacies of the tax code, I’m envious. My sister-in-law who seems to be able to eat whatever holiday treat she likes without worry… I’m envious.

But – that emotion doesn’t help me. Unless… unless I reframe the situation.

Rather than looking at Nelly’s golf swing with envy, I can reframe it to be ‘what can I learn from her move to apply to my own?’ Same thing with understanding the tax code or recognize how much my sister-in-law exercises and drinks so much water, etc.

If you reframe the feeling as an opportunity to learn from or imitate something admirable, you’ll begin to use that envy for good. There is a second way to get past the negative effects of envy:

Gratitude

Full disclosure: when I heard the researcher say this second answer to getting past envy, I yelled out ‘YES!’ in my car. (Thankfully, I was alone!)

My friends, when you feel envy and then think about all the good in your life – your great school, teacher, friends, family, home, opportunities for activities, CAMP and more… it begins to swamp those envious feelings. It turns your eyes from the envious shade of green to whatever natural color they are. (There are different shades of green, you know….)

But, is that enough? Just thinking about a couple of good things every now and then?

Well… that helps but only in the way an Advil takes away the discomfort in my lower back: just for a little while. Until I start stretching more, that pain is going to be there.

But, if you practice your gratitude daily – telling a loved one each night your top three, for example – you start to focus more on that which brings you joy and peace and calm.

You’ll notice that you’ll be less focused on that which you don’t have (and think that other person does*) and more on all the good in your life.

My friend, beware the green-eyed monster of envy. If you let it, it’ll eat you up. Instead, reframe and get better. And… be grateful. Every day.

*That friend or acquaintance you think is killing it? Careful here: you are comparing ALL of the information you have about yourself with the little you think you know about your friends. In other words, you are comparing your inside with everyone else’s outside.

More than likely, they are struggling with something else. We all are. It’s a natural condition of us humans. Be kind to yourself… and those around you. You’ve got no idea of what is going on in their heads or hearts.

PS – Happy New Year!

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When you think back of those moments, you not only get a memory but a feeling. There is an extra energy that comes from loving those moments, one that makes the moment even more special.

Sister Corita Kent said this: Love the moment and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries.

This is easy to do at camp – there are a lot of moments that are easy to love! That’s why its so easy for us all to do so many things during a day, wake up the next day and do even more! Could you move and interact with the same energy at school as you do at camp? While I doubt you can right now, I bet a subtle shift in perspective could help.

Love the Moment

Working on that paper. Cleaning the dishes after dinner. Making your bed before school. Riding the bus or the car or the scooter on the way in.

All of these (and all the others!) are moments you can love. You don’t have to love the coach that is speaking sternly to you or the grade you get back. You should appreciate those as learning moments… before you fall in love with the process and moments of getting better.

Some moments are easier to love than others. Yes, dancing on your chair in the Dining Hall at camp is certainly more lovable than unpacking that ziplocked sandwich and bag of chips. And, in the second situation, you are getting to eat. You are probably around some buddies. You aren’t in class. These are all things you can love.

(You can also really love the class work and the interaction with your teacher!)

Get the Energy

When that love of the moment is flowing, the energy starts, too. You feel more ‘up’, more alive. You are totally engaged and probably bringing others along with you. You’ve got a spring in your step and (normally) a smile on your face. (MJ used to stick his tongue out when he was loving the moment. Look it up if you don’t believe me!)

So, if you want more energy, more pop in your life, all you have to do is choose. Am I going to love this moment? Am I going to search for things I love about it? Or, am I just going to let it pass on by with a ‘meh… no big whoop’ or, worse, ‘this stinks.’

You get to choose your focus and the story you tell yourself. So, pick wisely!

(PS – Attitudes like this are ‘catching.’ So are the negative ones. Be thoughtful who you spend your time around as their attitude may rub off on your, too!)

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I was taught this fact in a short-lived membership in my high school’s chess club. Not for a lack of interest, mind you, but rather patience and talent.

David H. had me on the ropes even though I’d taken his Queen. A few moves later, he’d turned a Pawn I had ignored into a Queen by reaching the opposite side. He then promptly demolished me and any positive thoughts I possessed of my ability.

The experience came back to me as I read the scene. It was cemented by the quote the author used from Thoreau’s Walden:

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

This quote begs some thinking.

What are your dreams?

Only you can know these and they can certainly change. When I was in high school, my dreams included playing collegiate golf, becoming a country doctor, and having a girlfriend. (Hard work and some luck helped me fulfill the first, college chemistry ‘talked’ me out of the 2^nd and the third? Well… we’ll give that a B- that trended to an A+ when I finally met Kate.)

My dreams have now changed as I have. I’m sure yours will change as well. Whatever they are, the more clearly you see them, the more likely you can make them  reality.

What does ‘advancing confidently’ mean?

You’ve been around confident people. Do they get everything right all the time? Heck no!

But they move and think and act with purpose, believing that they’ll be able to figure out how to solve the problem, overcome the obstacle and advance their ideas.

How do you ‘live a life’ you’ve imagined?

As Roy Bennett has written, ‘The surest way to make your dreams come true is to live them.’ So, how do you do that? One little step at a time.

Want to be a surgeon? Start reading books or doing research as they do. Want to a great pianist? The person who starts lessons is immeasurably further ahead than the one who keeps dreaming and does nothing.

Explore, act, practice… these are all action verbs. First, you’ve got to set the dream up in your head and then start moving to live that dream out! The person who works confidently in the direction of her dreams by living out the life it requires honestly and humbly? They’ve got the best shot at making it all happen.

A pawn (meaning, someone without a lot of power/fame/attention/money at this point) can progress across the board and become a queen. There are pitfalls and traps, things that will steal our attention and cause a change in plans. That’s life.

But it’s those who confidently and competently move across the board, despite the setbacks, who’ll get to the life of their dreams.

Keep moving, my friends. You’ll get there!

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