Living with fear of the unknown is BS!
I needed to face it. Yield to it. Ride it.
So do you.
As my baseball career began to wane, I found myself being lured into the world of rodeo. The seduction was strong and exciting, like my soul was waking up. And it finally felt like it was my own decision to pursue this new challenge, not something others expected of me.
The first time I sat down on a wild animal, I felt this power inside me ignite. My mind, emotions, and body all began to respond with intense focus. It was better than anything else I’d ever experienced up to that point, but it also sent chills down my spine like lightning in a storm.
I was in for a new ass-kicking wake-up.
My maiden ride lasted a mere 2.5 seconds, but I discovered this was only half the draw to my newfound passion.
On that cold, rainy Saturday afternoon, I recognized this as a milestone in my exploration of life. The power and connection between man and beast cannot be put into words. It released a side of me I’d been waiting to meet.
As I fell off the bull’s side, he slipped in the mud and landed on my leg, pinning me underneath him for a moment. We locked eyes, and that brief stare changed me forever.
I later realized that the feeling of being stepped on, and the thrilling pain of the Charley horse that ensued, was the other half of the draw for me. I had finally found something that would allow me to expand beyond the limits that had been put on me. And I was hooked.
This was the tougher, but more natural evolution I was seeking as a man. I uncovered a deeper focus to a more personal challenge, one that began to showcase more of my capabilities and potential.
My pro rodeo mentors told me that should I stick to this life, I surely had the talent to rise the ranks. But, for me it wasn’t about the competition. This was the place I felt more alive and more open to life.
Here I knew I was becoming a stronger version of myself.
As I stepped into that wild unknown to garner more control and power, the result was an unleashing of my own inner beast that matched the wildness of being a Bull Rider. Being a bull rider required more vulnerability, more trust, and more confidence in myself.
I was forced to develop even greater mental fortitude. Every aspect of riding bulls also helped me access more of my intuition because I finally felt more freedom with less restriction within this intense, life-awakening challenge.
My decision to ride bulls regularly highlighted a multi-faceted version of myself, rather than the one-dimensional side that comes with sports like baseball. I learned how to better manage myself in many, very unforgiving situations.
Rodeo allowed me to tap into a useful wildness that I didn’t know existed but was part of who I really was. A wilder side that was ideal for cultivating healthy challenge, competition, and winning.
However, it still came with it’s not-so-healthy challenges. There were the occasional combative situations with other cowboys, often alcohol induced. However, I found myself handling altercations much more differently than I had before.
But I began to realize after many years of this life that something was still missing. I knew I was evolving and needed a bigger, more powerful challenge.
I knew I needed connection to other men like me, men who were willing to face another wild unknown to push themselves and access more of their potential.
That’s when the Army came knocking.
2 Things I Learned And Why It Matters For You:
- I grew exponentially in this more holistic environment, an environment that required me to use my senses, my intuition, and my mind together, simultaneously. Being a bull rider enhanced a newfound mental and emotional endurance to my surroundings. It released many internal struggles.
For you, this means accepting and even inviting a proper challenge, but one that’s unfamiliar and makes you uncomfortable. One that forces you to open yourself up to more of your power, potential, and personal freedom.
You need to be pushed beyond the comforts responsible for your perceived limits to achieve mastery over yourself.
- I began understanding more about my power and its effects on my surroundings and others. The rodeo life felt like a wild unleashing of myself that not only inspired those around me, but also provided me with courage to take bigger, more calculated risks even in the face of potential death.
You need unencumbered confidence in the unknown. A willingness to face potential loss and still come out on top stems from fearless decision-making outside your comfort zone.
Getting unleashed is the only true means of reaching your fullest potential.
