Sunday Story…Setbacks

Life rarely moves in a straight line at least not for me. Sometimes we take 3 steps forward and 4 steps back. Sometimes the only direction we go is laterally (back and forth!). And sometimes there is no forward progress at all.

This is frustrating. You work and work and work only to see no progress or worse, yet, negative progress. And there is nothing you can do about it except keep working but if you quit you will quit forever. Chinese Bamboo Tree


You know the story of the bamboo tree?

You plant it, water it, fertilize it for a whole year and nothing happens
The second year, same thing and nothing happens.
The third year, the same.
Fourth year again.
Sometime in the 5th year, if you have been consistent watering and fertilizing, the bamboo sprouts and grows 90 feet in about 6 weeks! If you stopped watering nothing would be happening.

Life is this way. It can be discouraging. You can work, do everything right and nothing happens. At least nothing you can see happens. But if you are persistent and consistent, sooner or later, things will happen. You will receive the rewards if you work the plan.

You are harvesting today the fruit of what you planted 5 years ago. So am I. If you aren’t getting what you want today start today and plant the seeds of what you want 5 years from now.

Get the things you want by doing things you haven’t done…consistently!

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Onward

I want to win the lottery. If I win the lottery my life will change. If I win the lottery all the struggles of my life will be resolved.

We all want the quick fix, the magic pill, the one thing that will trump all the problems and issues. And every once in while we find it. Unfortunately it happens just often enough for us to believe that it is going to happen more often than it does. In the casino business they want every mark (customer) to win just enough to forget the losses and keep chasing the high of the win.

And the myth isn’t true.
It takes more than one treatment to cure the disease.
It takes shifting habits to institute real change.
There is no magic pill, no lottery ticket, and no lightning bolt that splits the ground and causes the world to move.

Stop looking for it. Stop chasing the myth of the big win, the tectonic shift, the instant gratification.

Your life, your effort, your being is too important to leave to the lottery ticket’s whims. Change will happen over time, with energy and perseverance. When it happens it will appear miraculous. You will know different.

Onward.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Perfect Day

One of the mentors I work with asks us to describe our “perfect day.” Then we get to look at how far we are from that perfect day. Then we get to start making choices and decisions about our life, how we spend our time and our money, and who and where.

When do you get up? What do you do after that? Who do you do it with? Where are you doing it? After that, what’s next? Then what? What is going to make you happy? If what you are doing now isn’t making you happy what are you doing about that? What steps did you take today to move closer to your goal? If this was your last day/week/year on earth would you do what you are about to do? If the answer is no, and the answer has been no for too many days in a row, something needs to change.

Part of my perfect day is helping you find your perfect day. Part of my perfect day is being part of your perfect day. Part of my perfect day is seeing you live your perfect day.

BUT you have to have some idea of what that is going to look like. You have to decide what YOUR perfect day looks like. Not mine. Not someone else’s perfect day…YOUR Perfect Day. Do what you love. Do it with people you love. Love your life. Live Your Perfect Day.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…The Last Day

Years ago I had a poster (probably black light!) that went like this:

Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
Mine had a little flower next to it.

The idea was that you get to start everyday fresh and the decisions you make today should be based on your present and what you want in the future not your past. Blah, blah, blah

Maybe it should have said:

Today is the last day of the rest of your life.

If, at the end of today, you can say you fulfilled your purpose, that you told the people in your life the things you needed to tell them, that you did the things that really needed doing (probably not the laundry), then you might be able to say OKAY.

Have you told your stories? Have you cleaned up the “stuff” that’s holding you back? Have you moved closer to your goal(s)?

The question is simple:

Why not?

Death may be the greatest invention of life. There is an end here. We will all meet it. There is no escaping.

So why are you living like you are going to live forever?

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story...Personal Growth

Is a ride that never stops. We keep peeling back the layers of the onion to reveal more and more of what makes us tick. And then adding more authenticity to our existence.


I am writing this a week before I immerse myself in Landmark Education’s Advanced Course. As you read this I will be mid way through the 3rd of three days of intense personal introspection, the tearing off of masks and facades, and the soul searing work of revealing secrets, fears and deep seated desires. Hopefully, by the time Sunday is done there will be a resolution and a new path to the same goals, or a old path to new goals, or something new will arise.


Any time you get ready to do this kind work, as soon as you commit (pay the money and sign up) the work starts. Things start roiling, demons raise their heads, old scars throb, movement begins as the commencement of the work begins. Even knowing this in advance (it’s not my first rodeo) it always hits me in unexpected places.


If you aren’t familiar with the work of Landmark Education go here: http://www.landmarkworldwide.com/ Start with the forum and see where that leads you. I have friends who are “all in” with Landmark and others who weren’t called. Either way I am sure you will find it a revealing and confronting 3 days.


See you on the other side.


John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Pay It

Forward. This is something we talk about doing. Buying a coffee for the next person in line or paying the bridge toll for the car behind you all seems to be really kind and, truth be told, feels like it contributes to my “good” karma.


But what about when some idiot cuts you off in traffic, or some stranger takes advantage of you, or treats you badly? What do you do? Do you pay that bad behavior forward? Do you then use that as an excuse to treat every stranger or homeless person or ___________(fill in the blank) badly yourself?


Making the “other” into a demon to be punished is a key strategy in divisiveness. Doing that hurts me as much as it will ever hurt them; that loss of humanity pulls and tugs at the fabric of my being. It is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.


People will do horrible things of that there is no doubt. But just because one person does horrible things does not condemn all people to the dustbin. One person is not the sum of humanity.


Nor can you condemn every person because of the action of one. I am the “other”. I have seen the enemy and he is me.


John Mariotti
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
www.crossfitodyssey.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…The Hero’s

Journey is not a straight line. It is a circle from being called to returning home changed and renewed. Along the way we encounter challenges, defeats, revelations, death and rebirth, transformation after atonement. If you are called and choose to start the journey you will return (If you return) a changed person.

We humans are messy, confused and confusing beings. I am messy confused and confusing to myself and the people around me. I do not have it all figured out. I have things living in my shadow I don’t like, things that scare me, things that hurt me and the people around me. When I see my shadow I want to run and hide. When I peer into the abyss, into the deep dark parts of myself I want to die. And I have no choice but to step into that abyss. In the abyss I will die. When I emerge on the other side I will be reborn.

That rebirth is transforming. The emergence from the abyss of the cocoon, from the grey mush of death requires atonement for true transformation to occur. I must do better, be better and get better to really atone for my errors and my mistakes. And even then the razor’s edge is sharp and narrow.

I will atone for my errors. I will do better, be better. I will transform. I will return from the abyss, complete the journey and return. Each of you can as well.

See you in light.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Short

And sweet.

To all of you in attendance last night for my Super Spectacular 60th Dance Yer Face Off Birthday Party…THANK YOU!!! It means a lot you were able to spend your time and energy with me in celebration.

To all of you who posted remembrances and notes for my “treasure” box”…THANK YOU!!! Thanks for taking your time to do that I will treasure them always. You can continue to post if you feel moved to do so at johnmariotti60thparty@gmail.com

To all of you who wanted to be here but couldn’t…THANKS for thinking of me! Your energy was felt.

To those of you who left card and gifts…THANK YOU!!! I will enjoy them all.

If you want to contribute to one (or all) of the charities my daughter, Shelle and her husband, Dan picked out for their wedding (and now my 60th birthday) go here:
www.justgive.org/Mariotti60th if the link doesn’t work be sure the M is capitalized!

And Finally some mentions:

To Eric Beichler…thanks for the ribs…they were perfect (as usual)

To Tim Woehr…great job on the catering the food was fantastic

To Julie Heath, Karen Sanderson, and Andrea Reich AKA the decorating committee…Super Job. The place was transformed magically into a rocking disco!

To Kate Cruickshank…words are not enough to express my gratitude for your presentation, all the gifts your friendship has given me, and the care you put into living your life. From the deepest parts of me…I humbly and simply say…Thank You

To Kiki Yardeni…you were right…worlds can collide and come together and create something totally new and amazing. Thanks for staying in the inquiry with me! Thank you.

And last but not least, to my business partner Ellie McKenzie…You have put up with and tolerated my crap for 3+ years. I know I am a pain in the neck and difficult to deal with at times. Yet here we are. I am grateful for everything we have been through and what we have created and the community around us that has come together. The best is yet to come! Thank you deeply.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Take a chance

Today. And take a chance every day, if you can. We often say when our ship comes in we will do this or that. We will finally have the space, the time, the permission to do all those things we want to do. The chances we want to take.

The fact is your ship may or may not ever come in. The planets may not align. Mr. or Mrs. Right may never appear. The stuff that really changes you, that shifts your life is rarely the stuff you plan for, study for or schedule.

No, the stuff that really makes a difference arises out of the not knowing, the spaces between, and the time when it has no chance but to appear.

At that moment your job is to take the ball and run with it. Seize the moment and make it because you are ready for it. Waiting for the next opportunity is silly. The opportunity is presenting itself because you are ready for it.

It is said when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. When you are ready the opportunity will appear. Shrink and so will it. Be bold and go forth, courageously and you will be rewarded.

Fortune favors the bold…Virgil

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412.

Sunday Story…Your Invitation to my Super spectacular 60th Birthday Party!!!

PLEASE HELP US CELEBRATE JOHN’S 60th
Date: Saturday October, 22nd 2016
Time: 6pm
Place: CrossFit Odyssey Box – 4202 W Lovers Ln, Dallas. Texas
Speeches, Formalities & Cake: 7.00pm
Dance Party: 8pm – 11pm
Please RSVP by October 19th to crossfitodyssey@gmail.com
October 4th, 2016
Today at 6:50AM I turned 60 years old. It seems like just yesterday I was young and now, well I’m not as young as I used to be. In many ways this may be one of the biggest milestone birthdays I have had. So we are going to have a “Super Spectacular 60th Dance Yer Face Off Birthday Party” for me on October 22nd. I have a special playlist that is going rock your socks off and get your butt on the dance floor, a committee to help with the festivities, and permission to pull out all the stops.


What I need from you…

Whether or not you can join me physically I would love a word, a song, pictures of us, a paragraph about you, me, or some memory that is especially meaningful to you. If you can send them to johnmariotti60thparty@gmail.com that would be great! We will sort them out and share them with the folks in attendance and figure out a way to share them with all of you as well. Please keep in mind this will be public so if you would to keep it between the two of us send it to me at johnmariotti@att.net. All the farm animal/Tijuana/unsanitized versions should go here!!!!

If you can join us that would be great. There will be a presentation shared with you all, a first public unveiling of the rough draft of my poetry collection, “Loveland”, a killer dance yer face off playlist from yours truly…. Wine, beer, spirits, ribs and appetizers, and best of all… A DISCO BALL! Yep you read that right…A DISCO BALL!!!!!!!! Feel free to wear your best disco clothes or nothing at all (lol) but get here for this party!

If you feel the need to ask about gifts…my daughter got married last summer and she and her husband put together a fundraiser instead of gift registry. As a very, very proud papa I am going to tag onto their fundraiser for my 60th.
So…go here:
http://www.idofoundation.org/mariotti
and check it out. They selected 3 charities near to their hearts, The American Parkinson Disease Association… The American Heart Association… Lung Cancer Foundation of America. My father died of complications with Parkinson’s and Dan’s (Shelle’s husband) mother died of lung cancer so these diseases have touched me and my family closely as they may have many of you. The least I can do on this milestone is give a little back in honor of those who can’t be here with us. I am very proud of Dan and Shelle for their selfless gift and am humbled they would allow me and my friends to contribute in some small way.

Lastly, palm trees. I need more palm trees in my life!

Hug the people you love, tell them you love them and live life fearless because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.

John Mariotti and the “Dance Yer Face Off” committee

www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story...Ism and Ist

We all have things we try to avoid…those things we don’t like. We hate _____(fill in the blank) about people. We hate when _____(fill in the blank) happens or so and so does that thing they do.

Some of these things are universal. People who do their best to “weasel” out of agreements, who set things up to be mis-interpreted so they can re-interpret in their favor, who are just generally slimy about their word and vision of reality.

Disliking someone or some group of people for a trait over which they have no control is not OK. In general I think most of us would agree with that. It is often an –ism…Racism, Sexism, Ageism. Hating a group or a person because of their gender, rac, age or any umber of other traits is a serious problem. We are all human. Some of us are tall, some short, some are pale and some are darker, some younger, some older, and about half of us have different body parts. It doesn’t matter…we are all homo sapiens…we are all part of the human race. One race.

If I don’t like you because you are a weasel you can take that personally. I don’t like your words, your behavior or your actions. It is about you and only you. If I don’t like you because of some trait you can’t control that is on me. That is MY problem…in that case I am the weasel.

If you don’t like –ism don’t be a -ist

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…I can’t

Yet. We used to tell the kids that “can’t” is a four letter word…don’t use it, it’s a bad word. It is also self-fulfilling. When you say you can’t or you can you are probably right.

You are right, quite often you can’t do a thing. I still can’t do the splits after almost 25 years of wanting to do them. That was the original quest, by the way, on this whole exercise thing I do. I was a red belt in TaeKwon-Do and really wanted to do the splits. Not only was it cool but it also indicates a certain flexibility useful in executing high kicks. So I read some books and one of them (a highly respected author) said if you want to do the splits you need to be stronger. And so began the journey I now find myself on. Somewhere along the way I stopped working on them very diligently but I am way stronger than I was when I started!

There is no reason I can’t do the splits. In other words there is no physical limitation standing between me and the splits. The thing that is standing between me and the splits is between my ears. I don’t work at it, I don’t set aside time for diligent practice so I can’t do the splits. If I really wanted to do it I could.

Stop saying I can’t. You can. IF you want to do it. IF you are willing to set aside the time and energy to do it. IF you decide to put in the work to do it. Start saying I can. Embrace your power to do all the things you want to do.

I can…

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Stronger

Is better. Sometimes things boil down to something as simple as this: Stronger is better. We can all be a little stronger everywhere.

Before you sigh and shut this down I am not talking about lifting weights although being stronger in your body is also and always a good thing. Having a strong, healthy, well functioning physical body is a gift we should nurture and cherish.

I am talking about strength in the other parts of your life.
Mentally strong
Morally strong
These are two areas where stronger is definitely better.

Your mental strength will carry you through those tough times, the times where you don’t want to go on. Your mental toughness will determine if you fold under pressure or if you use that pressure to release something new, never before seen in yourself.

Your moral strength is what you stand on. This is your rock, the foundation that your life is built upon. When things get hard this is where you go for solace, for respite. Having strength in this area is foundational in life.

The real question is how to we get stronger in mind and spirit. We know how to get strong in body…strenuous exercise, clean diet, rest will get you stronger.

In order to get stronger in your mind you need to push yourself in to areas of discomfort…regularly. Just like the muscles in your body your mind needs to be pushed and challenged. Learn new skills, practice old ones, and do things you are uncomfortable doing. And then do it again until the uncomfortable becomes comfortable. There is a point when doing something that scared you to death the first time becomes commonplace, old hat. At that point it’s time to look for a new challenge.

Morally we need to strengthen ourselves with inspirational readings, constant introspection, and surrounding ourselves with people who will lift us up, expecting us to be better that we do ourselves. Gratitude, forgiveness, meditation, and prayers are our tools for improving our moral strength.

Physically, mentally, and spiritually stronger people are harder to kill. It’s simple…it’s not easy but it is simple.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Fight

The good fight. Every day for everything is going to be some sort of struggle. Almost none of us are blessed with perfect bodies that fit into perfect psyches that respond perfectly to the food we put into them, that we don’t have to fight and claw and struggle to be better today. As a matter of fact I don’t think I have met that person.

If you are lucky enough to know one of those magical beings my guess is that they are unhappy; that they fight the daily battle between being feeling a fraud and feeling entitled. Yes, I know I am beautiful, my abs are perfectly formed and my body is flawless without needing to bust it in the gym every day. That person is going to have to fight twin demons every day.

The rest of us, the not so lucky, lucky ones get to struggle for our results. Our results are tied to our efforts so when we succeed all the credit goes to our discipline, our commitment and our willingness to fail. When we get to our pinnacle no one can say we were lucky, that we weren’t deserving, or we were in the right place at the right time. When we get to the top there will be only hard work, discipline, and commitment to stand upon.

The struggle is real yet the struggle is where the satisfaction lies. Getting results handed to you cheapens the results and diminishes the accomplishment. Get up and fight for what you want. When you fall down (and you will) get up again. Keep getting up because if you don’t, if you don’t get up you will fail forever.

Fall down seven, get up eight.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Fear

Stops us in our tracks. Things we know we should be able to do we can’t or won’t do. Things we did yesterday become impossible today for no other reason than fear. Yet fear is the product of fantasy.

We fear what might happen. If we knew that stepping off a curb would result in a bus hitting us we would never step off that curb. Now if we just fantasize that a bus MIGHT hit us when we step off we can still step off AFTER looking both ways for the bus.

That example is a little extreme. But we do the same thing with little things all the time. We allow the fantasy of fear to control our activities. I’m afraid of what might happen so I don’t do it. Even though the statistical likelihood of the event taking place is about the same as getting hit by lightning…twice. In other words we are paralyzed by a fantasy that will never come to pass.

The picture above is the result of missing a box jump. I have never been afraid of jumping on a box. Yes, I have hit one before but never to this extant. It was ugly, painful and bloody. If there was a time to be afraid of box jumping this was it…the statistical probability had just been proven. On the other hand because of those probabilities I was now a long way from the next mishap! I got up, dusted off and jumped on the box…13 more times. You may look at my wound and say I never want to feel that and you don’t have to. Jump less high, jump less often, work on the progressions to be able to jump, but don’t let fear stop you from jumping on anything.

We conquer fear the same way we conquer any task…one step at a time. We take it baby step after baby step until we have conquered the fear once and for all.

Don’t let Fear be closer to your goal than you are!

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…This morning

I woke and jumped out of bed and said,”today’s the day I am going to be stunningly mediocre. Yep I am going to be just as average as average can be.” Said no one ever, I hope.

So why are we all so enamored of the race to the bottom? After all, what is so special about racing to be the cheapest guy on the block? I can understand having a low price you can live with and make a living but I can’t understand being proud of mediocrity. Yet I see it every day.

What I want to see is outstanding customer service, a product to be proud of, and a price that feels fair. In return you will receive my gratitude, repeat business and referrals as often as I can give them.

Are you living your life as a race to the bottom? Or are you trying to live a life we all look at and emulate, ask other people to watch, and amaze us with your dedication and commitment. Are you trying to be average or trying to be excellent.

When you get up what do you say to yourself? I’m tired, I’m cranky, and I hurt? Or do you get up and say it is a great day to be alive? I am so fortunate to be alive today and have all the opportunities life has afforded me?

You aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. You have today; don’t spend it feeding off the bottom.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…It only takes

A little. Across the street from my office window is a pretty good sized park, not soccer field sized but good sized. As you know it gets hot in the summer here in Texas. And it doesn’t rain much (usually.) So the grass in the park gradually turns from verdant green to a yellow shade of straw. The longer it stays dry the yellower the grass gets.

This year it rained in August. And not just a spit or a sprinkle but real rain for an hour or two…gully washers I believe is the term. As the rain came the grass began to green up magically. The more it rained the greener the grass got. Today, as I look across the street the park looks like it did in the spring…green and lush.

My point is simple. You need to water your grass to keep it green. When we stop working out things go downhill. When we stop learning and growing we start dying, like the grass in the park. On the other hand it really doesn’t take much effort to have that grass start to green up. Your body, your brain, and your soul don’t require a ton of attention (although they will welcome it) but they require some effort to stay fresh and green and growing.

Water the lawn. Now.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412
PS. Thanks Natalie L.!

Sunday Story…Space

The final frontier. In this case the space between where you are and where you want to be is, on one hand, a chasm to be feared, and on the other hand is just another step.

This space is between your reality and your possibility. You get to manage what your perception of that space looks like.

If you believe that space is a yawning chasm you will be paralyzed and stuck in whatever situation you are in right now.

If you believe that space is a mere step you will be self satisfied and just as mired in ennui as if you saw a chasm.

If you want to bridge the space and leap or step into what your possibility is you need to see the space as manageable. A yawning chasm is not manageable. A mere step is not an impediment. This space is going to require you to leap, to manage a focused and sustainable effort, to be persistent and consistent. This space will require you to believe you can cross it. That you can, in fact, get to the other side, that you can get to be who you are as a possibility from where you are as a reality.

If you can’t see your way across, if you don’t understand the map then getting across the space is going to be unmanageable. You need to manage your perception of the space. Too hard and you’re terrified, too easy and you’re bored.

The final frontier isn’t the space; it is your perception of the space. To become your possibility you must see the space in the right way.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…the Professional

And the amateur are two different animals. A lot has been said about the difference between them. Really, though, the bottom line is that the professional does it because it needs doing and the amateur does it because it is convenient.

This distinction can be made around just about any pursuit. Work, home, relationships, athletics all carry in them the seeds or professionalism. Do you work on your relationship when it is easy and convenient? How about your career? Are you stepping up when it needs to be done, in advance of it being painfully obvious? Are you working on your personal development like your life depended on it (because it does)? How about your spiritual life? Professional or amateur?

Here are some thoughts on the subject.
The professional:
Works because the work needs doing
Does the work even when it is inconvenient, tedious and boring
Looks forward to the work even when he isn’t looking forward to doing it
Slogs thru when everyone else has gone home
Knows the reward is always worth the sacrifice even when the reward is all internal
Is playing for the long game not the short term rewards
Uses his fear as an impetus to action not an impediment
Doesn’t let anything stand between him and getting the work done…early, late, hungry, or tired…he gets it done

You get to decide which you want to be…professional or amateur. Being a professional is not easy but it is a mindset to approach life with…all aspects of your life.

Be professional.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sundaystory.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Why

Do I workout, or more accurately why do I workout like a mad man?

To stave off the ravages of time?
To prove how fit I am (to who?)?
To look better naked?
To eat or drink whatever I want?
To be healthy(er)?
To compete at the highest level of fitness?
To live an extraordinary life?

All of those things, to some degree, are true. I do want to age well and be able to do what I want when I want no matter how old I am. I am proving how fit I am to myself every day. Looking better naked? We will let that one go! I do eat and drink whatever I want, although what I want isn’t trash or poisonous to my health. Yes, I want to improve my health every day. And the goal is to show up next year at the CrossFit games ready to take on the world.

But as fine as all those reasons are, they aren’t the primary impetus for going as hard as I do. They aren’t enough to put my body, and dangerously, my health on the line. I am writing this with one hand after being surgically repaired 2 weeks ago (tendon). Those reasons are not enough to have me start lifting weight and pushing my body less than 2 weeks out of the operating theatre.

So…Why? What is driving this bus? What is it that has me relentlessly pursuing this thing?
In a nutshell: the pursuit of excellence. The desire to be the best. At the end of the day the ability to look back and say, today I touched excellence and tomorrow I am going to do it again.
In the words of Aristotle:
We are what we do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

At the end of the work can you say you gave full effort? If so it is a victory…a victory over mediocrity, the defeat of average, of the mundane, of everyday ho hum, hum drum.

Pursue excellence. Live extraordinary.
Join me.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Bittersweet

Yesterday I gave my daughter’s hand in marriage. As a decidedly non-traditional individual I had no idea of the emotional repercussions that would resonate through my being. Those of you who have been through this know what I am talking about.

As parents, our job is to get our children to adulthood, to provide them a platform to succeed in life, to be fulfilled and happy, and to have the kind of life they want. When we can do that, we can feel like we have been relatively successful in the venture.

The dichotomy of being successful is that we also know that our child no longer needs us the way they did before. Thus, the bittersweet nature of being a parent. There is no more poignant moment than a wedding. It is in that moment that it is obvious our child is no longer a child but a full grown adult about to embark on their own journey.

There was a moment yesterday when I was so proud of my daughter, of the woman she has become, the things she has accomplished, the love she has found, and the life she has built. My heart was full and overjoyed. It is difficult to express the overwhelming emotional whirl in that moment.

At the same time I remembered all those moments growing up…the moment of her birth, her first steps, the baby teeth, the skinned knees, the push and pull of growing up and growing away, the young adulthood of freedom, and now the joining of the community of family. It is in that remembering that a life of memories, joys and sorrows, and the hope and wishes for the future lie.

Yesterday was one of the happiest days of my life and one of the most poignant. I would not trade it for anything in the world.
To my daughter and her new husband I wish you all the love and all the joy and success in the world.
To my daughter I say this: Thank you. Thank you for all your love, thank you for taking the lessons that worked for you and rejecting the ones that didn’t. Thank you for being strong, thank you for being open to love. Most of all, Thank you for being my daughter. I love you now and forever.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…the sound

Of one hand clapping. This is a well known Zen koan designed to aid in the process of insight or enlightenment. The fact that there is there is no correct answer to any koan is where the insight lies. What you are, what you know, or what you believe is what you get based on your experience, your ability to focus and concentrate, or your level of training.

So what is the sound of one hand clapping to you? And why am I asking this today? To the first you will need to search for the answer yourself. To the second it is because I am typing this today with one hand after surgery on my left (dominant) hand. To myself I am asking what is the use of one hand if not for clapping.

I certainly can’t use it for much else. Yet there it is where it has always been at the end of my arm. It will eventually function as it always has…opposable thumb and all. It is in this slight misfortune that a fortune of learning may lie. Therein lays the subject of this meditation: how to find the fortune in any misfortune.

When faced with adversity what is your default position? Where do you go first? Do you crawl under the covers and bury your head in the sand hoping it will go away on its own? Do you fight and rail and try to beat it with a show of will and power to scare the misfortune away? Or do you look deeply and search for the deeper meaning in the difficulty? Do delve into what you may have done to land in the middle of your current maelstrom? Is it always some outside agency? Or could it be some accident of circumstance? Or is it the universe laying the groundwork for some new insight or another drop in your bucket of enlightenment?

The loss of my dominant hand, however temporarily, is the universe slapping me upside the head to get me started on my writing. One of my great fears in life is that I will die with my stories untold inside of me. Yet, I have not been actively searching them out and putting them to paper. This is the universe’s way of showing me the folly of not listening. If you think this is bad imagine what will happen if you can’t get these stories out? The soul crushing weight of not fulfilling the work I was set to do is a lot to bear.

What aren’t you listening to? What messages are you just ignoring by putting their genesis on outside influences instead of getting your ear to the ground to find the true meaning? It is happening all the time if you truly listen. It is a practice, like meditation, to listen to the whispers of the universe.

Unfurl your inner ears to hear what is always being spoken.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…What to say

What is there to say in light of the past week’s incidents? I don’t have all facts that I do know. I heard a lot of theories and opinions about what happened and why. Most of that information is about a useful as teats on a boar (to dredge one of the many country aphorisms I know). It is said by someone with an ax to grind, a position to defend, or a pulpit to pound. They aren’t worth the paper they are written on.

How many of those talking heads, pundits and nattering nabobs (thanks Spiro) would be willing to set aside their opinions and positions for an honest intellectual discussion on the subject? The answer, I suspect, is not many. Too many people are overly invested in their positions, in being right.

How many of us are willing to do the research, winnow out the facts, to really look deeply into the causes of what happened? Honestly, the answer is not many of us. It will require a setting aside of years of cultural conditioning, societal pressures and our own deep prejudices. What it comes down to is this: We would rather be right than be connected. This insistence creates an immovable place. We will be unable to see any other point of view or embrace any other position. This separates us from our fellow humans and allows me to be insulated from their lives and suffering. And yes, this life, for all of us, has suffering. It is part of the human condition.

We will need to decide to be connected. We will need to be willing to set aside our need to be right and allow ourselves to see the other as ourselves. Would you, right now, be willing to trade places with a black American, a gay Arab, or a Syrian refugee? I do not know what it means to be any of those 3 people. I was not born into those lives. What I do know is their lives are immeasurably more difficult than mine. What I do know is that they are human. And as humans their suffering is my suffering. If I, through empathy, understanding, and honest communication can come into connection with those who are unlike me, then I may be able to ease both their and my suffering.

To paraphrase the Sufi poet, Rumi:
There is a field beyond right and wrong.
I will meet you there.

Let’s stop being right and get connected.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Independence Day

When I was a teenager I couldn’t wait to be free…free from my parents rules and restrictions. I would be able to do what I wanted when I wanted how I wanted. It was going to be a beautiful thing. Most of you know how that turned out!

Later in life, I thought if I just made X amount of money I would be free. Free from worry, free from the day to day restrictions that not having money put upon me. Unfortunately that didn’t happen either. That amount of money came with its own rules and restrictions.

Maybe over the years you have thought that if you just got X or did Y or married so and so all your troubles would be over and Easy street would be your address. Bad news Bunkie…none of those things are ever going to set you free.

Maybe Freedom isn’t possible. Maybe freedom is a lie we are told to keep us striving and efforting toward some unattainable goal. Independence may be a brass ring set just out of our reach to keep us from looking more deeply at our plight.

What if you are now, and have always been free? I can hear you…but the bills need to be paid, the lawn mowed, and the baby changed. How can I possibly be free?

It’s simple, really. Freedom is a choice. Freedom is an attitude. I chose the things that put me here. I chose to create those bills, paying them is a joy because I am enjoying all the things those bills bought. The lawn needs mowing because my grass is green and growing and it is in front of my home that I chose to live in. The baby I joyfully change because that small human is a part of my life I would be never be without.

Your attitude determines your level of freedom. When you pay your bills, do it with gratitude and love. When you do your household chores, smile at your good fortune to have a household to do chores for. And that diaper? It’s sign of health and love.

Find freedom today, right where you are, right now. Freedom is about your state of mind. Freedom is present right now in the choices you are making now. Freedom is yours for the taking. The prison is in your mind.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Amends

Last week was Father’s day and I resisted wring a paean to my Father. I have done it before and will probably do it again. My Father has passed. I think of him often and not just on Father’s day. I often ask myself what he would do in any particular situation.

I was lucky enough to tell my Father that everything good and honorable about me came from him and my mother. The stuff that’s not so hot is all mine, a product of my own wrongheaded-ness and stinking thinking.

If you have people in your life you have not made amends with, do it now. One of the worst things that can happen is for one of you to pass on without clearing the air between you. It is the things we didn’t do that we regret. And this is one you can’t fix. Make amends.

What I am talking about is taking responsibility for your part of the relationship. For the part you played in the mis-communication, for the pieces of non-communication that didn’t take places, for the boundaries you overstepped (your own). Trying to talk to people from beyond the grave is just too difficult so…do it now. And now is important since you never know what may happen to prevent that communication in the future.

A dear friend of mine had a tumultuous relationship with her mother for most of her adult life. When she finally had a chance to make amends her mother’s dementia just did not allow that clearing conversation to take place. When her mother died, her grief was so great that she retreated from the world for almost 2 years. It was a wounding that still suppurates to this day.

If you have the chance to have those conversations, take the chance now. If there is something you need to say to someone say it now. If you don’t it is holding you back from moving forward. Think of it as an emotional house cleaning. When things are clean, your being feels lighter. You can relax and get more done.

When the conversation takes place, own it. In other words, use “I” statements. Own your part of the failure and don’t blame the other person. Listen mindfully and do not formulate an answer. Keep your mind and spirit open to find what new can arise from open and honest communication.

I know it’s easier to put it off until another time. Don’t do it…another time may be too late and then where will you be? So take a big breath and make the call and have the conversation. You will be glad you did.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey@gmail.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…We do things

A certain way. It’s the way we have always done them. It works for us and may be the one true way(probably not). Sure there are other ways but ours is the best way. Anyone else just hasn’t gotten the message yet.

This sort of intractable position is very common. We often see it labeled as “tradition.” But tradition was once new and unusual and a change from what came before it.

I am reminded of an old story I call Grandma and the ham. When a youngster was in the kitchen learning how to cook with Mom one day, Mom was preparing a ham for the oven. She carefully cut the ends of the ham off and placed in the roasting pan. When asked why cut the ends of the ham off, Mom thought for a moment and answered, “I don’t really know but that’s the way my mother did it.” As most children will ask, the follow up question was but why did Grandma cut the ends of the ham off? A bit exasperated and harried Mom said why don’t we call Grandma and ask her! So the child called Grandma and asked the pressing question of why did the ends of the ham need to be cut off? And Grandma said “I don’t really know but that’s the way my mother did it.” Well now our super sleuthing child is really curious. Luckily Great Grandma is still around to answer the phone so the call gets made. Great grandma answered the phone and upon hearing the pressing question she chuckled and said, “oh that’s easy…my pan was too small!”

Generation of hams had the ends cut off simply because one pan was too small?! Far too often we are doing things for reasons unknown and when they become known aren’t really sound logical reasons. What they are is habitual and easy and comfortable. Why keep doing them if they really don’t serve any purpose other than habit? Is there a better way? Is there a different way that might serve a greater purpose? Or at least be more interesting?

Are you willing to look around and see what you are doing because “that’s the way we have always done it?” Are you willing to look at those habits objectively and choose a different or more interesting way? What might arise in your life if you examine and discard old patterns that are just there because the pan was too small? We all have them…And we all would be served by at least looking and deciding if we want to keep cutting the ends of the ham off!

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…The best time

To plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today.

Think about that for just a moment. You are sitting in the sun and wishing for some shade. A tree would be nice right here but there is no way for a tree to magically appear. If you don’t plant that tree now, then 20 years from now someone else will be standing there wishing for shade.

This is true in a number of areas of your life. If you don’t do something now, ten or 20 years from now it still won’t be done. That book you need to write…the one you wanted to write after college? The one that still isn’t written? It won’t get done if you don’t start now.

Going back to school? You will still be ten years older ten years from now whether you go or not. So you better go now.

This is even truer when it comes to your fitness. It you haven’t started yet it is going to be even more difficult 10 years from now and you will be even further behind than you are today. The longer you wait the more difficult it is going to be to start moving. You know someone who isn’t moving well now…think back to them 10 years ago…no comparison. Bodies in motion tend to stay in motion.

If you know someone who needs to start moving you owe it to them to get them started moving. The best time for them was 10 years ago…the second best time is now. If they don’t start now ten years from now may be too late!

Call me to get them (or you started) now! It’s simple…775-338-2412…text or call and I will set up a time for them just one on one. If you want to just pass their information to me I will call and gently exhort them to join us!

Plant your tree today.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Mirror Mirror

All of us look at ourselves in the mirror. Every chance we get, if we are honest about it. We want to make sure there is nothing stuck between our teeth, or that something bad hasn’t happened to our hair. We look for those things but we don’t look objectively. We can’t look objectively, it simply isn’t possible.

When we look at ourselves we see ourselves differently than the rest of the world see us. We do this when we look in a mirror, at a picture, or just in simple introspection. It is not possible for us to see ourselves the way the rest of the world sees us. No one has my experiences, no one has lived what I have lived and no one is ever going to really “get” me.

And that’s OK. Other people’s opinion of me is really none of my business. They see what they see and they interpret what they see based on their own experiences. It really doesn’t matter; I can’t do anything about it anyway.

But my opinion of myself is a different matter. I can do something about that. I can decide to see myself in a better light. I can decide to see myself in a more negative way also. When you look in the mirror and see some parsley stuck in your teeth you remove it (I hope!) When you look at yourself and start in on your negative self-critique, stop and ask why? Why are you talking about yourself like that? Would you let someone else talk to you like that? I hope not. So stop, already.

I know you want to understand how we all see you, how we all look at you and form an opinion. But you never will. It is not possible. So stop that too.

Look at yourself and say something nice and positive. Stop beating yourself up. Let’s be honest, my own opinion of myself probably isn’t any more valid than someone else’s but at least I understand how I came by it!

Say something nice to yourself. You deserve it. If you don’t love yourself the rest of the world will have a hard time loving you too.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Mindfulness

We are too often focused on what’s next, or what just happened. The past is past. The future is not here yet. The present is what is real and present. Yet we spend all our time looking back or looking forward.

The practice of being present is exactly that, a practice. It is a way of being that must be cultivated and grown. It doesn’t just happen by itself. We are conditioned to look forward and back. We set goals, work for goals, make plans for our futures. Yet in order to achieve those goals we need to be in the present moment. If we aren’t present all those goals will just sit there doing nothing.

By the same token, we look back to learn from our experiences. We take pride in past accomplishments, often resting on our laurels. We need those past experiences to build a trove of wisdom. But we can’t live there or nothing will ever get done. We will spend all our time remembering what was and no time doing what needs to be done.

It is in the present moment where living happens. It is in every moment, every inch where we must live and work and play. If we miss the present by looking forward or back it is gone forever, the game is lost.

Often we talk about an athlete being in the “zone”. In that zone is a complete mastery of the present moment. There is only the task directly in front of the athlete. No worry about the last shot or the next play, the only thing that exists is what is happening at that very moment.

Mindfulness is a practice we cultivate by being mindful. In the simplest of things…eating, walking, and breathing. When was the last time you really focused on your breath…the one you are taking right now? Or the food you are eating? Your mindfulness muscle may be weak presently but you can make it better, stronger, more resilient. When that happens tasks that are more complex and difficult will become easier. And by easier I mean more likely to be completely centered and grounded at the task at hand.

Mindfulness…get some.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…21-15-9

Is a rep scheme we see quite often in our daily workouts. In many ways this is a microcosm of life. We start with a big goal in mind. We are excited and charge hard into the work in front of us. Then we hit the middle…the round of 15 and the work looks daunting now. It is the same as we just finished but now we are tired and the task looks really, really hard. Hit the round of 9 and it’s over. Any goal in life is similar.

Start strong, trudge through the middle, sprint home. This is life. And it is in the trudge through the middle that real shift happens. Sometimes you just need to slog through. There is a point where getting through is the point. Put one foot in front of the other and make it to the end.

When you start something and do it for the first time, it’s exciting. When you are near the finish line, it’s exciting. It is the middle where the hard work gets done. It is in the middle where the growth really occurs. It is the middle where you want to quit.

Quitting in the middle is easy. It is easy to rationalize that you didn’t really want to finish. It is easy to get distracted by the next shiny new thing. In the round of 15 your mental strength is tested. Can you keep on keeping on? In the round of 15 you are going to want to quit; throwing in the towel and walking away. Keep your eyes on the prize, put your head down and slog through.

Before you know it you are in the round of 9 and the end is in sight. You can easily summon the strength and fortitude to sprint home. What you need to do is look at the round of 15 differently. That is the round where you can make the biggest difference. That is the round where your opposition is the greatest and you can make the biggest impact on your bottom line.

There are so many aphorisms about this…when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Tough times don’t last but tough people do. The bottom line is simple…in the middle you need to pull yourself up, stare the task down and get to work.

This is the way of our people.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

Sunday Story…#23

Many of you have asked how my competition season has gone. Here are the bottom line results: I finished 23rd after the Master’s qualifier, 15th in the Open. What this means is there is no automatic invitation coming my way to go to the CrossFit Games. This obviously is not the result I would have liked. There is still an outside chance I get an invite but that means that 3 people will have to decline their invitation so I am not counting those chickens!

On the other hand…I was very happy with my performance. At age 59 I am at the top of the age group and in the top 23 people there is only one other 59 year old and he is #17. Over the course of the 5 open workouts my performance improved. And on the qualifiers my workouts were, again, top notch. The goal is to finish with the knowledge that there was nothing left; that you did everything you could do today to finish as well as you did. There is nothing I can do about the performance of the rest of the field. The only thing I can control is my performance.

Life is like this. You can only control the things within your purview. The list of things you can’t control is very long. The road to un-happiness is paved with worrying about things you can do nothing about. You can’t fix the weather. You can fix your attitude about the weather. You can’t conjure up a huge deposit in your bank account but you can change your attitude about the state of your bank account. You can’t change someone’s opinion of you but you can decide to not let their opinion bother you…it isn’t any of your business anyway!

Going through life worrying about what other people are doing, saying, or thinking is not a recipe for success. Doing that will only result in frustration and unnecessary stress. Stress about you if you need to stress about something. Do something about you if you need something to do. Worrying about other people is like teaching a pig to sing…it doesn’t work, and is very irritating to both the pig and you.

If things are not going the way you want, you need to look to yourself not the rest of us. You and you alone are in charge of your attitude. It isn’t just in competition where Full Effort is Full Victory…it is in Life.

This is #23 out.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Moving Day

This weekend was moving day for CrossFit Odyssey. Moving is considered one of them most stressful things you can do in life. We moved back in July to the location right next door to where we moved this weekend. This move was less than 10 yards and it was still stressful.

We are accumulators. We gather stuff and stash it and store it for reasons often unknown to us. Then when we have to move we uncover all those things we “saved.” Many of those things remind us of forgotten chores, others serve to remind us of failed tasks, and still others dredge up memories both good and bad.

Moving gives us an opportunity to clear all that stuff out. We don’t need hidden reminders pulling us back to things we can’t do. We don’t need to be reminded of the little failures in our lives. Moving is the chance to shed both physically and psychically all those tendrils holding us back from moving forward.

In a bucket of crabs when one tries to climb out the others pull him back into the bucket. These items are like the other crabs in the bucket…pulling you back into the morass, into the bottom of the bucket. If you want to move forward in your life, you need to jettison those reminders that hold you back. Moving always makes room for more success, more work, more creativity, more ease, and more open-ness.

If you don’t want to move your location, you can move metaphorically. Get in those old closets and clean them out. Go through the photos and re-sort them to be more relevant. Save the best and pack the rest. Your phone probably has more photos on it than you will ever look at. Save the best to a folder make room for what’s new and what’s coming.

You will find hidden gems. You will remember dreams you forgot. You will rekindle interests. This process of clearing and cleansing should be performed more often than you think…and, yes, that means more often than every decade!

Don’t be a crab mired in the bucket. Clean it out and get moving forward! You will feel freer, lighter and when you really have to move it will be much less stressful!

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Everybody Dies

One of my biggest fears is to die with my stories still inside me. The stories I tell myself, the stories I have seen and lived and done. The stories that I need to tell. The people I need to help transform and inspire all left undone. I am driven to get my stories out, to do all I can do.

Yet fear holds me back too often. Why am I not telling those stories? Why am I not sitting and writing and getting those things down on paper? How is that I can jump off of cliffs, out of airplanes, step into the unknown but I can’t sit and tell these stories?

Fear stops a lot of us. Fear owns too much of our lives. Fear is the reason we don’t move. Fear is the reason we don’t step off the edge. Fear is the reason too many of us live lives of quiet desperation. Fear is the reason we hold to the status quo, to flawed visions of the present, we think we can’t, shouldn’t, or won’t.

When you die, and you will die, will you die regretting all the things you didn’t do? Will you wonder what could’ve been, who you should have talked to, the places you might have seen. Will you die before you live?
This video talks about this:
https://www.facebook.com/PrinceEa/videos/10154538480184769/
Watch it and see. Don’t let fear chase you away from being/doing/thinking/saying the things you really want to. Don’t die with your gifts held tight. Sharing them is what they are for. Hiding your gifts is selfish and mean. Be generous and give the world your gifts. Most of all give us the gift of yourself!

Fear is a voice whispering quietly in your ear…”you are about to grow” (Michael Molin-Skelton). Will you shrink from growth? Will you creep back into your safe little cave? Will you step into your light and become the one all your gifts have been provided for? It is up to you. Completely up to you.

Don’t die with your stories inside you. Just. Don’t. Do. It.

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Nuts and Bolts

So…if you are one of our remote readers this week’s story may not carry a huge interest for you. But if you are here in the Dallas region it is long overdue!

As most of you know we are moving into the space next door. As usual a move that we had hoped would be done by mid March won’t take place until May 1st (fingers crossed!) This has been our intention all along when we moved into our present space.

Our landlord, Mitch Fonberg, who many of you know, has done a great job working with us to get the space ready. The last thing is a new floor! Yes, we are going to float the floor up about 6” with concrete! This will solve our drainage problems and create a level floor from one end to the other. So we have more usable space. Also a new heat and air unit is going in now.

On Tuesday the Master’s qualifier will be done and my full focus will go on completing this project. There are still lots of little details to be covered, mats to be ordered and general things to do. BUT it is our intention to get moved next weekend.

Many of you have met Coach Lara Norton and Coach Austin Cantwell already. Both of them bring some very special skill sets that we are anxious to put to work very soon. Look for some cool things from both of them shortly.

At the same time Tony Rios with My Martial Arts will be moving into our current space. Tony brings years of teaching experience, an established student base, and a great warrior attitude to the Odyssey Fitness Family. Tony also teaches an adaptive Martial Arts program that is way overdue and a real breath of fresh air. Also Jim Gillentine with Dallas Wing Chun (Kung Fu to most of you) will be teaching an adult class 3 nights a week. He will also start a children’s program later in the summer as well. Both of these gentlemen are on board with the Journey to Extraordinary that Odyssey Fitness promises.

We will be expanding our offerings to include yoga as well. There will be a Brazilian jiu-jitsu class starting on Saturday afternoons for those of you who want to get your grapple on!

Many of you have asked how to help or how you can support this expansion.
The answer is simple: keep coming to class, tell all your friends and neighbors about us, and drag them in if necessary. We are now doing fitness assessments for every new training student. We will also be offering each of you a similar assessment as part of your regular attendance!

We also could use donations of rowers, airdyne bikes, ski-ergs and some other equipment. We need to replace and expand some of your equipment as well and as you might guess money is a little tight as we get ready to move. We will be having a grand opening/fundraiser/bar-b-que/happy hour in May and your support would go a long way in making the Odyssey Fitness Journey to Extraordinary an even bigger and better reality than it is today.

I want to Thank each of you for all your support over the last 2 and a half years. It has been an Extraordinary Journey!

John Mariotti and Ellie McKenzie
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Abundance

There is enough.
Enough love
Enough money
Enough energy
Enough help
Enough food
Enough to go around
Enough of everything

Have you ever wondered why when 1 fast food place goes in a bunch more open in close proximity? If there were only so many dollars available everyone would be cutting smaller and smaller pieces of the pie. What happens, instead, is the pie gets bigger. All those places actually make more money as the pie expands. Abundance.

If you live like there isn’t enough to go around, you will constantly be fighting to maintain whatever you have. Sharing won’t work for you as it takes away from your piece. Having a new competitor open nearby causes you a headache as you are afraid of losing out. This is a scarcity model. It is a fear based model. This is the model that has us scratching and scrabbling for every little crumb and morsel, afraid that someone else will get more, or get our piece.

Living in the abundance model is much more joyful. It is easier to be happy when someone else’s success takes place because you know there is more success for everyone. An ever expanding pie means there is more for everyone. This is a good thing.

Where would you rather live? In a world where there is never enough and everyone has to fight to keep their little piece of turf and is afraid of not having enough? Or in a world where there is always plenty to go around, you can give freely because you know there is more coming your way, and you can joyfully celebrate everyone’s success? Not much choice in my opinion.

Scarcity sucks. Live from an abundance mindset. Life will be much more enjoyable, less stressful, and generally easier. It’s a choice you can make every day.

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Desire

Desire, like the force is strong. It has an uncanny way of guiding our path even when we aren’t aware of it.

There are as many reasons for doing things as there are people. If fitness is your goal the list I have heard is endless, the same goes for weight loss, and the pursuit of wealth. When we decide to pursue our goals we do so for really great reasons. We do so with excitement and enthusiasm and energy. And at some point we get stuck. Life happens.

We stagnate and fall back. We hit a plateau and start questioning our motives and, yes, even our desire for the thing we said we wanted. What started as a labor of love has become a chore of mind numbing drudgery. It is now just a slog through a very muddy swamp with no good way out.

Every day we make choices. And many of these choices are based on things running below the surface. These choices you are making may be sabotaging your progress. We often know what we need to do but we find ourselves paralyzed and unable to act. There are many reasons for this…fear of failure, the pain of change is NOT greater than the pleasure of change, it’s too hard to take the first step, or maybe you just don’t want to.

Look, it’s simple and we all know it by now. 1 step starts the journey, start now and in 7 days you will be on your way, if you want it go get it. Platitudes suck. I use them all the time. And when I try to use them on myself for my own issues they are as ineffective as all get out.

So what needs to be different for you to get you up and moving? What is the thing that will move you into a new way of acting, a new way of getting things done? Again…simple…Propose that you are done making excuses. Decide that the phrase “it’s too hard” has been eliminated from your vocabulary. This is a choice. You know what challenges lie before you. You know what frustrates and bothers you, you know what you want, and you know what you need to do to get what you want. You already have all the answers in you. You know it isn’t going to be easy, simple maybe, but not easy. There will be sacrifices along the road to getting what you truly want.

The bottom line is this: If you really, really want things to be different, they can be. It is simply up to you. Stop making excuses. Stop allowing some underground stream to toss you around any which way. Take the rudder and steer the damn boat!

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…All Mine

I am 100% responsible for my life.

Let that sink in for a minute. I know you were born to a certain family, in a particular place and that you arrived here with certain genetic flukes and flaws. But if you are now over the age of 21 and especially if you have made it past 30 you have to accept responsibility for your life and the way it looks.

You are 100% responsible for your communications. I know that message sent is not always message received. But when you find out that the message you sent was not received the way you wanted it to be received you are responsible for re-framing the message and making sure the recipient gets the message you are trying to send.

You are 100% responsible for your relationships. Sometimes we say relationships are 50/50 but really you are 100% responsible for the relationship. You must take on the care and feeding of that relationship all on your own. Your partners and friends bear their own responsibilities, it is true, but you need to be the one who takes care of it if you want it to be all you want it to be.

You are 100% responsible for your health, fitness and well being. No one is forcing you to eat bad food or drink alcohol. No one can exercise for you. No one can help you be healthy except you. Again, it falls on your shoulders.

You are 100% responsible for being exactly where you are today. Your life has taken the turns and twists it has taken. Some things may have been out of your control. Some things may have happened that were unforeseen and unpredictable. But in the end you are where you are because of the things you said, did or thought. You are in control, at all times, of how you react, or what your attitude is about what is happening around you. As a matter of fact, it is your attitude that determines the trajectory of your life.

Is your attitude one of abundance and plenty? Or is it about scarcity and lack? Your attitude is the single most important factor in the satisfaction you have or don’t have about your life. And no one is responsible for that attitude but you and only you. Decide to act from abundance and plenty…your life will change.

Take responsibility…all of it. It’s much more satisfying than abdicating what happens to you to the winds of chance!

John Mariotti

www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
775-338-2412

Sunday Story…No crap reps

When I am doing an exercise my mantra is to do it as perfectly as humanly possible. Not to the best of my ability but the best that it can be done. This is not always possible but that does not stop me from trying to get it done that way. I do not want to do any “crap reps”. I want every movement to exemplify the standard of movement so when you see it you say …”that is how it should be done.”

The gym or the box or the dojo is a microcosm of life and the world. We are there to learn about ourselves and how we will perform and live in the greater world. If I can’t perform the movement to perfection, can I perform it to the absolute best of my ability and can I improve that range of motion every time I do it? This is also true in the rest of your life? Are you doing “crap reps” in some place in your life?

Are you doing each thing in your life to the full range of motion and meeting the standards of movement…in your relationships?...on your job?...in your parenting?...in your interactions with other humans? Are you meeting your own standards if you can’t meet a greater one? Are you improving all the time in those places? Are you willing to deeply look into where you aren’t and why not? Are you going to do the work it is going to take to make the changes to do so? Are you going to call yourself out for not performing to standard…are you going to “no-rep” yourself in some part of your life?

I am. I have recently been “no-repped” around some parts of my life and getting “no-repped” sucks. I have been excoriated for not walking my talk in a number of areas of my life. That I had compartmentalized pieces of myself and if I was going to really be all I could be I needed to bring myself into complete integrity. This is the inquiry I am currently in. I am reviewing some internal tapes of my life and will be making some shifts in order to bring my standards up to the required range of motion. It is going to hurt, it is going to be unpleasant but in the end it will be worth it.

Many thanks to the person who called me for my “crap reps”…you know who you are. Even though I didn’t want to hear it, I heard you and I am on it.

Look around your life and don’t let “crap reps” pollute your life either. Someone is watching.

John Mariotti

www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-story.blogspot.com
775-338-2412