Creative Success Depends on Long View
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In this podcast, we feature author Taylor Marsh, who [read more]
Stan The Road Warrior: Cycling Through Time
“The trick is to die young as late
as possible.” Ashley Montagu
Through the years, I’ve picked up pedal partners during my travels around the world. They’ve pedaled through 50 states with me for a glimpse of one of the [...]
Billions On Bicycles
Millions of people around the globe ride bicycles, but I have never been so affected by bicycle riders than when I rode through the streets of Beijing, China.
That country houses 1.35 billion people. Their main transportation? The bicycle.
With [...]
We Turned Up A Dirt Road Today: Hawk And A Mouse
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost
Doug, a seven continent world cyclist with 130 countries under his wheels, and I met on a trip through New Zealand. [...]
Two Degrees Of Effort Over Time Equates To Exponential Results
Energetic people, dedicated people and individuals with passionate missions utilize the “Two Degrees of Effort Over Time” model in order to bring success into their lives.
Introverted, quiet and even timid people engage the same model in [...]
I’m Happy Being Ugly
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine
flows into trees. The winds will blow their own
freshness into you, and the storms their energy,
while cares drop off like autumn leaves.”
John [...]
High Speed Chase: Wile E. Coyote & The Rabbit
On Route 72, near Parker, Arizona, I headed east into the twilight.
A blistering day scorched my body into a dishrag that had cleaned out a pot of greasy spaghetti and hung over the top tube to dry. My chances of finding a stream for a bath [...]
Worm’s Eye View Versus An Eagle’s Eye View
Worm’s Eye-View
During my high school years, quite a few of my classmates hung out in the parking lot—smoking, drinking and wasting time doing nothing. They didn’t complete their homework assignments. Many dropped out to work as tire [...]
Australia: Dancing With Dolphins In The Water
“Let’s cage ourselves and let the animals run free.
Let’s find new stars and new songs to follow.
Let’s build some foundations under our dreams.
For if we have the prowess to destroy the earth,
then we can surely save [...]
Your Most Powerful Passport To Adventure: Self-Confidence
In my early years friends warned that I would get killed by bicycling, mountain climbing and scuba diving for a year in South America.
They feared I might die by traveling across the Outback of Australia. It confounded them that I wanted to [...]
Cycling Nepal: Face To Face With A Cobra
“The sublime and the ridiculous are so often nearly related, that it is difficult to class them separately. One step above the sublime makes the ridiculous, and one step above the ridiculous makes the sublime again.” Thomas Paine
Mount [...]
Leap For Death Or Leap For Life
Heading east on Route 92 out of Provo, Utah, Sandi and I cranked hard through the afternoon.
Above us, craggy 10,000 foot peaks poked into a cloudy sky. We sweated our way through deep canyons. We stopped for a rest area at a turnout.
“Sure [...]
Will You Live Or Die On An Adventure?
Mark Twain said, “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
On my first trip to Alaska as a young adventure-seeker at 24, I woke up in my tent on the Russian River of the Kenai [...]
Your Edge Equates to Maximizing Yourself
No matter what you learned in your youth, good or bad, you can change that orientation by understanding what happened to you.
With understanding, you can rewrite the hard drive in your mind. You can decide to take action. You can move toward [...]
Talons From The Sky: Coiled Scales On The Ground
Heading eastbound across southern California, the sun set low in the sky.
We looked for a campsite in the rocky terrain east of Joshua Tree National Monument.
“We better find a spot soon,” Sandi said.
“I’m looking, dear,” I said.
Up [...]
Learning To Live Above Your Demons
You’ve got them. I’ve got them. Everybody’s got them.
They haunt our dreams. They foment our insecurities. They make us doubt ourselves. They play with our subconscious. They cause us to make silly choices.
What are they? Answer: our demons.
How [...]
Wonder of Bicycle Travel: Magic Moments
It could happen in the morning when you pedal down the highway to see dewdrops sparkling off the leaves of a cherry tree.
You stop to pull cherries off the tree along the Lewis and Clark Trail in Oregon. Their succulent sugars bathe your mouth [...]
Difference Between An Average Life Vs. A Spectacular Life
Do you work a nine to five disinteresting job?
Do you watch four hours of television everyday after work? Are your weekends filled with powerboats, beer and grilled ribs? Do you lust for the thrill of the NFL season? Will you be remembered for [...]
A Marmot’s Words: “Welcome To My World!”
Verdant green lodge pole pines blanket the Mount Holy Cross Wilderness region.
A cobalt sky profiles rolling mountain tundra while gray rock peaks push against the universe. In the valleys, snow-fed sparkling rivers cascade over boulders, while [...]
Life’s Coffin or Life’s Highway to Heaven
What do your really need in your life each day?
Food, water and a place to lay your head! Maybe a few friends to support your journey and share conversations! You need some kind of activity that provides purpose and a feeling of accomplishment. [...]
Emotions: The Weight of a Sack Full of Potatoes
In a presentation I attended years ago, the speaker asked the audience, “How much do you think this eight ounce glass of water weighs?”
After many guesses, the speaker said, “The weight depends on how far you hold it from your body and [...]
Bicycling the Continental Divide—Grizzly Attack
Yellowstone National Park: when Gerry and Dave pedaled westward, I felt my heart grow sad.
At the gate entrance of Madison Junction campground, I paid my bill for the “Hike-biker” section. No laughter tonight around the campfire. I pitched [...]
Wildflowers in the Mist: Mountain Climbing
“A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter that the outcome, [...]
Bear Scare: Why Is My Hair Standing On End?
Adventure is not always comfortable; however, it’s still adventure.
It’s not always safe, either. Whatever it is, it beats a couch, remote control and the indolent TV any day of the week.
Our first canoe trip of the summer proved green trees, [...]
ARRESTED FOR HAVING TOO MUCH FUN!
“When something becomes too much fun, the government will move swiftly to tax it.” -Disgruntled Taxpayer
Outside Vicksburg, Mississippi, on Route 80, my brother Howard and I cranked east through the afternoon heat. Sweat dripped from our [...]
High Altitude Adventure: Hut-to-Hut
“Have you known the Great White Silence?
Not a snow-gemmed twig aquiver?
Eternal truths that shame our soothing lives?
Have you broken trail on snowshoes?
Mushed your huskies up the river?
Dared the unknown, led the way, and clutched the [...]
OF MYTH AND LEGEND: STURGIS MOTORCYCLE RALLY
They say, “Good girls go to heaven and bad girls go to Sturgis!”
That’s why ALL the boys, including preacher’s sons, go to Sturgis! On the back of one motorcycle rider’s shirt, “One week of Sturgis makes the other 51 weeks bearable!”
The [...]
An Enormous Mountain of Emotional Bliss
Backcountry mountaineering takes guts, gumption and strength.
Not for the meek. Not for the lazy. Not for the mild. It taxes and tantalizes at the same time. The wilderness summons the deep, primordial spirit of mountain men and women. It spills [...]
What Do You Do With Despair?
On your life journey, different events take hold of you whether you like it or not.
One day you can be riding high; and the next, you feel lower than a well-digger’s rear end at the bottom of a mineshaft. Life doesn’t care about your looks, [...]
A Blind Man’s Quest To Backpack The World
From the inception of the human race on planet Earth, intrepid men and women followed their ‘adventure inclinations’ to explore the continents, oceans and outer space.
Some raft, some swim, some climb and some fly. And some sling a heavy [...]
Your Spirit of Adventure: It Carries You to the Ends of the Earth
The difference between an average life and a fantastic life of adventure as defined by you, hinges on three things…
Your thoughts that become realities by your hand; actions that move you toward your destiny; and, a deep persistence knowing [...]
Losing Your Friends: Vacancies of the Heart
Along life’s highway, you will befriend countless people from school, work, sports and church.
Each person offers you different degrees of friendship. Some casual, some close and a few become best friends. Gym-rat friends encourage you. Work [...]
Life Is Too Short: Get Off Your Cell Phone
During my youth, my dad took me fishing.
My mom took me on bicycle rides. My dad shouldered me with a small daypack for hikes in the woods. He pointed out chattering squirrels. He helped me see my first deer. He pointed out a fox on a ridge. [...]
Along Our Life Path: Death Hides In The Bushes
At the age of 17 while driving home from baseball practice, my father’s best friend pulled me over in my Chevy clunker.
He walked up to my window with a sad look on his face.
“Frosty,” he said. “I’ve got some bad news for you…your [...]
Your Destiny Sings In Your Ears At the Darnedest Times
Each time I stand up in front of an audience, I invite every person in the room to accept himself or herself unconditionally.
“You are a one time miracle of the universe,” I boldly state. “Accept your height, weight, build, looks, hair, [...]
Dementia’s Terrible Legacy For Her Kids
At 93, my mother Vivien lives daily on the edge of the “long sleep” awaiting her after a dynamic life of work, dancing, sports, travel, golf, gardening and raising her children.
While her body continues its earthly journey, her mind leaves [...]
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