Ageless Passions by Karen Putz

Tag: keith st. onge

  • Unwrap Your Passion, And Happiness Will Follow

    (Originally posted as a guest blog on Happiness Inside, which is now closed)

    Earlier this year, I pursued a passion that was long buried inside of me. I didn’t even realize how long it was buried until I began to unwrap it on my 44th birthday last year.

    I was sitting on the pontoon at my parent’s lake, thinking back to some of the best memories of my life. I was rather down at that moment, so I wanted to conjure up some memories that included some happy times. I thought back to my teen years. I learned to water ski on my bare feet shortly after my sixteenth birthday. What a thrill that was! I spent the next three years barefooting with the guys on Christie Lake. Every single time that I went out on the water, I was happy.

    One day, when I was nineteen, I decided to go out and practice some wake crossings. I caught a toe and slammed into the water in a not-so-graceful cartwheel. In an instant, I went from hard of hearing to deaf. When I climbed into the boat and started talking to my friends, I couldn’t hear myself talk. I just figured that I had water in my ears and that the hearing I had left would return.

    It didn’t.

    At first, adjusting to being deaf was a horrible struggle. There were many days and nights that I cried. One day, I came to the realization that I could either do battle every day, or I could embrace this new identity as a deaf person and get on with life. From that moment, another passion was unwrapped. I learned American Sign Language and a rich world opened up filled with deaf and hard of hearing friends. Happiness arrived with that new-found passion. Most of my career since graduating from college has centered around helping others who are deaf and hard of hearing. I started and ran a non-profit organization, Illinois Hands and Voices and began providing mentoring services through the state’s Early Intervention program. Along the way, I uncovered a passion for birth and I attended several home and hospital births as a doula. Every birth filled me with incredible happiness inside.

    Fast forward to October of last year: my husband sent me a link to the Today Show segment featuring Judy Myers, a 66-year-old woman who learned to barefoot water ski at the age of 53. I connected with her and she invited me to come to the World Barefoot Center to learn to barefoot again. The very moment that I put my feet on the water, I was filled with incredible joy. The sport that had brought both happiness and sadness in my life was now filling me with happiness again.

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    At the World Barefoot Center, I met Keith St. Onge, the owner and a two-time World Barefoot Champion. Keith learned to barefoot at the age of ten and by time he was thirteen, he knew he wanted to follow his passion for the sport. He has competed since he was eleven, turned pro at eighteen and runs the ski school and a wetsuit company. The sport has brought him all over the world and he has been featured on ESPN, CNN and in several magazines.

    “Barefoot water skiing is my passion—it’s what I wanted to do since I was thirteen,” Keith shared. “I wanted to be the greatest. I wanted to be a pro the same way that young kids want to be a fireman. And I get to fuel my passion every day. When I’m on the water on my bare feet—it’s a feeling of complete freedom. When you fuel your passion–passion brings happiness—they feed off each other.”

    I recently had the opportunity to talk with Keith’s mom, Jackie St. Onge and I asked her to share her thoughts on passion.

    “Passion is your joy,” Jackie explained. “It is the essence of who you are. You have to unwrap it and find it. Some people find it easier than others. The body and the mind and the soul become one when you find your passion. Passion comes naturally to a person. It is like running water: turn on the tap and it flows.”

    Passion and happiness are intertwined. When you discover your passion and incorporate it into your life, happiness follows. If you’re not sure how to answer the question, “What is your passion?” you can find the answer by reflecting on the happy and joyful times in your life. What fires you up? What feeds your soul? What puts a smile on your face in the morning and a deep sense of satisfaction and joy when your head hits the pillow at night?

    Passion is inside each and every one of us. Unwrap yours.


    Copyright Karen Putz, November 2010

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  • Karen Putz in Ability Magazine

    Check out the current issue of Ability magazine, featuring “Standing on Her Own Two Feet,” which chronicles my return to barefoot water skiing.  The story also features Keith St. Onge, but unfortunately, they left out Judy Myers!   It was the hubby who found the link to the Today show segment that lead me to Judy Myers, who lead me to Keith and the World Barefoot Center.  Life did a 180!  Thank you, Keith, Judy and Joe– for turning it all around.

    To receive a free digi-issue of Ability magazine, click the “Like” button on Facebook:  Free Issue of Ability Magazine

  • The Midwest Barefoot Regionals

    My first tournament experience was such a great one, and I was looking forward to heading back up to the Blue Moo for the Midwest Barefoot Regionals. The back seat was filled with boxes of Popchips, sponsored by Popchips Chicago.  The barefooters seemed to enjoy the chips, including the youngest, soon-to-be-a-barefooter, Ryker Meskers:

    Holly Buchman was surprised to find out that Popchips are only 100 calories per bag.  Even so, she worked for her chips:

    And who knew that Keith St. Onge is a sucker for Popchips too:

    I was hoping to conquer my tumble turns and one foots at this tournament, but that didn’t happen.  I still have a long way to go to master those tricks on the water.  Slalom wasn’t so hot either– I couldn’t get a comfortable stance on the water and wobbled all over the place.  That’s barefooting for you– one day you’ll have a great run, the next day you’re a beginner all over again.

    At the end of the tournament, just as I was getting into my car to head back to the hotel, another barefooter caught my attention and asked, “Are you the one who’s deaf?”

    “Ah, yes, that’s me.”  Turns out he had tried talking to me earlier and I didn’t respond to him.  The story of my life.  We ended up chatting and he shared his experience with barefooting.  I love talking with the older barefooters– they really inspire me with their dedication to the sport year after year.  And to think that almost two years ago, I figured my life on the water was pretty much over with.

    At the banquet, I had a moment of panic when I realized that I couldn’t lipread Derek Koch when he started the awards after dinner.  I debated moving closer to the stage and plopping myself right in front of him, but I knew that without informing him, he wouldn’t likely know to slow down so that I could understand him.  I silently berated myself for not preparing for this beforehand, but it was too late to do anything about it.  So I thought of Teri Larson, whom I had just met that day (she has a hard of hearing mom) and I went to sit by her.  Teri gracefully summarized what was going on and she let me know when it was my turn to head up front.  Teri is a lipreader’s dream– I was able to have a full conversation with her in the water without my hearing aids earlier that day.  Thank you, Teri, for being my interpreter!

    Since I was the only footer in the Womens 4 division, the medals for slalom, tricks and Overall were handed over to me.  They represent the whole experience, not the competition– but the experience– of getting back on the water and meeting all these really neat folks from all over.  Priceless.

    And of course, it wouldn’t have been possible without the awesome sponsors who made it all happen (thank you!):  General Motors, Phonak, ZVRS, Mayor Roger Claar, Oak Cove Resort and Chicago Tribune TribLocal.

     

     

  • Karen Putz Barefooting on Growing Bolder TV

    Bill Shafer and cameraman, Jason Morrow from Growing Bolder TV did a great job capturing the story of how I met Judy Myers and Keith St. Onge at the World Barefoot Center.  You can see my very first, sort-of-official backward barefoot start (with no shoes!)– but don’t blink, or you’ll miss me keeling right over two seconds later.

    Find more inspiring video, audio, and images at Growing Bolder.

    Filming at the World Barefoot Center

    Karen Putz on Growing Bolder

  • A Scramble of Updates

    First of all, today’s the first official day of… unemployment.  That’s right, I’m no longer a Sales Manager for ZVRS, a job that I’ve held the last two and half years.  I’ll dearly miss the Z Team, but with my Z-20, I can stay in touch with everyone.  And speaking of the Z-20, I just gotta say that the VCO really rocks on it!  It comes with a phone as well as the headset option.  I just got off the phone with a gal from a major corporation and she had to ask me, “Karen, I know you’re deaf– how is it possible for you to be talking to me right now?”  Technology and top-notch interpreters– gotta love it!

    I just got back from Gallaudet University, where I gave a presentation on “Unwrapping Your Passion” at the Global Deaf Women retreat.  I had the honor of giving away a copy of my ultimate favorite book, “Aspire: Discovering Your Purpose Through the Power of Words,” by Kevin Hall.   Kevin kindly sent me a signed copy of his book and I thought long and hard about who I wanted to share it with– I knew that the Global Deaf Women retreat was just the place for it.  Cindi Molloy was the proud recipient of the book and I can’t wait to see what she learns from it.

    Before I left for D.C., I met Stephen Hopson for lunch and then we took off for the Drake Hotel for the Social Media Chicago event.  Stephen is the author of Obstacle Illusions, another book that I highly recommend to everyone.  Stay tuned for a post on Stephen and some insight into his book!  Stephen and I met online several years back and we connected at an SOBCon Conference in 2008.  He has become one of my dearest friends and my fake husband (yes, the real life hubby knows!).   Stephen was in town to speak at Debra Poneman’s Yes to Success workshop where he received a standing ovation.  Before we took off for our respective speaking gigs, we enjoyed a night of connecting with the SOBCon gang, including Liz Strauss, Chris Brogan, Wendy Piersall, Becky McCray, Sheila Scarborough, Chris Garrett, and Lorelle VanFossen.

    Coming up on PBS and Create TV is a show called Growing Bolder, featuring a segment on my return to barefoot water skiing.  You can see the teaser paragraph on this month’s issue of the Growing Bolder Insider.  Scroll down to the bottom and you’ll see a picture of me barefooting (sort of… I’m on shoes!) backward.  I’m proud to say that since it was filmed, I actually did learn to barefoot backwards on my feet.

    Karen-Putz4x3.jpg

    In the next Insider: What do you do when the one thing you love most is the one thing everyone tells you not to do? As a teen, Karen Putz lost her hearing while barefoot waterskiing. More than 25 years passed, but her desire to get back on her feet kept burning within her, until she finally decided to try to barefoot again.

    No Skis, No Sound, No Problem!

    When I arrived home, I thumbed through The Waterskier magazine and sat down to read “Legends Collide,” an article that I wrote featuring two-time World Barefoot Champion Keith St. Onge and Glen Plake, who was inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.  It never gets old to read stuff in print!

    Everyone has been asking, “What’s next?’  I’m focusing on finishing the books I’ve started and booking more speaking engagements.  Joe and I have also teamed up with Send Out Cards, a company that I also use as a marketing tool: Appreciation Marketing Goes A Long Way.  For every card you send, a percentage goes toward barefoot training and competitions. You are welcomed to try it– send a card for free.  If you’re interested in joining my team at Send Out Cards, shoot me an email at karen (at) karenputz ( dot) com.

    To wrap up, I wanted to share a quote by William Hutchinson Murray that can be found at the beginning of Chapter Two in Aspire:

    The moment one definitely commits oneself then Providence moves too.  All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred… unforeseen incidents, meetings, and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.

  • Karen and Judy’s Story: Growing Bolder on PBS

    Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Shafer from the TV show, Growing Bolder, which is broadcast on PBS stations nationwide.  Bill, and cameraman, Jason Morrow, were on hand at the World Barefoot Center to capture the story of how I met Judy “The Old Lady” Myers and went back to barefoot water skiing after becoming deaf from a barefooting fall as a teen.   Bill is the Executive Vice President of Growing Bolder Media and was a news anchor for WESH Channel 2 for 25 years.  From the moment I met Bill, I was instantly comfortable with him and it was easy to see why he is considered one of America’s best storytellers– within minutes, he was entertaining us with stories of people he interviewed over the years!

    I first discovered the Growing Bolder website while doing some research on Banana George for a book that I’m working on.  From the first moment I set eyes on the site, I was intrigued by the stories of people living bold, exciting lives.  Growing Bolder is about folks who break the boundaries of ageism, and it’s reflected in their motto:  “It’s not about age, it’s about attitude.”  Growing Bolder reminds us that we don’t have to settle for ho-hum lives as we get older– we can break the stereotypes and reinvent ourselves along the way.

    After interviewing me and Judy– Bill and Jason joined us in the boat with Keith St. Onge.  “Watch me fall in front of the camera,” I dryly remarked to Judy as we walked toward the dock.  Sure enough, I went tumbling in the water on the first deep water start.   There’s a lesson right there– don’t go entertaining negative thoughts or you’ll put them right into action.

    “Watch what she does on water,” I told Bill, as Judy got ready to do some barefooting.  “You won’t believe she’s 68!”   It was amusing to watch Bill’s mouth fall open as Judy did one foots, toe holds, tumble turns and backwards.   When it was my turn, I shakily lifted my foot for a short one-foot ride and then did some backwards barefooting on shoes.  I ditched the shoes to try a backwards start on my feet and made it up for a very brief ride before falling over.  Judy claims it is an official “you got up and rode it” start, but I’ll have to wait to see the evidence on the Growing Bolder show.

    Growing Bolder is broadcast on over 250 PBS stations.  To check if it will be shown in your area:  Growing Bolder TV by Zip Code.  If you don’t see your local station listed, you can contact your station and ask them to add the show to their line up.

    “I feel like I’ve known you for fifteen years,” Bill said as he hugged me goodbye.  “Except you’re not that old!” he grinned.

    Karen, Bill and Keith

  • Women’s Barefoot Week Featured in Waterski Magazine

    Back in November, 2010, I spent a week barefooting with gals from all over the U.S.  We gathered at the World Barefoot Center for a week of fun skimming on the water.  Waterski magazine joined us for a morning and took a snapshot of all of us barefooting off two booms, two boats (see below).   The article and short clip about my return to barefooting are in the March issue of Waterski magazine.

    Waterskier magazine included a blurb about Women’s week in their newsletter (reprinted below).  The World Barefoot Center will host another Women’s Barefoot Week in November and it promises to fill up fast, so reserve your spot!  This is your only chance to see Keith St. Onge, David Small and Swampy in a dress!

    WOMEN’S BAREFOOT WEEK

    Judy “Old Lady” Meyers, 67, is on a mission to prove that barefooting is not just a sport for the physically young, but is a sport that everyone, especially women of all ages, can safely enjoy.

    Judy organized the recent “Women’s Week” barefoot clinic at the World Barefoot Center, Nov. 1-6, in Winter Haven, Fla. Fifteen women’s barefooters – 12 over the age of 40, with four of those being over age 60 – enjoyed a week of barefooting and camaraderie.

    World Barefoot Center

    ‘Footers pictured above are (back row, left-to-right): Keith St. Onge and Lauren Lindeman, World Barefoot Center; Karen Putz, Chicago, Ill.; Claudia Landon, Post Falls, Idaho; Judy Myer, Alpine, Calif.; Coach Gary “Swampy” Bouchard, World Barefoot Center; Valerie Shinn, Redmond, Wash.; David Small, World Barefoot Center; Lorraine Piskura, New Fairfield, Conn; (Kneeling, left-to-right): Charlene Portman, Clearwater, Fla.; Joann O’Connor, Oshkosh, Wis.; Kay Wiser, Winter Haven, Fla.; and Lisa Browning, Winter Haven, Fla.

    For information about women’s barefooting and future events, contact Judy at oldbarefooter@mac.com.

  • Losing Weight — A Work in Progress

    At the beginning of this year, I joined Loser Moms in an attempt to lose weight for barefoot water skiing.  I was heading down to the World Barefoot Center in March and I wanted to lose a few pounds before getting on the water.   Part of the requirement to join was to post a picture on a personal blog.  So with a heavy (yeah, pun intended!) heart, I went searching for a picture to post.   I had to close my eyes when I hit the “publish” button.

    The thing is, by the time that picture was snapped, I had already lost a few pounds.  I’m estimating at my heaviest, I was probably 215 pounds.   I wouldn’t know– I avoided the scale, the mirror and the camera every chance I could.    The only exercise that I got around to doing was playing a weekly volleyball game in a league.  A local bar sponsored our team, so we were obligated to head over there after the game and hang out.   I filled up on appetizers, sometimes late at night.

    I grew up waterskiing and barefooting and I really missed those activities.  My niece convinced me to try water skiing again on July 4 in 2008.  I got up on two skis and kicked off one.   I went back and forth across the wake a few times and called it a day.  I was out of breath and had no strength to continue.  It was one very short ride on the water.   I was in a size 16 jeans and wearing 2x tops.  No, it wasn’t pretty.   You would think after seeing this photo on my niece’s Facebook page– that I would be motivated to lose weight.  I wasn’t.

    Ever hear the saying by Buddha:   “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”   Well, that’s pretty much what happened.  The teacher turned out to be Keith St. Onge, from the World Barefoot Center.  Keith went through a metamorphosis of his own several years ago.   He was packing on too many pounds as a professional athlete and wasn’t feeling healthy.   He became serious about his health, made some changes in his lifestyle and eating habits and went on to win two World Championships.    At the end of May, Keith sent me some eating guidelines to improve my health.  I was ready, finally ready, to make some lifestyle changes.

    “You have to cut out pop,” he told me.

    I loved my Coke and Pepsi.  I lived each day for the moment I could sip the soda.   Every time we went out to eat, I ordered soda.  And now it was time to kiss it goodbye.  My friend Sue had kicked the pop habit and she was trying to get me to kick it a year ago.   But now, I was ready.

    I wanted a lifestyle change, not a diet.  Keith’s guidelines fit right into that.  I made healthier choices, but I enjoyed the food.  Instead of boneless chicken wings, I went for grilled chicken on a salad when eating out.  Salmon with asparagus.   I went for more fruits and vegetables and less of the processed stuff.  I found ways to cut out white flour– but I have a weakness for Panera Bread’s sourdough rolls, so eliminating that completely felt like death.   So I saved it as a very rare treat.   And I got hooked on quinoa.  “Keen-wa”– the whole grain with funny name.   I introduced my book club to it one day and they liked it.  I brought in almond and coconut milk and the kids went crazy for the almond milk.

    I also had two other barefooters who provided support and encouragement, Joann O’Connor and Judy Myers.  Both of them had wonderful weight loss stories of their own.  I joined Donna Cutting’s weight loss group on Facebook, and it helped tremendously to be surrounded by others walking the same journey.

    It’s a work in progress– as I still eat emotionally and I deal with that all the time.  It’s a work in progress, I remind myself again and again– as I still have a ways to go to get healthy and lean.  In a weak moment this fall, I texted Keith after I had scarfed down two rolls at a fundraiser.   “Always bring healthy snacks with you for moments like that,” he said.  Then he shot me a modified Dave Ramsey quote:   “If you want to live like no one else, make decisions like no one else!”

    I put my fork down when the dessert came.

    I had two incredible highlights this year:  the day that I learned to go backwards on the water… and the day that I slipped on size eight jeans.   Thanks, Keith, for both of those highlights.

  • Getting Into a Wetsuit

    karen in wetsuit

    From:

    Your SENIOR Magazine:

    Overheard at the doctor’s office:  “I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, so I got my doctor’s permission to join a fitness club and start exercising.  I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors.  I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But, by the time I got my leotards on, the class was over.”

    This cracked me up!  Then I thought back to the second time that I went to the World Barefoot Center back in April.  I had to buy a wetsuit and I went into the pro shop to buy one.   Judy Myers took a women’s size 14 off the rack.  “Here, try this on,” she said.

    I looked at the wetsuit and shook my head. “I haven’t been in a size 14 since I had kids,” I told her.

    “Try it on,” she insisted.  “Wetsuits are always very tight when you try them on dry.  When you get in the water, they stretch out.”

    I tried on the wetsuit and couldn’t get it over my shoulders.  It went back on the rack.  “I’ll need a men’s size,” I said.

    Judy pulled off a men’s size medium.   I looked at it and shook my head again.  “That’s not going to fit.  I know my body and I can’t get in that one!”

    “You gotta try it on,” Judy said.  And hey, when Judy tells you to do something, you do it.  She’s a former gym teacher –and I was afraid she would make me drop down and give her ten pushups if I didn’t obey.  I dutifully stepped into the wetsuit and slipped one arm in.  I had to “bend, twist, gyrate and jump up and down” to get the other arm in.  Judy remained positive throughout the ordeal.  “We can zip this up!”   Keith St.Onge was standing in the corner, trying not to laugh.

    I looked at the half-donned wetsuit.  The zipper was a long way down and the two halves of the wetsuit were parked near my shoulders.  I didn’t see how it was possible to get the female parts of me into a too-small, men’s wetsuit.

    “This ain’t going to happen,” I told Judy.  “Let’s go up a size.”  She pulled a bigger size off the rack.

    “We can zip this up!  I promise you, once you get this in the water it will loosen up!”

    So there we were– Judy trying to zip up the wetsuit while I tried to minimize my upper chest.   The zipper only went up a few inches.  “Here, you zip it up while I pull the suit together,” Judy suggested.   We wrestled with the suit for a few more minutes, inching the zipper up a bit more.  Finally, out of desperation– or perhaps it was the eagerness to get on the water–Judy stuffed the puppies in while I managed to zip it up.

    “Um, I can’t breathe,” I said.

    When I look back at my year of getting back to barefooting again, I realize that the hardest part wasn’t learning to put my feet back on the water– the hardest part was getting into the wetsuit.

  • Decide That You Want It More Than You Fear It

    How many times have you held back because you feared something?

    I’ve been pondering “fears” lately.  Recently, I received a comment from a reader who is hard of hearing and struggling with anxiety– “Social groups are almost impossible at times,” she relates.   She has agreed to teach a weaving class in her community and is scared that she will have trouble getting through it with the communication challenges ahead of her.

    Boy, oh boy, can I relate.  Social situations, parties, group discussions– they used to strike fear inside of me and sometimes, they still do.   Communication in those situations becomes a rapid-fire ping-pong game– sometimes so fast that the ball is just a blur and you get nothing out of the game.

    I emailed the reader and this is what I shared with her:

    I can understand being scared about teaching the weaving class but let me tell you– you can do this!  At the beginning of the first class, be honest about your hearing loss and explain to the class what you need to make communication happen– that everyone has to face you when talking, to speak a bit slower and that if they need to get your attention– to raise their hand before they speak, etc.  It takes a tremendous amount of courage to do this but the rewards are great– students will adjust and you’ll have better access to communication and be able to share your skills with less anxiety about trying to follow everyone.  Communication is a two-way street but you have to teach others what you need to make that happen.

    In another email I shared:

    It’s ok to be nervous, just don’t let it prevent you from moving forward.  Face your fear head on.  My daughter sent me this picture at a time when I was dealing with some fears so I’m passing it on to you:

    Lauren sent me that photo during Women’s Barefoot Week at the World Barefoot Center.  She had no idea how timely that photo was.  I’ll have to back up a bit to explain.  In March, when I first went down to Lake Conine to learn how to barefoot again, one of the questions that I asked Keith St. Onge was, “Are there alligators in this lake?”

    Yup, that’s right.  I’m not too fond of alligators.  In fact, they downright scare the daylights out of me.  As long as they’re far away with a fence between me and their sharp teeth, I’m good.  When Lauren was in Girl Scouts, she came home with a picture of her holding a baby alligator.  I was very glad that I wasn’t there, or I would have had visions of the taped mouth coming undone and my little girl devored on the spot.   One year, Joe and I took the kids to an alligator attraction and I was happy when we finally left.

    Keith’s response to my question was simply, “Yes, but they don’t bother us.  The boat engine scares them away.”  I wanted to barefoot more than I was scared of the marine life, so off I went into the water.

    Then in the middle of Women’s week, I was sitting in the water after a barefoot run, waiting for the boat to come back and pick me up.   The boat was taking forever to idle back to me.  I turned around and stared into the open jaws of an alligator coming to attack me in the water…

    And then I woke up.

    That’s right, I had a nice little alligator nightmare.  I couldn’t fall back asleep for a long time after that.  The next morning, we did a photo shoot on the water.  I was sitting in the second boat, waiting for my turn on the water.  One of the gals pointed out an alligator swimming by.   The other boat began coming closer and the alligator disappeared.   I tried to put the image out of my mind, because I knew I had to get in the water.

    Come on, Karen, nothing’s going to happen.

    Well, what if I’m the first person to get attacked on this lake?

    Don’t be silly, the alligators are scared of boats, they’ll stay away.

    All too soon, it was my turn to get in the water and my legs were shaky.   I fell on my first attempt to get up and I tried to tumble around to get back up and finally let go.   David Small was driving and he asked me if I was nervous about the photo shoot.  I could only shrug– I wasn’t about to explain my silly alligator fears at that moment.

    Later that morning, I told Keith about the alligator nightmare and he grinned at me.  “Face your fears!” he told me.

    “I face my fears every time I get in the water,” I grumbled at him.  But he was right–when you face your fears, you move beyond them.

    But that night, I had another alligator nightmare.  This time, I was watching the alligator swimming closer to me and I tried to yell at everyone in the boat.  They were talking and laughing and too far away by the time the alligator chomped on me.   And then I woke up.

    Good grief.

    Lauren’s photo came that day.  “Decide That You Want It More Than You Fear It.”  I laughed when I saw the photo– laughed at how uncanny the universe is in delivering nuggets of wisdom into our lives.   She had no idea about the fears I was juggling that week– she simply saw the quote on someone’s Facebook status and decided to turn it into an inspirational picture.

    So the next time you face something that scares you or fears that hold you back from something you want to do, decide that you want it more than you fear it.   The next time I jump into Lake Conine, I’m not going to give alligators a second thought.