“Go be awesome!”

I’m writing this on my flight to DFW. [Composing it in Monk’s Coffee Shop in Abilene while eating a cream cheese brownie from McKay’s Bakery.] It’s that point in the flight where they’re hustling their credit card, an indicator that there’s at least enough time to sign up for a credit card but not much else. Also, the lady across the aisle from me just picked her nose and ate while watching Murder on the Orient Express, a different indicator that I’ve been on this flight long enough that we’re a little too comfortable with each other.

Now…where was I?

After months of preparation, self-doubt, anxiousness and imposter syndrome, I’m on my way to Abilene, Texas to share my story at TEDxACU. I’ve rehearsed my talk with coworkers, including my CEO, my church friends, my wife and have muttered it under my breath to everyone on the 77 North City bus and pedestrians in downtown Seattle.

I’m excited but nervous. The brain is a funny creature that misplaces ideas and sentences as if they were a pair of car keys nestled under a pile of dirty laundry. It’s how it goes. But at its core, this talk is my life and the principles I live by. As long as I can communicate those to the audience, I’ll be just fine.

My talk is a combination of stories and life lessons that have defined my weight loss. This has been an amazing journey, one that has been crowdsourced with friends from all walks of my life cheering me on.

Last Saturday, I left my Weight Watchers meeting realizing that by that time next week I would be done with my talk, carrying the knowledge of how it went and whether or not I would share the link to the talk with my friends and family.

My soul felt heavy.

It was a challenging thought. On my way to my car, one of my favorite members called me over. We chatted about her upcoming trip to Arizona. “Oh! Your talk is next week!” she exclaimed. We talked a little more and she ended the conversation with this closing commission: “go be awesome!” 

It was what I needed to hear at that exact moment. Because this experience is awesome. Heck, I”m awesome!

Regardless of what happens on tomorrow, life will go on. I don’t say that to cheapen the experience. Far from it. It’s a license to get out on that stage and give it all I have.

So that’s what I’m going to do. If I hit a mental roadblock, I’ll take a deep breath and break through it. I got this.

So wherever you are on Friday at 8:30 central time, direct your positive thoughts toward Abilene, Texas. I can’t wait to tell you guys how it went.

The post where I need your help…

I have always been a fan of 90s Christian music. Steven Curtis Chapman’s Heaven in the Real World album to Jars of Clay’s self-titled album have formed not just my faith but my childhood. There’s something pure about that genre that reminds of a simpler time in my life. Now, I’m not going to get into escapism or its musicological ramifications (I’ll leave that to my wife…the one with the Ph.D. in the topic) but I’m sure a lot of us could dig up defining memories and tie it to a specific theme or medium, be it Darkwing Duck, Punky Brewster, sparkly parachute pants…you get the idea.

When I think about the FFK brand per se, I can pinpoint a portion of those defining moments, some of which are refreshed by reading my older posts. But unlike a has-been actor in my own digital life, I tend to forget just how amazing that part of my life was.

That said, I do remember this: This blog shaped me. It made me a better person. It literally transformed my life. And I’m ready to move on from this boring part of the Lifetime movie that is my life (starring James Van Der Beek in a fat suit as me) and move into the third act where I’m not [as] worried about my health and the size of my waist.

So at this point, I’m sure you are wondering “what does this have to do with anything? Why am I reading this? Isn’t the Wheel on?” Hang tight. I’m getting there.

(Fair warning, I kind of buried the lede in this post)

This March, I’m returning to Abilene Christian University to give a TED Talk at TEDxACU. While this is an absolute bucket item that I am incredibly stoked to cross off my list, I still am working what idea I have that is worth spreading. The title “Repetitive Forward Motion Keeps You Moving” harkens back to a defining moment when I was on a rough run while I was training for my first half marathon. While I think back to times like that and wonder what would have happened if I took my own advice and kept moving forward, I think even more about the context of those times and how I felt about myself.

So…here’s where the title of this particular posts enters in.

I wanted to avoid qualifying/apologizing for this request since it might sound self-serving. If you feel that it is, then just don’t respond ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I want to hear why you read this blog. Why did/do you follow it? What was it about me or my weight loss journey that kept you reading? Not only do I want to know so I can keep creating content that you’ll enjoy, I want to remember why that was such a defining time. You can text, call, FB message, email or even comment in the box below. Let me know. And in the meantime, I’ll keep crafting my idea worth spreading.