My Favorite Quotes

I have two favorite quotes that I wish to share. The first is "If you have built a castle in the sky, all is not lost because that is where it should be. Now go and build the foundation".
This quote touches on how I am feeling about training these days. I have new prosthetic legs and once I get going they working amazingly well. I fly when I run and bike. Its not the 'get going' part that I am referring to, its physically getting off the ground. What I mean is that I am missing the basics. How can I possibly get off or on my bike to go into the transition zone efficiently and effectively if I have not mastered how to stop? How can I run around a sharp corner, or down a hill if I have not learned how to slow down without stumbling or falling? These trouble spots might sound funny to many of you, but that is probably because you have two biological legs. I have no mental or neurological control over my mechanical limbs. I therefore am left to use gravity, posture, and strength from my other limbs to do the basics - stuff you should have learned as a kid. How often have you just turned on a new computerized gadget or mechanical toy and started playing around with it just to try and figure it out on your own before reading the instructions? No big deal, right? And what if that toy or gadget didn't come with instructions? What then? Well no big deal. My legs didn't come with an instruction manual so I figured I would just try them out! Wrong, wrong, wrong! When you start pushing yourself to run really fast just because you know you now can, well you have to be prepared to quickly drop into a safe combat PT role when you catch the toe of the new flex foot and start flying through the air. This is the time I usually say to myself, man I wish I was a kid again - at least I'd bounce. I can't tell you how often I have crashed on my bike. Its because I lack the basic skills. Sometimes in competitive sports you have to be nice to yourself and go back and re-master some of the basics. In my case its an annoyance, but it is a necessary evil. I can not expect to excel without having the a solid foundation upon which to build. I am now back on my wind trainer teaching myself the basics of how to clip in and out. As for the running, well I'm still flying through the air! I just decided to wear gloves and a knee pad (personal protective equipment).
The next quote of the day is from an old professor of mine from Graduate School. "Stop grading my paper and show me how to get an A'. For anyone in a leadership role, inspiration and motivation goes along way. Remember that respect is commanded and not demanded. That means lead by example; know the way, show the way, and go the way.
Have a great day folks.