A blog about my experiences as a father, husband, military professional, and martial artist.
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” ~Thomas Edison It’s been an interesting week integrating into our new family battle-rhythm. The kids are adapting to the cultural dynamics of their new schools, we have found a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu academy to continue our…
With change being an inevitable element in our lives, we have only two options. Either embrace it and live life to the fullest or be stuck in the comfort zone of a compromised life.” ~Mohith Agadi It has been too long! I am writing this reflection now amidst Hurricane Ian pushing north through the Carolinas.…
I can’t go back to yesterday – because I was a different person then…” ~Lewis Carroll Eight years ago, today, I walked into a mixed-martial arts gym and participated in my first jiu-jitsu class. I have participated in combatives training in the past and I wrestled in high school, so I thought I had a…
Sometimes you have to travel a long way to find what is near.” ~Paulo Coelho Another adventure in the books for Team Clas. On July 4, we embarked on an 11-day cruise across Northern Europe from Hamburg, Germany to Scotland, Iceland, back to Scotland, and finally returning to Hamburg on July 15. The experience was…
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” ~Theodore Roosevelt, as cited in “Tribe of Mentors” The path to success is paved differently for each traveler. As said traveler, the question is not how do I become successful, but what does success mean to me? I sit here writing this reflection with…
“The weakest ink is better than the strongest memory.” ~Chinese Proverb In the end, all we have is our family. This is the mantra I live by, family first. It’s not always perfect, wholesome, or adventurous, but the moments shared with my family will always be priceless. Enough of the Hallmark verbiage, time to get…
Throw out your conceited opinions, for it is impossible for a person to begin to learn what he thinks he already knows.” ~Epictetus, Discourse, as cited in The Daily Stoic Expectation Management It was a typical Sunday and I woke up excited to coach my kids for their regularly scheduled Brazilian Jiu-jitsu class. This day,…
All our our dreams could come true, if you have the courage to pursue them.” ~Walt Disney It has been a busy past few weeks, the Dominic and Brianna’s birthdays fell in March and April as well as Mother’s Day and my younger brother’s birthday. Speaking of, happy Mother’s Day to all you moms running…
The only thing worse than being blind is having sight, but no vision.” ~Hellen Keller, as cited in philosobyog.com My daughter, Brianna, looked up at me the other day and asked, “Why do you love me and Dominic?” I told her it’s because they were both my purpose. She replied, “What’s purpose?” I told her…
So, concerning the things we pursue, and for which we vigorously exert ourselves, we owe this consideration — either there is nothing useful in them, or most aren’t useful. Some of them are superfluous, while others aren’t worth that much. But we don’t discern this and see them as free, when they cost us dearly.”…