THOSE WHO STAY WILL BE CHAMPIONS. This is a sign that hung in my college football weight room.  It meant a lot to me. It's what motivated me to put in extra work and ultimately become a scholarship athlete and starting offensive guard on the football team.  It wasn't always like that though.  My life could have been drastically different - and not for the better.  Here's how it began... My dream to play college football started after a disappointing senior year of high school. We started 4-1 and then proceeded to lose 5 straight games because half of our team thought partying was…

Today marks Day 11 of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. Ever since I was a kid, these games have been awe inspiring to watch. In second grade, I was so inspired that I wanted to be just like Nadia Comaneci. I begged my mom to sign me up for gymnastics. Aside from some random cartwheels on the playground, a failed attempt at the uneven bars was my first and last stab at gymnastics! Since then, the closest I've ever come to being in the Olympics is running a marathon. Here's what I mean- Running a marathon is the biggest athletic event I've…

Ever hear the saying "your mind is a battlefield?"  It's so true, and something we all fight everyday.  I say, win the battle in your mind and you'll win the battle with your body.

Inflammation is not always bad. We need some inflammation Inflammation is actually a process that helps the body fight things that could cause harm like infections and injuries. It's a healing process that is completely normal and healthy. However, too much inflammation over time keeps the body in a constant state of alert and can begin to negatively impact organs and tissues. Like many things, inflammation is good to a point and when it crosses the line and becomes chronic and excessive, you now have a problem. That problem is not just stiffness and soreness. It is much more than that. It is a…

One of my favorite teachings in the Bible is from Jesus's legendary sermon on the mount.  In Matthew 7:3-5 he says "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's"

Proverbs 22:13: The lazy man says, "there is a lion without, I shall be killed in the streets."  Too often we let the imaginary "lions" in our life keep us in the "playing it safe" zone.  Playing it safe is one of the riskiest things we can do.  I can't think of many worse things than being 3, 5...10 years down the road and seeing ZERO progress in life.

Too often people sell themselves short or let limiting beliefs stop them in their tracks. I love this passage from Proverbs 18:21: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue."   As you put limitations on yourself, you are really speaking death over yourself.

Moms have a tendency to put everyone else's needs before their own.   At some point along the way, my mom came across a saying that has stuck with our family: If the Queen isn't happy, no one is.

When someone like Joe Mauer makes it into the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot, that’s worth talking about.  I've had the privilege of knowing him when he was a kid!

As one of my old coaches used to say: "There is no such thing as maintenance. Maintenance means you are coasting and coasting means you are going downhill."

As a coach I buy what I sell. Meaning I invest in coaching myself.  One of the BEST practices taught to me through the coaching I have invested in is the LOCKDOWN.  It sounds more ominous than it really is.

The BIG reason I get out of bed every day is because people depend on me. And I like it that way!  It gives me purpose and creates some good pressure for me to go out, show up and execute daily.  I would rather have people depend on me than me depending on them.

I am a lifelong Vikings fan.  There have been a lot of ups and downs as well as disappointments throughout the years (please don't mention the 1998 NFC championship game), but I continue to cheer them on regardless of what kind of season they're having. Last Sunday might have been one of the BEST Vikings games I ever watched.

The other day a friend of mine was shocked to learn I get up at 4AM.  "How can you do that?"  One simple answer. PURPOSE over PLEASURE.  I say this because I have a clear purpose bigger than myself.

I saw a saying once that said "The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let things go."  I like that imagery.

This past week I hit a BIG goal. I dead lifted 500 pounds!  At age 51!

The Twin Cities Marathon was on the calendar yesterday. Known as The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America...this always falls on the first Sunday in October. For 41 years that has been the case. This time of year is absolutely perfect for a marathon - especially in Minnesota. Blue skies, crisp cool temps and colorful leaves are among the many, many highlights along the 26.2 mile course.

One of the craziest things about us humans is that we have a tendency to make things more difficult than necessary.  It's like my dad used to say "if you do it the hard way, you get it done right."

I remember back in 80s when I had my Atari 2600 video game console. My brother and I would sit for hours playing games. Pitfall was my favorite. I remember my brother and I walking into Target with a jar of coins we had accumulated from odd jobs so we could buy that game.

This is a wonderful time of year! New beginnings are most apparent in the spring, but different new beginnings happen in the fall. Sometimes I think of it like January and the coming of a new year, but in September the year already is 75% complete.