This world needs more Ben Faro's

Do you ever have those moments where you are sitting around looking at something and all of a sudden you feel like youve been flashed back to 4th or 5th grade?

Today I arrived home from work and turned off my car. I was just sitting in the driveway, thinking about some things, admiring the gorgeous weather. I gazed into the clear blue sky at an airplane that happened to be passing and all of a sudden I had a quick flash into elementary/middle school. This may sound ridiculous but for a brief moment, memories from those days become so vivid and a smile begins to extend across my face.

Its amazing how time goes by so fast. Its sad really. I dont mean sad in the fact that life is progressing, I mean sad because of the fact that we rarely enjoy a time of our life for what it really is....a time of our life. All too often we get caught up in the past, and the future and forget to really live for the moments we have today. The worries of tomorrow seem like huge mountains that we have to climb before the sun rises again in the morning when in reality those worries are just bumps in the road that we need to step over. Wouldnt it be nice if we actually listened to our parents when we were younger when they uttered the words "dont worry so much, just have fun" or something to that effect. What a blissful childhood we all would have had. I think my little brother Ben is the only one that actually heard that message. The jury is still out on whether or not he had too much fun or not but I cant think of better example of a guy who lives for the moment.


This childhood enjoyment/worry complex Im talking about is a funny thing. It doesnt go away!!! It pops up again in high school, and then in college it just makes a home on your shoulder and camps out there for four years. Anyone who looks back at college would probably tell you it was the best four years of their life (or 4 1/2 years, or 10 years if your one of John Keller's several friends). Yet when we're in college, we are constantly "busy", "overworked", "stressed", and "tired". Hindsight is such a pain in the butt. Thats why everyone needs an extra semester like mine to live the college life without a care in the world :)


Botoom line....live in the moment. Dont dwell on the past. Dont spend days worrying about tomorrow. Today has enough worries of its own. I know its not my strength. I struggle to not look backwards or forwards. Im working on it though. Hopefully Ben can continue to give me some lessons. Lets enjoy the moments that are right in front of us so we dont have to look back and wish we had more mulligans left to use.

Later Days

What is failure?

For those of you who dont know, Ive been training to run the New Jersey marathon on May 2nd. Not too long ago I laced up my shoes in hopes of completing an 18 mile run. Long story short I got about 14 miles in before I had to call it quits for the day. I had officially failed for the first time in my marathon training.

The funny thing about failure is that people spend their entire lives trying to avoid it or scared of it when in reality its usually the best thing for us. Personally I think mottos such as "i refuse to fail" or "failure is not an option" are borderline comical. I prefer the slogan "failure is the ONLY option". Failure is the best proven teacher around.

Lucky for me I have been blessed with the best parents a guy could ask for. They taught me from a young age that failure was okay. They taught me that its not about how many times I failed, its how I reacted to that failure. Unfortunately for them, I think they had to learn those same lessons from me :)

I dont think failure is what drives success. I do think the mindset that causes failure is what breeds success. If I stare failure in the face and challenge myself to a degree where I know failure is a very likely possibility, only then is there a chance for unbelievable success. Is success without the risk of failure truly success or is it just finishing an already known result? I think the best successes come when there is the biggest chance of failure. Sometimes those great successes happen after the biggest failures.

Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I respond to it. -Swindoll

Later Days

New Jersey

As I drove into New Jersey at the end of January there was a feeling of hope and excitement. It couldnt have been a nicer January day, the sun was shining, Bon Jovi was on the radio, and everything was looking up. I think there is something about a new experience that we remember for a long time. Graduating from high school, going to college, graduating from college, getting a job. All these experiences are mile markers in a young persons life. These are the things that get checked off that imaginary list that every person has but nobody ever really talks about. That sunny winter day definitely fell into that category for me. I was excited, anxious, and prepared to start something new and different in my life.

I must mention that it was a big day for New Jersey as well. That day marked the day I decided I was going to give Jersey a chance. Jersey gets a bad rep and I wasnt sure it was deserved. Its kind of one of those states you make fun of simply because everyone else does and it seems like the right thing to do. After all they do have like thousands more waste dumps than any other state in the US and its one of the smallest states. However, I put that aside and was willing to start fresh with New Jersey. Unfortunately for the state it has let me down, Ive made a list of pros and cons that I have found in my short stint in New Jersey thus far.

Pros:
1) Gas is cheaper
2) They pump your gas
3) They have the shore (which the jury is still out on since I havent been yet)
4) Where I live is very nice and rural

Cons:
1) They pump your gas
2) You can NEVER turn left
3) The roads are built with craters so you have to play mariokart when you drive and dodge the items
4) There is always traffic no matter where you are going and its never for a valid reason
5) Everything except gas is more expensive
6( No major city (and contrary to popular belief by those who live in jersey, NY and Philly actually are not in NJ)


Ive still got plenty of time left in Jersey and Im hoping for a turn around. There is still hope New Jersey!!! Just not for the nets.


Later days