It really was my first rodeo!

I want to start my blogs from...well - the start! 

My very first rodeo was very ummm....interesting to say the least! Picture it with me! I am 7 years old and didn't know that everyone else was at junior rodeos. I just wanted to compete at the rodeo that my family and I sat around and watched every night from our living room in Tampa, FL. 

I had touched a horse once (for about 3-6 minutes) during Cowboys & Indians day at my private school. Yep! That was it! That's all my experience and then my birthday wishes came true! Mom & Dad bought me a horse! Boom! Off to the first rodeo we go lol!

I'll spare you every single detail, but here are some things that I know to be true from this experience:

1. YOU WILL SUCK AT FIRST! Every single person is a beginner at everything they try to do at first! YES - there are freak athletes! YES - some people pick up things much faster than others, but EVERY SINGLE PERSON WILL GET BETTER AT THINGS WITH TIME!

2. WAITING UNTIL YOU'RE "READY" DOESN'T MATTER! Paralysis by Analysis is real! Waiting until you get enough signs from the world, until you're financially free, all debts are paid, or you get the right significant other - ARE NOT REASONS TO WAIT TO LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE! You are going to be stressed/worried/scared about something in your life! Why not worry about something that gets you closer to your goals?!?

3. NOT EVERYONE WILL SUPPORT YOU! And in the same token - not everyone is a "hater". I think this term is overused. Sometimes a "hater" is someone that truly loves you that is just terrified to see you get hurt/fail/lose! They aren't hating on your journey, but they aren't super supportive either? That's ok! You probably haven't super supportive of your moms obsession with Jazzercise or your dad living his Harley Davidson dreams either! Approval from others won't help you go forward it just makes you feel like your dreams have been justified and you better get rid of a need for justification when you are going after things no one in your family has ever done before. This is why they encourage you to do the things they know for sure! It feels safer! Truth is - there really isn't a "safe place". Natural disasters, disease, and heartbreak will happen to all of us, but knowing that you are going toward the things that make you feel truly alive only happen to the few that are brave enough to pursue them. 

I pray you are one of them! Strong enough to be terrified, to fail, to keep going!

XOXO

FT