9 HIM rolled out of their warm beds to face a gloomified trail run.  True beasts!

@Peewee (TRAPP) @Blackout @Pancreas @ToeJam @Procter @Heidi (1st F Q) @Jalisco @Winger (Bill Diebenow) and QiC @MapQuest

Disclaimer, principles and credo

Warm-a-Rama to wake the bones

The Thang
We kept it traditional and hit the infamous wooded trail.  Up to sunrise hill, through the woods, over and around many fallen trees, back around to Larry’s Bend and gravel beast, with COT ending at sunrise hill.  It was glorious!

Announcements
Check slack, but three upcoming biggies to point out…

Moleskin
No one likes failing.  It can be painful, embarrassing, and straight up defeating at times.  This is why failure has been put in the bucket by many as a pure negative.  We frown upon it.  It means we fell short and didn’t succeed at something.  We even hear sayings like, “failure isn’t an option.”   But I’m here to tell you that failure is a reality that we all face whether we like it or not.  Big and small, we have all failed in the past and we will continue to fail in the future.  Why?  Because we are mere human.  Imperfect creatures.  (Geez MapQuest, thanks for the reminder.  I thought the moleskin was supposed to encourage us?  I’m getting there, brothers, hang on!).I’m here to say that while we don’t strive to fail by any means, when we look at it through a lens of all that we can gain from it, it very much can propel us forward towards success.

C.S. Lewis once said, “Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward towards success.”

All “successful” people today in our world, I promise you, they all have had miserable failures along the way.  Perhaps getting cut from a team earlier in their career.  Or filing for bankruptcy.  Maybe a business deal gone bad.  Maybe even losing everything and having to start over.  But what’s even more significant, is that each one of them didn’t give up.  They didn’t surrender.  They didn’t pack up their bags and go home.  No.  They chose to learn from it, try again, and keep going. Failure isn’t something we should be ashamed of.  But we also shouldn’t set us back.  Instead it’s an opportunity to grow.  And in reality, the very fact that we failed at something means that we actually tried.  And that in and of itself is huge!   When we get past the initial disappointment of failing at something, we can eventually take hold of the silver-linings.  The learning.  The opportunity to refocus.  The opportunity to grow.  The chance to check our ego at the door and allow the Lord to provide wisdom, peace, and new direction.  The opportunity to recalibrate and try again. That said, I encourage us all to not be afraid to try something new or go after a massive goal if the fear of failure itself is getting in the way.  Failure is not a step backward, but in reality a stepping stone to eventual success.  Have courage men.  Know that you have what it takes.  Keep going.  We will keep getting after it and we will get there.

Your brother,

MapQuest