Last year, my wife snapped a quick picture on her phone that has stood out over and over in my mind. I want to share that moment with you and I hope it encourages you to dream bigger. 

You have your hobbies and I have one of mine – doing Ironman races. “Why do you choose to do that?”, you may ask. Haha! I know, it’s crazy to swim, bike and run over 112 miles – in one day – and I pay money to do them 😉 

But just look at this picture of my son Anchor that was taken in Panama City last fall: 

On race mornings, I usually wake up around 3:30am to have time to eat and do all the things to get ready for the start of the race. There is so much about Ironman races that I love. I enjoy training, learning about the sport, driving my wife crazy buying new gear that will {hopefully} make me faster and almost all facets of race day itself. 

There is one exception. 

The absolute hardest part of an Ironman for me personally are the moments leading up to the very beginning of the race. 

You would think it would get easier, but my stomach is in knots and my nerves are all jittery. 

Kids have a 6th sense about them. That morning, I know for certain that Anchor could sense what I was feeling. I looked down and saw his outstretched arms wanting me to lift him up. 

All throughout the race that day, I found myself thinking of that moment. 

It dawned on me, how often does my wife, my kids and our Loveworks team see me take on things that are hard… if not almost impossible?

Remember, people are watching you. Whether you realize it or not. They need to see your courage to dream their big dreams. To pursue what is in their heart, regardless if they may fail. 

So rise up, take on courage and live differently.