THREE BIG QUESTIONS?
1. Are you ALL IN?
2. If ALL IN; all in for what?
All in for living life to the max?
All in for family relationships?
All in for your career?
All for what?
3. WHY? Why are you all in? Why are you not all in?
Todd Duitsman and I took a tumble in the surf in Hawaii. Mine was in 1983. I wore a neck brace for six months. Though in need of constant massages and tons of money spent with Chiropractors, I was very, very lucky.
Todd was not so lucky. This handsome, strong man is now quadriplegic. Todd came into my life at NBC in 1984. I was his coach for one week. We reconnected three years ago when he sent his son Kaleb to camp. Amazingly, Todd still has the letter I wrote him in 1984.
Todd is an avid reader of Words of Hope. If you have the opportunity, please make friends with one of the bravest most positive people I have been blessed to know.
Todd Duitsman’s answered some big questions I posed in a recent Words of Hope:
Why am I awake, rather (alive)?
I am sitting here thinking about you being in China. I’m looking out the window as the nurse attends to me. A single leaf floats by off of the tree and it is only in my window screen for a moment… Life is the same, its only fleeting. Be amazing today.
- Why am I excited about what I get to do today?
Connect with other human beings. Make other souls shine! That gets me excited. - What makes life worth living? For you? For me?
We get 80 years, Fred, love God love other people and be the best person you can possibly be every day… - What stops us from answering these game changer questions?
Fear disables most.
I love words they interest me. I had been thinking about Todd lately and one day before I read the following section of a book I am reading, I wrote in my daily notes that Todd was …all in… Then one day later I happened to listen to this section while I was working out. Life is absolutely amazing…
“When an earthquake or great storm shook the earth, the ancient Aztecs described such power with a single word: Ollin
It is a word that can be found on the Aztec calendar and on many of the instruments used in sacred pre-Columbian ceremonies. Pronounced ALL-in, it’s an expression of immense depth that conveys intense and immediate movement. Stemming from the ancient Nahuatl language, Ollin is derived from “yollotl,” meaning heart, and “yolistli,” meaning life. Ollin means to move and act now with all your heart. It means to follow your path in life wholeheartedly. To experience Ollin we have to get “All-in”.
When an earthquake occurs, it signals it’s now time to move and act with full purpose of heart.
The Aztecs envisioned wearing your heart on your face to allow your eyes to open and see more clearly. When we view our path with clarity, we move with accelerated purpose and intent. We go forward with a full and committed heart. The Aztecs called it an Ollin heart. They believed that everyone had a sacred path that led to their life’s purpose. It was up to each individual to discover what they needed to do in their life and then give it their all. They believed that if everyone could find their purpose, the thing that made their hearts beat fast, the entire society could find its Ollin. It was not just an individual endeavor. It was a communal endeavor.”
“The words “Ollin” and “passion” are two sides of the same coin. They are companions, inexorably intertwined. Together, they produce enormous results. When we decide what it is we are willing to suffer for, and what we are equally willing to act on, the world opens up.” – Kevin Hall. Aspire: Discovering Your Purpose Through the Power of Words
