Posted by: Steve Lackey
on Jul 01, 2007
How many choices do you think you make on a given day? 10? 20? How about 98? (Assuming you get eight hours of zzz’s, that’s like six an hour – at least one every ten minutes.) I counted the other day and was amazed at the number of times I had to decide to zig versus zag. And I am sure there are many days when that number is much higher. From the shoes I’ll wear, to which type of coffee to drink, to which route to take to work, to the number of times I’ll allow my son to open the back window in the car to whether or not I’ll answer the phone – I am empowered to decide (AKA “The Decider”). It’s a beautiful thing – part of being American, having a choice – and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
This issue is full of perspectives of proactive choice. We had the pleasure to sit down with world record holder and 2008 Olympic hopeful Cullen Jones at our studio last month, and we talked about his choice to swim. Here’s a guy who could play basketball at a level to which most kids only aspire, and he makes the decision to pursue swimming as his sport. Not the choice many would make, but Cullen found his way through a myriad of challenges and is now at the top of the swimming world, ready for next summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing. If you ever get a chance to meet or talk with Cullen, you should. He’s only at the beginning of what promises to be an incredible ride that will undoubtedly impact the lives of many kids and adults across the world. His story is inside (along with some awesome photography of him).
In another ‘conscious choice’ piece, Derek Powers shares why he’s “Choosing to Believe” in the Tour de France (and professional cycling as a whole). When many are questioning the integrity of the sport, Derek shows us the virtue of looking past the problems (as if they aren’t there) and embracing what he’s always loved.
