Tag: passion

The Alamo City Rollergirls Taught Me A Lesson

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Sunday night, Ashley and I attended our first roller derby bout with the Alamo City Rollergirls – Las Tejanas (@acrollergirls) against the Beaumont Spindletops with a number of our good friends from BMPR.  The Rollercade looks as if it has been the same for the past forty or so years, with a new coat of paint here and there and some neon lights added for additional effect.  The design was classic roller skating facility and the feel of the building was stale.

Magically, though, the air was electric.  There was a line of people waiting to get in the door while the teams greeted fans outside.  As the track was prepped with tape to denote the boundaries on the rink, fans poured in to take their places.  The announcers took their places, with one of them dressed as a skeleton and making her voice sound like a cross between Dave Chappelle as Rick James and one of the barbers from Coming to America.

The teams are wildly passionate about winning – they train numerous times per week for two to three hours per day all while holding down a day job as well.  Each has their roller derby name and persona.  These women are dedicated to their sport and their fans are dedicated to them.  The gasps, “oooohs” and “aaaahhhhs” when they make a great hit, take a tough tumble or the cheers when they score are incredible.

For these tough ladies it’s not about the money, the great office, the fancy titles (the cool names help), the logos and anything else that seems to be what matters in the rest of the world.  Here, these women are duking it out for the love of the game.  They can only win if they play together, because if they don’t, there won’t be a person to block nor a person to score.  The passion to move forward as a group allows them to take on the toughest challenges with direction from there coach.  Can you look at your office and say they work as well as these women?  Are you doing enough to coach them all to a victory?  Try focusing on your people this week to move them all in the same direction at the same time together and see what you can accomplish.

A big thank you to the Alamo City Rollergirls – Las Tejanas for hosting us and congratulations on their first home bout win of the season!

Passion And Action Combine For Excellence

Steven Hope walks the Chisholm Trail bearing a cross.

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On Saturday, my buddy, Choco and I were driving back to San Antonio from an event we put on in Victoria for a client.  As we buzzed along US 87 we spotted a guy walking with a cross.  For the record, I have never stopped for a hitch hiker or a person doing something out of the ordinary on the highway.  Saturday, though, was a different day.  Choco and I looked at one another and decided that we should stop and have a chat with this guy to see why in the world he would choose to do such a thing.  Here’s Steven Hope’s story on why he is carrying a cross.


After watching his video, you could come away with a million thoughts.
“This guy is crazy.”
“I wish I had the faith to do that.”
“Just another radical Christian”
“That’s amazing”

I simply thought “I wish I had as much passion, conviction AND action as Steven.”  Most of us, simply bounce from one day to the next, guided by our social norms, bills, families and the like.  Our lives turn out to be shaped much by the consequences of our circumstances, more than being shaped by a vision of what we want from our lives, our relationships and our careers.

After I turned the camera off, Steven, Choco and I discussed the amazing things that have happened to him along his 60+ city tour and how he was repeatedly delighted.  Choco and I simply listened to the seemingly magical events that affected Steven.  Now, I live an incredible life, surrounded by wonderful people, but I feel that I could easily take a lesson on clarity matched with action from Steven.  Meeting Steven has inspired me to renew my search for even greater  clarity and action.  Steven’s words and actions were tied together. That’s why his message was so impactful.  If nothing else, Steven’s story is a great example of how powerful it is to do what you say you’re going to do.

If you’re already acting on your passion and you know it, can you share your experience?  How did you figure it out?  How did you know that you were on the right track?  What did it take for you to get started?  Was there any confusion if you were on the correct path?