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The Oasis for Purpose Contemplation
I live on a beautiful farm in North Carolina. We have horses, chickens, cats, and dogs. Someday we hope to have cows, but for now we just have a beautiful empty pasture filled with really tall green grass. We have decided to turn parts of the farm into a Barbell Paradise. We have a hay barn, a horse barn, a milking barn, and a 4000 square foot workshop. We just finished cleaning out the workshop, so that we can start the build out for the final Mash Elite Performance. This is a dream that I have had for quite some time. We will officially open the compound to the public Labor Day Weekend for the Mash Strength Spectacular.
The Mash Strength Spectacular is going to be my modern day version of the old York Barbell Strength Pic Nic. Of course now it will be MuscleDriver USA sponsored, which is the modern day York Barbell. We are going to have Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, GridFit, Strongman, and a 5K Mash Dash. We are also going to have vendors, delicious food, and awesome music. Turning the farm into this paradise that I have formed in my head is going to be a lot of work, but work that is worth it.
I feel that my purpose in life is to touch as many lives as possible before my time on this earth is over. The Barbell Life Podcast was formed around my belief that the barbell has brought so many people together. “Purpose” is something that writers have been writing about for centuries, and “purpose” is the very thing that I have on my mind tonight.
I am sitting in an area on the farm that I call “The Oasis”. “The Oasis” is a concrete patio surrounded by a 3-foot high brick wall. In the middle, there is a 4×4 foot brick flower garden with a beautiful tree growing right in the middle. Amazing plants, green trees and colorful flowers surround the entire Oasis. The sound of birds chirping and squirrels scurrying rings ever so calmly in the dimly lit sunset sky as I sit at the patio table contemplating the ever present desire for purpose. There is also a 6-man hot tub on the patio that completes the perfection that is “The Oasis”.
As I stare through the trees and vegetation that appear almost tropical, the red roof of the horse barn shines through with the blue dusk sky as its background. It’s my time to contemplate the many ways that God has blessed my life. This one solitary place on earth calms my spirit, and allows me to take in all of the wonderful things that God is doing in my life. Thanks to God that my life is one filled with an amazing purpose of serving others. Serving others is a role that I gladly accept, and a role that I give thanks for daily.
Tonight I hope to give you all insight on “purpose”, and I hope to give you ideas for purpose in your own life. Purpose for me starts right here at home. On earth my wife, daughter Bailey, and son Rock are my priorities. Nothing will ever come between them and me. God has given them to me to shepherd, provide for, take care of, and most of all to love. I intend on doing just that. If most of us just realized that our purpose was right beside us, the type of job that we have wouldn’t even matter. My life is fulfilled right here at home. The things that I do at work are just gravy. If I love my wife with all my heart and making quality time for my children, then my life is fulfilled with an amazing purpose gifted to me directly from God.
The rest of my life is spent with the intention of helping all of you. Writing this blog, “The Barbell Life” Podcast, and all the free articles are my way of passing all of the knowledge that I have learned in my lifetime on to you guys and gals. I love teaching people about my beloved Barbell. I also love teaching all of you gym owners ways to succeed financially, so that you can continue a life of helping others get and stay in shape.
Let’s not forget all the amazing athletes that I get to coach on Team MDUSA, Team Mash Mafia, Team Eat & Lift What You Want, and Team GridStyle. All in all, I am responsible for over 500 athletes, and I love it. Yah I love helping them reach their goals of greatness, but I also love helping them learn about this thing called, life. Coaching isn’t just teaching snatch, clean & jerk, and back squats. It’s helping these young people handle the challenges of life. It’s helping them plan for life after the platform.
Right now, I am super proud of Cade Carney. Cade is one of the football players that I coach. He is a four start recruit with about eight different Division I offers. He just turned in the third highest Nike Football Combine score in America. Cade has been with me since seventh grade, and next year he will be starting his Senior Year in High School. Coaching this young man has been one of the biggest pleasures of my career. Not only is he one of the best athletes that I have ever worked with, but also his character and love for God is second to none. He has been loyal to me. He has embraced our program, and now he is reaping the benefits of all the hard work.
We have spent many evenings talking about his future plans. We have also spent several evenings talking about life, school, and friends. We have discussed the challenges of being a Christian athlete especially one of his ability. He allowed me to be a small part of his life, and I have loved every minute of it. This is just one example of the opportunities that God has allowed me in this amazing life of mine.
The last seven years has been full of athletes that have touched my heart like Cade. Every night as I lie in bed, I see their faces, and I pray for their safety. I also pray that they all spend a life filled with purpose like the one God has given me. Athletes move on to new careers, school, or other opportunities, and each time my heart breaks just a little. However, the time spent with each of them gives me a lifetime of reflection and memories of a life filled with immense purpose.
The moral of the story is: whether you are an incredible athlete, business owner, or work a job, purpose is all around you. Purpose can be found in the following:
• The way you treat your family.
• The way you treat others.
• The way you inspire the people around you.
• The way you love the people that are close to you.
In closing, I hope that you all see that there is more to life than money or fame. If you are a billionaire with no loved ones, then you are the poorest man on earth. I recommend that you all take the time to write out your purpose statement. Then you will want to keep that purpose statement in mind when performing all of your daily tasks. You should be able to find purpose in almost everything that you do.
