The first time I spoke with the G.O.A.T. was just over 20 years ago.  I had seen Michael Jordan before on a basketball court and a baseball field, but never had been in a position to talk with him.  It was in the last moments of evening, at a back entrance to the now closed Marriott in downtown Orlando.

I was in my second year of college, interning at the local television station, in the sports department.  The on-air guys knew I was a Jordan fan, as we’d always talk hoops, them Orlando Magic and me Michael Jordan, haha.  When the Bulls came to town one night, they asked me if I wanted to go out to get a sound bite (a short response from a player/coach) for tomorrow’s game.

My jaw dropped and my heart started pounding like bass in the trunk of cars those days.

The on-air guy was rewarding me with a dream opportunity, for my tireless work ethic – and free labor that I was providing to him and the department and I couldn’t have been more excited – and nervous.

For years I had watched every Bulls game WGN would telecast here in Orlando.  All of the games on NBC during the weekends too.  I knew a lot about Scottie, Phil, Steve, Dennis, Toni and of course MJ. The thought of being face to face with those guys, as a young man, was surreal for me.

Working in sports you know where things happen and you have access. I had none of that at the time, but was giddy to go along for the ride.

I stood along the sidewalk leading to a back entrance of the hotel, making small talk with the camera guy who was at least twice my age.  Then, out of the darkness, pulled up the bus.  The Chicago Bulls bus!!!  It’s me, the camera guy, the night and the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls PR guy jumped off the bus, walked over to me because I was the one with the mic, even though I looked like I was 12, and told me that we could shoot video, but to not ask the guys questions.

I said ok and he went on into the hotel.  I then began asking every single person off the bus, for a quick comment on the game.  Being timid wasn’t going to get the sound bite that I needed, so I went for it – MJ style.

One after the other the players filed past me, not stopping to answer.  Phil Jackson did the same, but then realizing I was not going to stop, agreed to talk with me, most likely with the hope that it would free up Michael and Scottie.  But Phil didn’t know about my focus:)

I spoke with Phil and then peeled off and went right back to asking questions, still no Michael, still no responses.

Randy Brown did respond, “Not right now little man,” obviously speaking to my youthful looks and not my size, as we are about the same height. But I wasn’t deterred.

Scottie got off, grabbed his bag and said nothing.  I couldn’t say, man, I’ve been watching you for yearssss – that wouldn’t have been professional, and probably wouldn’t have mattered.

Then off the bus came the Gggggg Oooooo Aaaaaa Ttttt!  You know the feeling the first time you walked up to a girl and asked her out?  That nervous energy.  For you young cats, there were no texts, you had to man up.  Well, take that and multiply it by 100.  I was hella nervous.

I grew up watching MJ!  He was the reason I played and watched basketball.  I wanted to be like Mike for real!

So towards the hotel he walked, and as poised as I could possibly manage, I walked beside Michael Jordan, raised the microphone to his face and asked, “Michael, can I get a quick comment on tomorrow’s game?”

Jordan’s eyes moved and focused on me and then I felt his hand gently lowering the mic, as he responded nearly inaudibly, “Not right now.”

I didn’t get the sound bite.  I had failed.

Jordan entered the hotel and again it was the evening, myself and the camera guy – who immediately proclaimed, “Dude! Michael Jordan touched you!”

Thinking back on that I can’t help but laugh out loud at that comment, but it spoke to the reverence of Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan doesn’t remember and has no clue that the little kid outside the hotel that night, in the medium polo shirt, was me.  But he does know (me) vsMJ.com now and I’d like to think that he sees a little of his teachings in the way I approach things.

Anything Is Possible with Faith & Hard Work!

Much love,

K. Eller (mevsMJ.com)

####

If you’re new here, I set out in August 2010 to get a game of 1-on-1 vs. my childhood hero Michael Jordan. This site is about that journey…through every valley, to every mountain top of triumph!

Anything Is Possible with Faith & Hard Work!

####

Connect: Twitter (@KennyEller), Instagram (@KennyEller) and mevsMJ.com Facebook Page.

On January 16th, Corey Maggette of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons found me on Instagram and it changed everything.

Just 11 days later, after some messaging back and forth between myself and Corey, I was at the Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons game on Sunday to meet him, thank him for his kindness and to hand deliver a mevsMJ.com shirt!

Me and Corey Maggette (Video)

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcYb4dBIyOc

One Man’s Kindness

It’s amazing what one seemingly simple “like” on an Instagram picture can do.

Mind blowing, the chain of reaction that one’s kindness, can begin.

After the game on Sunday, I asked Corey how he found me and he told me that he’s just always searching around for things.

His search, turned into a “like”, which led to a retweet of this site to his +1 million followers on Twitter and then 11 days later, me meeting him in person and hand delivering a mevsMJ.com shirt!

I mean, it is overwhelming that an NBA player like Maggette knew me when he came out of the locker room.  Just wild that he has my shirt.  Wow!

For me, it was awesome to have the opportunity to thank Corey in person for helping me show others, like YOU, that everything I’ve been saying is true!  Anything really Is Possible with Faith & Hard Work!

He allowed me to tell him all about my journey, never seeming rushed and listening intently the entire time.

I could tell he got the bigger purpose behind what is mevsMJ.com.

Truly, such a nice guy.

Maggette’s kindness also led to more….

Joe Dumars and Bo Outlaw

While waiting for Corey to come out of the locker room I was able to share my faith and my journey to play Michael Jordan with two former NBA greats, Joe Dumars and Bo Outlaw.

Both were kind, generous with their time, extremely encouraging and genuinely interested in the mission.

At one point, as I was describing what this journey is about and all that has happened thus far, I said to Joe, “God is so amazing!”

Joe smiled, shook his head in acknowledgement and replied, “That’s why I’m (Joe) standing here talking with you right now.”

Before we took the picture and he left to make his way to the team bus, he encouraged me to stay persistent in my pursuit.

I most certainly will!

me vs. Michael Jordan…the amazing journey continues!  As always, thank you for following along!

1 Game – me vs. Michael Jordan…it’s GOING to happen!

####

If you’re new here, I set out in August 2010 to get a game of 1-on-1 vs. my childhood hero Michael Jordan.  This site is about that journey…through every valley, to every mountain top of triumph!

####

Connect:  Twitter (@KennyEller) and mevsMJ.com Facebook Fan Page.

Last night I asked for support in my quest to play Michael Jordan 1-on-1.

I put a grouping of words together on Instagram and asked others to support my pursuit.

I stated something that I live and believe, at the end of my ask and that was, “Anything is Possible with Faith & Hard Work!”

Then something amazing happened!

I received a random and very unexpected LIKE from the NBA’s Corey Maggette!

Sitting on my couch at home, stunned, I leaned over and showed my wife what had just happened.  Both of us amazed, I declared, it’s a God thing!

God wasn’t done.

Corey Maggette Shares mevsMJ.com with over 1 MILLION people & Follows ME on Twitter!

I then sent out the following tweet, which linked back to the Instagram post above.

Just got an instagram like from the NBA’s @ghostc5m (Corey Maggette) – Your support means a lot! (MEvsMJ.com instagr.am/p/UkW2-TC_5i/

— Kenny Eller (@KennyEller) January 17, 2013

Within a few minutes Maggette had retweeted that to all of his followers!!  ALL 1,011,205 of them!

Then to top things off, he FOLLOWED ME on Twitter!  (He only follows 1,880 people on the social media platform.)

Did I mention that last year Corey played for Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Bobcats!?!?!!?!

Just a coincidence?  Naaaaaa!

I know some will think it’s a coincidence that an NBA player randomly finds a posting of mine on Instagram and chooses to like it.  A posting that in total received just 31 likes.

Some will think it’s a coincidence that the same NBA player took my message and gave it to the +1 million followers he has on Twitter.

Some will go on thinking it’s merely a coincidence that Maggette chose to also follow me on Twitter, when he follows just .185917% of his followers.

And some will then of course think it too is a coincidence that Corey played for and knows Michael Jordan.

Some will think that.

I know better.

Anything Is Possible with Faith & Hard Work!

Honestly, when I posted that grouping of words on Instagram, my hope was that I’d pick up a few likes.

God gives us a dream and then in moments like last night, with me, He says DREAM BIGGER!

He says BELIEVE FOR GREATER THINGS!

My belief that I carry around with me, is that Anything Is Possible with FAITH & Hard Work!

I hope through this journey of mine to play Michael Jordan that you are seeing that!

I hope that this is another example to you that YOU CAN experience the things in life you were created to experience!

I hope you know that amazing moments aren’t reserved for just me and others.  Amazing moments are here for us all!

Thank you for all of your support!  It means so much to me!

me vs. Michael Jordan…the amazing journey continues!  WOW!

** UPDATE 1/18/2013 **

After all of this happened, one of the people that I shared this with was my great friend Dave Hopla.  Dave is an assistant coach for the New York Knicks.

NOW IT GETS EVEN MORE AMAZING!

I asked Dave, if he had a chance, to please tell Corey that I appreciate his support and that it means a lot to me.

Today, just before 6pm, I received a message from Dave letting me know that he had spoken to Maggette about me and my journey to play Michael Jordan before their game in London.  Yes, the Pistons were in London to play the Knicks the day after all of this happened!  

Another coincidence?  Naaaaa!

He said that Corey thought my journey to play MJ was really cool!  

WOW!

Two people from the small family that is the NBA, talking about my journey to play Michael Jordan, on an NBA court, in London, England!

I’m telling you!  ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE WITH FAITH & HARD WORK!

me vs. Michael Jordan…it’s going to happen!  So blessed!

####

If you’re new here, I set out in August 2010 to get a game of 1-on-1 vs. my childhood hero Michael Jordan.  This site is about that journey…through every valley, to every mountain top of triumph!

####

Connect:  Twitter (@KennyEller) and mevsMJ.com Facebook Fan Page.

My shoulder hurts.  The right one.  The one I’ve used over and over again during my life to make thousands upon thousands of shots.

It’s painful.  I’ve never been stabbed, but if I were to guess what that feels like; it would be how my shoulder feels most of the time these days when I shoot the basketball.  Sharp stings.

The cause, I can only trace back to the large stacks of push-ups I did on a nightly basis during the NBA playoffs.  Not the brightest thing I’ve ever done.  I’ve had massages, treatments and have done my best to stay away from the courts as much as possible over the last two months, in an attempt to let it heal.  But I missed the game.

This week I said hello again to the game I love.

***

Thursday evening, after an hour and a half of makes and misses wrapped in pain, I sat down and talked some basketball history with a friend at the rec center.  We talked about MJ of course.

It was my third trip to the courts in the last four days.

Each day a bit better than the one before it, I could see my shot beginning to shine more and more and resemble its former self as I polished away.

After 20 or so minutes of conversation, I got up and asked my friend, “How many makes in a row before I leave today?”

He spat back, “10…wait, are you talking free throws?”

I said, “No man, threes!”

“You can’t make 10 threes in a row,” he quipped.

I shook my head at his lack of belief and responded, “OK, you just sit there and watch.”

44 Minutes

I honestly expected it to take me less than five minutes for me to make 10 three pointers in a row.

A few months ago, making 10 from downtown was easy earned.  I won’t say easy, because that would be a lie.  I’ve earned the right to make shots through tons of repetition.  It was never easy.

After just two or three minutes I was up to 8 in a row.

Miss.

Make, make, make, make, make…miss.

This pattern continued for the next 44 minutes as I shot one ball after the other.

Soaked with effort down through my socks, legs tired, arm fatigued, shoulder smarting, quitting without a doubt crossed my mind.

The thoughts, who would know or care if you stopped now and it’s ok to quit because you should take it easy on your shoulder, said hello.

But I refused to quit and kept shooting.

Then it finally happened.  14 makes in a row later I had accomplished my goal.

Where You Find Success!

Success isn’t as hard to find as people say it is.  It’s found right behind faith and a lot of hard work.

If you want success, just do what you say you’re going to do!

It won’t be easy.  But it’s possible!

While I was shooting, two others joined me in the task of making 10 three pointers in a row.  They were both really good shooters and one of them even got to 9 in a row once.  But they both quit before realizing the goal.

Today I know that I was the best shooter in that gym…and so do they.  That’s a HUGE difference in mindset and it comes by DOING or the lack there of.

The Magic is Within You!

A great friend of mine, Robert Brown, has a saying.  He says, “It’s no magic trick.  If you work hard you’ll be better.”

He’s right.  The magic is within you!

Two Things That You Control Today, That WILL Change Your Tomorrow

Success comes down to what you believe and the effort you put forth.

You control both of them.

Now you don’t get to control much in life, but you do control what you believe and how hard you work!

Belief

I consistently and constantly feed myself encouragement.

It’s going to be a great day!  I will be blessed in my business!  I am a great shooter!  I am a great writer, I am a great speaker, and on and on and on!

Now I want to improve in all things, but I feel that I’m destined for greatness!

That’s not being cocky.  That’s living your purpose!

You have to see it to believe it!

You have to believe it before you can achieve it!

Hard Work

Then I take that faith and belief and work really, really hard.

I keep going when others stop, because I’ve already seen my success!

I know I just need to have faith and keep working hard!

Michael Jordan and My Dream

Before I shook hands with Michael Jordan and told him about mevsMJ.com, I saw it happen!

I’ve seen the 1-on-1 game with MJ!

I’ve seen myself speaking to thousands, encouraging young and old what I believe, that Anything Is Possible with Faith & Hard Work!

I’ve seen lives changed!

What Do You See?

Whatever your mevsMJ.com is, I know it’s possible!

You’ve just got to have faith and you’ve got to work hard!

It’s waiting for you!

I will play Michael Jordan and impact lives!  What are you going to do?

me vs. MJ…the journey continues!

####

If you’re new here, I set out in August 2010 to get a game of 1-on-1 vs. my childhood hero Michael Jordan.  This site is about that journey…through every valley, to every mountain top of triumph!

####

Connect:  Twitter (@KennyEller) and mevsMJ.com Facebook Fan Page.

Charlotte, NC – 

It was last Wednesday afternoon, in the 23^rd month of this journey, and there he was, Michael Jeffrey Jordan – the six rings, the 32,292 points, the 6x NBA Finals MVP, the game winners, the G.O.A.T, the reason I play basketball and the inspiration for this site.

Just minutes after his welcoming speech at the 4^th Annual Charlotte Bobcats Fantasy Camp, he stood alone on the side of the court as the camp staff ushered us off, so that group photos could be taken.

I was just feet from Michael Jordan, the MJ in mevsMJ.com and I almost didn’t approach him.  Internally I battled as to whether or not it was the right time.

I figured surely I would see him again or would I?

Hours Before

In an oversized chair located in the dimly lit lobby of a Charlotte hotel, I sat and reflected.  I thought about all of the places this journey had taken me, what I’ve learned about myself and others, the people that have encouraged, supported and helped and of course those that have been less than stellar in my pursuit.

I was just hours away from, well I wasn’t exactly sure, but what I did know was that Michael Jordan would be there and with that came an opportunity to realize the dream.

An Unexpected Phone Call

Two weeks prior, at an all day breakfast joint in downtown Orlando, in between bites of omelet and sips of coffee, I received an unexpected phone call from Charlotte, North Carolina that changed everything.

The caller after having identified himself as being with the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats, said he was calling to make sure my experience with the Bobcats had been a good one this year.

I thanked him for calling, but explained that I hadn’t been to a game, which left him in silence.

He asked, really?

He regrouped and said that perhaps I had attended a concert or some sort of an event at the arena this year.

When I let him know that I had never been to Charlotte and that I in fact lived just outside of Orlando, Florida, he couldn’t believe it.

Still surprised and probably not quite sure where to take the conversation at that point, he closed with, “Well, I’m not really sure how we have your information, but if you are ever in the area and you’d like to come to a game, please let me know if I can help.”

I thanked him again and then right before we ended the call an image of a 48 year old Jordan dunking flashed through my head.  With nothing to lose, I figured I would ask about the event that was held last year in which MJ did this.  He knew what I was referring to, so I then asked if they would be doing a similar event again anytime soon.

He let me know that the Bobcats were and within hours I was confirmed for the camp to be held exactly two weeks later!

Nerves

I’m not someone that generally gets very nervous.  I don’t get star struck either, ever.  My time in sports television cured me of that as a young man.

I admit, sure I was a little nervous/excited before my speech at the Chandler Parsons basketball camp recently.  I think that’s normal though, as I just wanted to do my best and make an impact on the young people.  I was excited before my time with Mark Cuban.  More excited than nervous before playing pros.  All what I would say are quite normal feelings.

This whole trip to Charlotte was at another level though.  I had adrenaline overload for almost the entire 14 days leading up the the camp!  Sleepless nights on the regular.  I’d wake up at 2am and think it was time to go get some makes in.  That happened multiple mornings.  The day of the camp I had to force myself to eat.

I suppose it was all of the unknowns, the uncontrollables.  Would I get to speak with Michael, would he like what I was doing, would he agree to play, would he get that my goal is bigger than a game of basketball?

I didn’t know any of the answers to those questions, but that is where I had to lean on my faith.

There wasn’t an ounce of me that thought that the phone call I received was any kin to the word accident.

Shoot Around & My mevsMJ.com Shirt

I arrived at the arena right at 4:30 pm, checked in and was given a nice big Jordan brand bag, branded shorts, shirt, socks and Gatorade.

I changed like everyone else into the given attire, with one exception.  Instead of donning the sweet Jumpman camp shirt, I slid my mevsMJ.com shirt over it.

I had thought I would just warm up with it on and then take it off, as it isn’t a dri-fit type of shirt, but rather a cotton one.  That of course means it can get a little hot.

After 30 or so minutes of shooting though, it hit me.  The day wasn’t about me shooting the ball well or performing well.

My sole purpose was to get my message to Michael Jordan – and with that I decided to wear the shirt the entire time.

I’m glad I did.

Me and Michael Jordan

As everyone was making their way off the court for group photos, I took a step towards Michael, then still battling myself internally a step away, before deciding to just go for it.

I walked up, introduced myself to Michael Jordan and then the man I watched dominate so many basketball games, made it so easy.

After the intial hello, I asked while pointing to my shirt, “Have you had a chance to check out my site mevsMJ.com?”

He leaned around and read it aloud, “me verses MJ dot com”

I interjected, “I gave you a card down in Orlando.“

He began to smile as he shook his head no, saying “mevsMJ.com.  No, no, I haven’t had a chance to check it out, but I’m going to go upstairs right after we are done taking pictures and take a look!”

I began telling him what I was looking to accomplish, what the site has become, when he then reached back and got the attention of Bobcats President and COO Fred Whitfield.

He said, “Hey Fred, you gotta check this out.  He’s got a site called mevsMJ.com.  We’ve got to go check that out upstairs as soon as we are done here.”

Fred nodded in agreement as we spoke.

Explaining that my purpose was bigger than basketball, I then turned around and asked Michael to read the back of my shirt.

He placed his hands on my shoulders and read the message I’ve been spreading aloud, “Anything is Possible with Faith & Hard Work”.

He then read my name which runs vertically on the back of the shirt and said with one of his famous mannerisms, “OK, I’m going to check it out!”

As I took a step away, he asked, “Is it hot?”

Looking back, before I could respond, he asked again, “You got anything hot on the site?”

I said, “Of course!”

He then smiled again and said, “OK, I’m gonna go upstairs, check it out, and then come back down here and tell you if it’s hot or not!”

I laughed and said, “Sounds good!”

Video of Me and Michael Jordan

Here is some video from my interaction with Michael Jordan.

 httpvh://youtu.be/wnA1goOWwxU

[If you are reading this via email/feed – click here to watch video.]

Fantasy Camp

With my group, I took my photo with Michael and the other coaches.

I then went through the camp, won the shooting contest and was the last person to leave the arena.

The ushers actually had to come take the ball from me, but not before I made my 10^th free throw in a row.

Michael never came back down, but I fully understood as he and the Bobcats’ staff was working on a possible trade for the team.

Anything Is Possible with Faith & Hard Work

After 23 months of effort, thousands upon thousands of words, through training at all hours, the injuries, rejection, doubt and pessimism, through life changing experiences, to the testing of everything I believe in, on July 11th, 2012, the dreamer won!

I’ve always believed that if the purpose was pure, that ANYTHING Is Possible with FAITH and HARD WORK!

Sure, Michael and I haven’t played 1-on-1 yet.

But we all know, it’s only a matter of time now.

me vs. MJ…the journey continues!  As always thank you for following along.

Me and Michael Jordan Photos

 [slider_pro id=”1″]

[To see full images – click here]

####

Connect:  Twitter (@KennyEller) and mevsMJ.com Facebook Fan Page.

####

If you’re new to the site, I set out in August 2010 to get a game of 1-on-1 vs. my childhood hero Michael Jordan.  This site is about that journey…through every valley, to every mountain top of triumph!

IT’S OFFICIAL!

On March 1st, at 11am in Dallas, Texas, I will sit down and have lunch with Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks!

The How

If you’ve been following along on this journey of mine to play Michael Jordan since day one, you know that Twitter has been good to me!  From Jeff Jordan to Tracy McGrady, Damon Jones to Coach B Meyer, I’ve made numerous basketball connections through the 140 character social media platform.

I can now add Mark Cuban to that list!

I currently follow 158 people on Twitter, with one of those being billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban (@MCuban).  Just over two months ago, on the afternoon of November 3rd, I opened Twitter on my phone and saw this retweet by Cuban himself.

At first I didn’t really think much of it, figuring the odds of “winning” a lunch with someone like Mark Cuban would be highly unlikely.  So I skimmed through the rest of my Twitter feed and went on with what I was doing…for a moment.

Then curiosity got the best of me.

I went back to the tweet a few minutes later, clicked the link and read that the lunch would go to the highest bidder of an auction taking place on eBay, with proceeds going to charity.

Again, my initial thought was, this will most likely quickly get out of my “giving” range, but the optimist in me, read on.

As I read through the details, the actual prize was a lunch for two with Mark Cuban.

I immediately thought, who could maximize my giving potential?  Who loves hoops and or Mark Cuban as much as I do and is as crazy as I am to go for it?!?!

A minute later, I sent an email to my buddy Karol and just moments after that, he was in!

Do You Really Want To Do This?

A day or two before the auction was due to come to a close on November 11th; I was out for a run when I received a message from Karol asking if I still really wanted to bid on the lunch.  He said he was definitely in, but would leave it up to me.

It was gut check time.

I had then just recently returned from Las Vegas, and Impact Basketball’s Competitive League and while I loved the idea of having lunch with Mark Cuban, I wasn’t sure it made the most sense financially to make an unplanned charitable contribution at that time.

I continued on and finished my run, thinking about what I should do the majority of the way.  I got home, took a shower, while still thinking of all that could be and could come from such a meeting.

Then with just under 24 hours of opportunity remaining, the dreamer in me, said, YES, WE’VE GOT TO GO FOR IT!

On November 11th, thanks to some great bidding by Karol, we won by just an $11 margin, with a final bid in the closing seconds!!

The Million Dollar Pitch

This may come as a shock to most reading this, but I don’t plan on pitching any “money making” ideas to Mr. Cuban.

I know, I know, most people would kill for an opportunity to share their ideas with someone like Mark Cuban, because he has the ability to make dreams come true.

All I want to do though, is get to know him a little, talk hoops, tell him about mevsMJ.com and my journey to play Michael Jordan and ask him one major question/favor.

I plan on asking Mark:  Will you call Michael Jordan and ask him to play me?

That’s it!

In a Position to Succeed!

I can’t control how the upcoming lunch will go.  While I am hopeful that Mark Cuban falls in love with what I’m doing here at mevsMJ.com and wants to make it a priority of his to make my dream a reality, I just don’t control that.

I leave that in HIS hands.

All I can do is work hard and do my best to continue to place myself in positions in which I can succeed.

That’s all any of us can do.

Hoops Instead of Lunch?

Through email we’ve actually asked to shoot hoops with Mr. Cuban as opposed to lunch, but have yet to hear back on that just yet, haha!  If that happens, you know he may just sign me after seeing me shoot the ball!!

Anyway, as the trip gets closer and more details come my way, I’ll be sure to pass them on!

I’m just happy now that it’s confirmed, to finally be able to share with everyone something I’ve known for two months!

me vs. MJ…the amazing journey continues!  As always, thank you for following along and for your continued support!

Connect:  Twitter (@KennyEller) and mevsMJ.com Facebook Fan Page.

Definition of Sick:  Affected with disease or ill health.

Being sick is about as close to great as one baseline on a basketball court is to the other.

For those who don’t know their way around the game of hoops, when it comes to a basketball court the baselines are the extremes of each end.

Last week I did the following:

Monday:  Ran 5 miles in 36 minutes and 55 seconds (new personal best)!!!

Tuesday:  Played basketball for 1.5 to 2 hrs.  Caught fire in game four and lit some players up!  (That’s a good thing ;-))

Thursday:  Played more basketball.

The Warning!

I felt a bit worn down going into each of the above, but once I got moving, I was fine.

Then this happened

I woke up Friday morning extremely congested.  You know the swollen, tired eyes.  The can’t breathe, if you didn’t have a mouth you’d suffocate kind of congested.

I took some meds, called in sick and worked from home.

Everyone is sick

Everyone around me has been sick lately.

My whole family, down to my little niece Ava, has been sick with some vicious stomach bug for the last two weeks.  It has beat down one individual and right as they are about to get their strength back, it jumps to another and crumbles their defense like a Jordan fadeaway.

The last victim has been my Dad.

I guess that’s what comes with Autumn and flu/cold season.

The Doctor (A cold or allergies??)

At 2:30pm on Friday I went up to the local Centra Care (no appointment needed) and put my name in the lottery to see if I would be called.

Ok, it doesn’t really work like that, but being there three hours definitely made it seem that way on this trip.

The doctor ran me through some tests, typical stuff, before proclaiming that it appeared to be the “common cold.”

Tangent time (a new name for the “common cold”)

On a side note, why would you call something you can’t treat “common”?

Shouldn’t it be called the “Jordan”?

Think about it.  You know it’s coming, but you can’t stop it!

When asked, I’d much prefer to tell people, “Oh, I’ve got the Jordan!”

Back to Doc

So the doctor gave me a prescription for some antibiotics, along with a, “if it’s a cold, it’s not really going to matter so much,” and I was on my way.

I had hoped that maybe he would have said it’s just allergies, but he didn’t.

Frustration and Curves

In the last couple of months I’ve done everything possible to condition myself for the Impact Basketball training.

To say I was looking forward to it would be a great understatement.

I knew when this journey began there would be curves in the road.

Curve number one came up on me like the paparazzi does Kim Kardashian.  Outta nowhere!

In life, I handle curves fairly well, if I do say so myself.

I always think that God has a plan for me and that if I’m late, due to non-normal traffic flows, or anything out of the ordinary happens, that it is God’s way of directing me.

It’s my faith.  It’s what I believe.

Lack of Faith…My Ugly Truth

I didn’t handle this setback well at all.

I acted like a faithless, 14 month old that wanted his bottle and wasn’t going to be happy until he got it.

You know in the movies where people throw things?  That’s how I felt.

I wanted to throw and smash and scream.  Didn’t do any of those, but if I didn’t mind the clean up, I probably would have.

While I still posted things to Twitter and Facebook over the weekend like, “I hope I get healed today,” my faith was walking the tightrope and somewhere it fell off.

Not gonna make it

As the minute hand of the clock continued its run like a hamster on the wheel, the reality that I would not be going to Impact Basketball training this week became more and more clear.

I even tried to go up to the court Sunday afternoon by myself and work into a sweat, to see how I would do.

At the close of that all heart event, I knew it was time to reschedule my training.

Why Being Sick is Great

I titled this post, Being Sick is Great, because this curve in the road has reminded me.

It has reminded me where my focus should be.

It has shown me that while I have grown in some areas, I may have taken a step back in others.

Being sick has put me on a path to regain my focus in my faith.

That’s why being sick has been great.

Impact Basketball (Rescheduled)

Thankfully, Matt, down at Impact Basketball was very understanding of my situation.

When I asked about a possible need to reschedule, he wrote back:

“You just tell me when you are feeling better and are able to come in, and I will make it work.  Like I said from the beginning, I like what you are doing and am looking forward to working with you!”

So with those kinds words, I am now re-scheduled for the week of November 1st through the 5th.

Again, I can’t wait!!!

A dash of perspective

My goal is to regain my health and more importantly, my focus.

My hope is that early on the morning of November 1st, I will be headed to train.

If something else comes up though, then it does.

Curves in the road merely slow me, they don’t stop me.

Me vs. MJ…the journey continues!  Thank you again for following along!