A large part of me wanted to end the post there, with one word.  That one word pretty much sums it up, so if you have other things to do, you can stop reading now and just know that you should begin your passion project NOW!

If you are still reading…thank you!  As Heavy D & The Boyz used to say, “I’ve got nuttin’ but love for ya, baby!”

Passion Project (my definition):  A journey fueled by passion alone.  A journey where money and or fame isn’t the end goal.  (e.g., Playing Michael Jordan 1-on-1 :-), Walking Across America, Being Ridiculously Extraordinary, taking a melody and turning that into a song being sold on iTunes, writing and publishing a book because it’s fun and you can.)

My NOW Moment

My original goal was to begin me vs. MJ: My Journey To Jordan Camp in the late stages of 2009.  As you know, I didn’t end up launching until August 22nd of 2010.

Why August 22nd?

Because August 22nd was my NOW moment.

Prior To My NOW Moment

I was like most reading this post.  I had dreams and aspirations that “the majority” might say are unattainable.  I had a BIG dream that I was afraid to let the World know about.

In the late stages of 2009, I attempted to write for 30 days straight to build up enough content for my prospective launch.  After 10 days or so the doubt and “is it really financially wise to do this now?”, “can I do this?”, “Would Mike Jordan really play ball with me?” got the best of me.

I stopped with a handful of post outlines completed.

Mid January, I attempted to start up again.  My goal was then to launch on Jordan’s Birthday, February 17th.  February came and went.  The content wasn’t good enough.  I didn’t have enough of it. How would I ever keep this site going?

I watched Seth Godin’s “Quieting the Lizard Brain” and said, “Yes I need to SHIP” and put my birthday of May 25th as the deadline for launch.  I turned 33 and still no me vs. MJ.

In June, I emailed my buddy Karol and told him I’d be launching soon.  June and July passed.  It was still just me…no MJ.

August came and with that also came Michael Jordan Senior Flight School.  The same Jordan Camp I will attend in 2011.  I kept thinking back to a post I read on May 31st.

A portion of Tyler’s, On Top of The Cage post, Perfection: Why Overcoming It is the Key to Your Success, said this:

“My articles contain more spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors than I’d like, and I’m okay with that.  I’d rather share my ideas with the world than spend hours revising every word.  It’s more important to produce than be perfect.

There’s a saying my boss uses to describe this: “Looks good from my house.”

Most perceived imperfections are so minuscule that they aren’t worth fretting over.”

I wanted everything from my design, to my content to be top notch.  I wanted every reader’s eyes to crave it and their minds to smile.  I wanted it to be perfect.

I thought about Tyler’s post, communicated through email or iChat with Karol and got encouragement, called my brother and asked him to do a banner for me within the next five days and decided to begin.

Just as the Jordan camp ended, my journey began.  It began because without a single step, no progress can be made.

August 22nd was my NOW moment.

My Advantage (The Wisest Decision of My Life)

A lot of you know and love Karol Gajda.  I know and love him too (like a brother of course…haha).

Karol walked into a banking center I was managing around five years ago.  We chatted a bit about banking and basketball.  A few days later we were at one of the local courts shooting around.  We’ve been friends ever since.

Anyone that knows Karol, or follows him through RidiculouslyExtraordinary.com, understands that he sees the World so inspiringly different than the majority.

Having people like Karol in your life is exactly what everyone needs.

For me though, my advantage didn’t begin with Gajda.  When I was 19, I made a conscience decision to remove all negativity from my life and to only surround myself with “pro me” people.  People that LOVE me and will encourage me.  Doubters and pessimists got punted like the late, great, Reggie Roby used to punt the football when Danny Marino didn’t lead the Miami Dolphins to a Touchdown.

I told myself that in my life I had no time for anything but positivity and I acted on it.

That was the wisest thing I ever did.

My advantage isn’t that I happen to know a Guru like Karol. My advantage is that I have surrounded myself with people that encourage me and want me to accomplish amazing things!

Good news is you can do the same.

When to Punt (Tangent Time)

People whose jokes are at your expense. PUNT!

People who see the World half empty. PUNT!

People who tell you your ideas are silly. PUNT!

People that want you to do well, just not better than them. PUNT!

Anyone that doesn’t support and or make you better. PUNT!

Oh and just because you have history with that person doesn’t matter.  That’s why it’s called history.  Just because you’re a nice person doesn’t matter because being nice doesn’t mean you should subject yourself to negativity.  Be nice to yourself for once.

What Happens When You Have Support (My Advantage Continued….)

When you have true support, all the dreams and aspirations begin to LIVE when you let them out of the nice little box you keep them in and begin the journey.

As I’ve gotten back into basketball in an attempt to give MJ my best game, I’ve had tons of support.

My brother, did the banner for this site and created the identical replica of Jordan’s Rookie Card with me and my info for my About Page.  He has also kicked his basketball back into gear and we now play two times a week.

I’ve had high school basketball buddies reconnect with me and begin playing hoops with me too.

My wife has supported this journey and never once been upset when I head to court in the mornings and evenings or am locked away in my office working on content at all hours of the day and night.  She has never said that I shouldn’t spend money to go to basketball camp or to buy anything associated with this journey.  She understands how important this experience is to me.

My buddy Karol, has responded to the numerous and I mean numerous emails filled with questions on every subject you can think of when it comes to this journey.  He has done so with patience and thoughtfulness.

I’ve had friends think of me when they get cool opportunities (post on this coming soon).

I’ve had friends, who I took to lunch for their birthday, demand to take me to the bookstore after and buy ME a gift to encourage my journey.

I’ve received an amazing amount of warm words of encouragement from family and new and old friends alike.  Each and every one of those words pushes me forward and is so appreciated!

YOUR Next Step

If you’ve been putting off your dream, as I did, make a decision RIGHT NOW to do that no longer.

There is no journey or dream that is unattainable.

As my last post said, It’s Not Going To Be Easy, Nor Should It Be!, but that’s the fun of it all.

What To DO NOW!

Great!  You’ve decided to pursue your dream!!  Right??

Be excited!  You’re already one step closer to living it!  Streamers are falling from the ceiling already!

Here is what you DO NOW!: Set a timeline for beginning (within the next two weeks if possible) and a completion date (this was easy for me because Jordan Camp is in August of every year).  If your dream doesn’t have a predetermined completion date, then set one for yourself.   You need to program your mind for urgency!!!

“I Don’t Have A Support System Like You!”

If you thought that or spoke that, let me add one supportive brotha to your support system…ME!

Need encouragement, hit me up!  Need to believe in yourself and your abilities, hit me up!  Need a gentle or non gentle nudge, hit me up!

I’m here for ya, like so many are here for me.

YOUR EXACT Moment!

Remember, you can be encouraged by the smartest and most loving people this Earth has ever had walking its vast land, BUT the journey BEGINS with YOU!

Your EXACT Moment is NOW!