Live, Love, Encourage

Being great at roller derby has been my obsession since 2003. But for a little longer than that, being great at life has also been an obsession.


And by that, I don't mean all the material things we normally place under the "great at life" banner.

Some quotes I wrote back in the day, and still strive to live up to/remember.

 I'm not against material things. I love things!

But having a lot of things shouldn't be a priority over treating people well.

Have you ever had a totally brilliant stroke of genius inspiration, shared it enthusiastically with someone close to you, and then watch in utter disbelief as they do a river dance on your dreams???

 
I know I've had that happen to me. Too many times to mention! It sounds innocent enough to the other person, I'm sure.

Most dream killers do it in the form of questions like How are you going to do that? Why would you want to? Or judgments like What's the point? Don't you think you should be worrying about X, Y or Z first?

Each time I think, I'm never gonna make another human being feel this way!

(And if I ever have, unwittingly, I'd be the first to apologize. Because it feels very shitty.)

See, what most people don't consider is that every new idea is kind of fragile at first.

And when someone decides to share their fragile thing with you, it means they're actually allowing themselves to be vulnerable.

Many don't seem to realize how far a little care and encouragement would go in those situations...

 But great things can happen when you decide to be encouraging!

I remember when a friend of mine mentioned, almost in passing, that she and another LA Derby Doll (at the time) had the idea to start a magazine about roller derby.

You could hear the uncertainty and readiness for rejection in her voice.

Having been the victim of dream crushing so many times myself, I felt like this was really my time to shine!

No, not that kind of shine...

More like that.

So, I practically did cartwheels out of excitement for her! I told her that was the best idea she ever had and to go for it and it'll be great and successful and magical!

And a few years later when she had mentioned, almost in passing, considering hosting a training camp, like she went to for gymnastics as a kid, but with roller derby....

Again, I took my role as person she was mentioning this to as a serious responsibility and basically went bonkers over the idea, offering San Diego as the first place to host.

I'm not taking credit for anything here, Black Dahlia did all the work. And she continues to be an innovator, now organizing the first Roller Derby World Cup!

I like to call her "Blacky D"

I'm sure if she'd shared her ideas with someone less supportive, she still would have made them happen anyways. But, at the same time...

A little encouragement can go a long way in a sport that's being built off of enthusiasm as it's main resource!

Being encouraging of someone else's inspiration is what allowed SDDD to be the first hosting venue of a Blood and Thunder Training Camp.

 And what got me some of my most exciting international coaching opportunities. (England and New Zealand!)

So what am I getting at with all of this? Well, I guess I could sum it up by saying:

Next time someone comes to you with one of their crazy ideas... consider this reaction:

Or be labeled a dream killer... you know.... either way.

Have a rad day today!!!! Here's my parting gift: