I haven’t had it easy, but I’ve been blessed.

That’s how I try to look at things when I reflect upon my life as a whole. I #Tryharder to focus on the good items over the amount of times I’ve been kicked in the teeth. You get up, gain some new perspective, and you keep moving forward. This is life.  If you have been fortunate enough to cruise through life without opposition or battle, I feel bad for you and the balance of things that will eventually come your way.  You have to take some punches in order to learn how to duck, slip and weave.  Who knows, I may throw a few more boxing terms into this chapter.  Stand by. 

Metaphorically, I am toothless, bloody lipped and with a nose that has been broken countless times. I’m a fighter with 40+ years of experience, but likely not the champ of any division or weight class. Most of us just get up and do it again.  The bell rings, you keep moving.  Life goes on till it doesn’t  

Not a day goes by where I don’t think about my brothers and wonder how my life would be if they were both still physically in it. How different I might have turned out at this point in my life and where we would all be in our journeys. I’ve written about this countless times and I hope I haven’t become a broken record of sadness and loss on this topic, but I really miss the lost language of true brotherhood. The bond of no matter what, you have each other, and that’s all that matters. Family always, regardless of what happens.

But life and death happens.  We can dwell on what we don’t have or we can get up and start jabbing back at life. I come from a long line of counter punchers and that’s what we do. I try to use my fights to teach and motivate others.  If you are not sharing your knowledge and experiences with the world, then you (and others) are missing out on the point of the journey.  We are supposed to share our hard-fought knowledge with the universe.  We are supposed to prevent others from making the same mistakes or experiencing the same hardships that we’ve had to face.  You have to look out for the next group of people and do your part in letting them know that they are not alone in this fight. If you keep it to yourself, then those lessons die with you.  What a terrible shame that would be.  I have lost an entire lifetime of stories, experiences and language based on the brotherhood that doesn’t exist due to loss.  There’s no way I am keeping anything else to myself.  Not even Mike Tyson can shut me up. 

Don’t let your insecurities hold you back from sharing your wisdom with the world.  You don’t have to blog or write books or create podcasts on the subjects you are an expert in, but sharing your thoughts and experiences with your family and extended flock is never a bad idea.  Hell, even if your ideas are bad ideas, they could still help those who are secure enough to listen.  I’ve written a couple of books and 100s of blogs, but I would only consider myself an “expert” or “better than most” on maybe three topics total.  The rest of the time, I am just an active listener that plants seeds and questions everywhere I go.   

Believe it or not, there is a group of people out there waiting for your wisdom.  You don’t have to be brilliant all the time, but if you can say the right thing at the right time, your words will travel and shed light on the world around you. You have been put into people’s lives, and they into yours, for an important reason.  Know that we can be mentors and mentees with the same people, while constantly changing roles in the relationship.  If you stay quiet, assume others will always figure it out on their own and pass on the few opportunities we have to enlighten, then why are we even here?  

At the very least, share what you know.  It’s on them to learn from it.