The Battle to Start

The dream is real. The calling is deep. And yet…

Life has been extra busy recently, if that is even a possibility. Kid number three is just turning four months old. And then there’s the whole new job thing. Sorry, not new job - new career path. There is just a lot going on. It might be understandable that adding one more thing to my plate right now just isn’t possible; that there isn’t enough bandwidth for something new. Particularly something as audacious as coming together with two brothers and setting out on this epic journey that we’ve envisioned for ourselves, known as Strong Towers. But when I sit back and try to process through those reasons, they sound like hollow excuses in contrast to the immense joy it brings me to think about everything that this effort could become. So I find myself with a strong desire to jump in head first and immerse myself in whatever may come out of the creative process of blogging and podcasting.

And yet the words don’t come and the thoughts have trouble coalescing. The idea is not foreign to me that this effort is being opposed. The reality is that the momentum of life and the cultural drift toward convenience and ease constantly fight against our attempts to add one more thing, but there is also something deeper. There is that voice in the back of my mind that whispers to me that I can’t possibly undertake anything as dramatic as what we have seen this becoming. The voice that says I can’t possibly have anything worth contributing to the world at large. I don’t want to believe that voice, but it is incessant and convincing. And so even starting has been a battle.

The irony is not lost on me that what I really need right now is additional strength. I need the confidence to step out from the relative safety and comfort that I know and I into the potential chaos and danger of the unknown. I need to grab hold of my fears and doubts and master them so that I can emerge from the other side as a better me. I need exactly what Strong Towers hopes to deliver. And in a way, that is what this project is all about. Banding together with some good friends in the effort to become better men. If we can somehow accomplish that for ourselves, then maybe we can pull an audience along for the journey. We aren’t trying to put on display some false narrative that we have arrived and are now able to speak from a vast storehouse of acquired wisdom. Instead, we are walking through life together, trying to figure these things out as we go. And through our conversations, we hope to help each other be better men. Become better fathers, husbands, friends, colleagues, leaders, and followers.

So there needs to be a beginning. There must be some small step forward. The bags are packed, the decision made, and now comes the part where plans must be put into motion. If you have something that you’ve been meaning to do, something that you keep pushing to the back burner, maybe now is the time to take it out again, brush it off, and give it a try. One small step forward after the other, and together we can discover new things about ourselves and our capabilities. Our podcast is going to launch with a series we’re calling “Chasing the Dream,” because that is really what Strong Towers is for us; the incredible opportunity to share our desire for men to find the strength inside themselves, not in a locker room machismo kind of way, but in a way that has true substance. A way that brings life and joy, comfort and stability to the people around us. If you have a dream you’ve been waiting on, or maybe one you’ve forgotten having in the first place, we hope that you will find some small comfort in knowing that you are not alone. And possibly the courage and strength to chase after what it is that calls to you. You need to start somewhere, why not right here, right now?

And just like that there are words. It is a small start, but it is a start. Welcome to Strong Towers!