My Amazon

First written on July 14, 2025

I think of Dwayne Johnson's quote often when I'm looking for my own path. Some people would claim that I have reached a general level of comfort that would subvert disappointment. My wife and three sons are healthy and growing, I have a career in the Navy that has allowed me to do some real fascinating things, and I hit many personal benchmarks that leave people wondering how I did it. Perhaps they are being polite, but it's flattering to hear.

My path has countless tributaries which I allow into my main stream that makes me, me. I am not threatened by these added influences of power, danger, or cautionary tales. I know where my sea leads me and I accept these additions to use as leverage to propel me farther down the river. Whether I like it or not, that added pressure is coming, but how I choose to intermingle with it is really up to me. Some patches and junctions are rougher than others, but that is no mind. I know I'm headed to my sea where it will all accumulate into a fertile delta of payoff.

These tributaries are the influences of my parents, coaches, community leaders, my friends, entertainers, politicians, and books. Some have a stronger current than others, but they all feed me. Once it gets into my main flow, it is up to me to find that balance and seek tranquility of the water to continue my push towards where I know I'm going.

Sometimes there are setbacks, heavy rapids, or dead-ends. Pay no mind to these natural parts of life. What you may want to do is seek a lesson to be learned from. Perhaps you need a new map, new guides, revise your team, or to simply take a moment to regain your composure. During these hardships, maybe you want to take a page from Jocko Willink: reload, recalibrate, and reengage.

Theodore Roosevelt was never a fellow to remain settled, he always thirst to be the man in the arena, understood the strenuous life, and no goal was too far. He discovered an Amazon tributary and it was possibly his hardest task. In 2005, Candice Millard wrote about Roosevelt's harrowing adventure in The River of Doubt. He completed this expedition after he became Theodore Roosevelt, after he charged San Juan Hill, left the presidency, and was shot in Milwaukee to still make his 50-minute speech.

So what does Dwayne Johnson and river metaphors have to do with me and being inspired? It call comes down to where you get your influences from in order for you to continue your path.

I am inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger who dominated three diverse arenas. Brick by brick, plate by plate, he became a singular name. We know what we mean when we say "Arnold."

I am inspired by the terrible literature I get to read and know if they can get published, then I have what it takes to get published too.

I am inspired by politicians who never made it through law school. Life circumstances brought me to business school instead.

I am inspired by authors like Mark Twain who never went to college yet considered one of America's greatest literary figures.

Inspiration is all around us, but we have to not only be open to accepting their lessons, but figuring out how they can be applied to our own lives. This takes time, practice, and critical thinking. It's exhausting, but it to me it's far better than working eight hours for a company to go home and do nothing more.