Greatness

"We had such a wonderful time that we couldn't bear to go back to our regular lives, and so we decided we just wouldn't. 
And then all the GREATNESS began…"

This is the quote from the bathroom wall at the Joi Café of Westlake Village, CA.  I went there a year ago October 2014 while on a trip to LA/Long Beach.  I was there in hopes of meeting Rich Roll, famous vegan ultra-man athlete.  I had started my journey to finding incredible health that year and his book "Finding Ultra" had played a pivotal role in my decision.  I read in his book that at the beginning of his transformation from a junk food addict to whole food, plant based vegan he felt so good he decided to go out for a "jog" and ended up running 26 miles without stopping.  I wanted that energy.  I wanted to know what the clean eating could do to my endurance.  I had been eating clean for 5 months and I had never felt better in my life.  And I was in my 40s!  Seeing that quote resonated with me.  I didn't want to turn back to my regular life.  I wanted to see greatness.  I wanted to know what it felt like and how it played out in one's life.  I went home from CA inspired to move mountains..   I just didn't know what mountains to move.  I was lost for months trying to figure out what to do and it took me a year to discover that the mountain that had to be moved was ME.  Now granted there were external struggles pulling me back from my journey to incredible health.  There were decisions, BIG decisions I had to make when I got home that stressed me out and apparently I can't focus on healthy when I'm stressed.  Then 3 months later I was in a car accident that kept me from training for pretty much anything.  Apparently I don't eat healthy when I'm depressed.  Who knew? 

But what does greatness call for?  What does it demand?  To DO IT ANYWAY!  Find a way.  Do what you are capable of and don't play the victim.  Greatness calls you to make up your mind and not look back.  Greatness requires you to listen to God (some people call it your gut, your heart, your soul) and let that call to action be enough to take you to the next level. 

What did the ME Mountain say?  "You aren't used to succeeding, you are used to dreaming", "you don't actually DO anything, you just start them and quit", "of course something is going to happen to make this the hardest thing you have ever done, it always does.  Just wait for it".  Horrible things were said on that mountain.  BUT if you keep pushing for the truth it will come up.  If you are willing to listen to something other than the sabotaging thoughts in your mind you can start to hear God again, calling you to greatness.  Then instead of looking through the eyes of doubt you can start to look through the eyes of FAITH.  Whew, what a view that is!  God has given me a passion for health and wellness.  He is even giving me an outlet, a path to freely explore this passion and the ability to change lives.  One of those outlets is Incredible Health Farms, an aquaponics farm that my dad and I are building starting this year.  This started out as a vision that my dad had of finding a way to make money while mingling and preaching the truth to any community that God puts on your heart to live in.  An aquaponics farm starts by growing fish and using the nutrients from the fish to feed the plants.  You get to sell the fish and the produce and it's 100% organic (if you of course, jump through all the hoops to verify it).  Everything is grown in greenhouses and the nutrients pass through a water system.  I could talk at length about the sustainability factor in growing 450,000 lbs of produce a year on 5 acres but that's not what this blog is about.  (Pretty cool though, right?)  I can just leave it as a farm that provides produce to our community.  What the produce gets to do is feed MANY people the very best foods available for their bodies and that's great.  Or I can go a step further and help transform people's lives with this farm.  Do what I set out to do with this blog, this journey of mine to incredible health.  Those who are dying from food related illnesses can be healed by these beautiful plants that God gave us to reproduce year after year after year.  People's lives are going to change, including mine.  God is going to send us the sick and we are going to help them.  Through the eyes of faith I see this.  Part of me is scared to even post this because then it's out there.  I have to walk the walk and talk the talk for a greater purpose.  I have to find a way to be healthy when I'm stressed because others out there will need to know how to as well.  That's what greatness calls for.  The leap of faith and the determination to see it through no matter what the obstacles.  There are other mountains, smaller mountains that will get moved throughout this process but they won't be as big as this one.  It's time to follow my heart to GREATNESS!  What is your call to greatness?