Paul came home with a scooter one day back in 2007. I was a little freaked out. After all, he didn’t even ask me. His only excuse is that he is a “manifester.”
He immediately did the right thing. He took me for a ride about 3 miles down the road to a factory parking lot and proceeded to teach me how to ride it by myself. It was a blast!
Within a month we got a second 50cc scooter so we could both ride. Paul had ridden a motorcycle most of his adult life until he got sober and met me. He gave up the bike in order to prioritize Recovery. And when we started our family, I was reluctant to have him on a motorcycle. But he had this plan cooking all along so once our daughter was grown, he manifested his plan.
The next year we upgraded (it was his strategy). He got a 250cc scooter and I got a 150cc and my motorcycle license.
I was hooked! It was the closest thing to flying I could think of (and I always dreamed of flying). It kinda felt like I was riding on a broomstick only just above the ground. Harry Potter was big in those days.
We love to ride! It is so fun. It’s the quickest way for me to experience real joy in my body. A few years later we upgraded to motorcycles. And they got bigger as we got better and more experienced.
We went on our first “tour” in 2012 with my sister Robin, and my brother-in-law Michael, who had been touring for years with their “Posse”. We flew out to Colorado and rode with 4 other couples (Ed’s Posse) up to the badlands of South Dakota for a week. Paul borrowed a bike from Michael. It was a spectacular week! Truly magnificent.
In 2014 we were on a tour in Canada (I was riding on the back of Paul’s Goldwing for that trip), and Paul had to make a quick stop. Unfortunately, we stopped over a deep drainage ditch and when he went to put his feet down, he couldn’t touch the ground so we went over. I put my hand out to brake my fall and I broke my wrist. OUCH!
We were with Robin & Michael on that trip. Robin, thank God, suggested we rent a car because I just couldn’t ride. I was so grateful and it was still a wonderful trip thanks to my sister. I’m telling you that story because in the following year, Paul and I decided to sell both of our bikes and we moved up to a Honda Goldwing Trike. We continued to ride and yet now I was in extreme comfort. I swear I feel like I’m in a lounge chair on the back of that trike.
It’s been the trike that has taken us to California (on old Route 66) and back in 2017. In 2018, we went North into Canada then across the north of our country into Montana and back. We stuck traveled down the east coast in 2019 and hung out in Virginia. So I’ve turned into an excellent navigator.
But as you can imagine, when I first got my motorcycle license, I didn’t start planning the cross-country trip. Everyone knows you build up to that.
It’s the same thing with leadership or speaking in front of an audience, or anything else you are starting for the first time.
You start with a desire, which usually comes in the form of excitement when you think about doing it, mixed with a bunch of fear. If you can get past the fear and step into the “practice” of leading a group, you develop confidence the more you practice. It just doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process of course.
Three years ago I bought Paul a 1977 Honda Goldwing and he finally was able to get it restored this past winter. Then last year he bought a 2009 Honda automatic so I could ride again with him! One of the reasons I sold my bike was because of wrist and hand problems and the gear shifting was a pain.
So last Saturday I rode a motorcycle for the first time since 2014! And guess what? My body remembered and my heart took flight. I was a little shaky at first but so happy to get out there cruising the back roads of Connecticut.
This week my guest on the Emerge. Evolve. Lead. podcast is Dan Reeves from the Spiritual Underground podcast. He’s a talented man who brought himself out of hell and into recovery using the gift of desperation.
He’s been on the journey in recovery for six years and after the initial work on himself, he soon began to help others. That’s not why a person gets sober, but it’s a natural next step to a more joyful life. And because of his practice of servant leadership, he now runs a spiritual men’s retreat for a full weekend each year!
The process of stepping into leadership happens quickly when you are surrounded by people who want to see you succeed and you have good mentors.
Dan has an amazing story so don’t miss this episode.
If you’ve had the thought to step into being a leader in some area of your life but feel some fear yet excitement around it, don’t stop yourself. Step into your full potential because your contribution matters!
And of course, live out loud doing what you LOVE to do. This life goes by too fast to be waiting for someone to pull you off the sidelines. You are responsible to do your best with your second chance.
All my best,
Maureen
P.S. If you’d like to work with me to help you take the next step in your career, please review my Recovery@Work Program and fill out the application to get started.
