I felt invigorated waking up each morning in the midst of launching One Step Closer last fall. New opportunities to speak, write guest posts, and interact with readers made the years of writing, months of editing, and endless hours of learning and…
“Welcome to Dick’s Sporting Goods, do you have a rewards card with us?” My time working at the cash register in high school could easily be split into two categories: Before and After bonuses were introduced to cashiers as incentive…
I have been feeling pretty selfish lately. With every vaccination administered and restriction lifted, society inches closer to the type of normalcy we have not seen in over a year. And to be honest, I am not too thrilled about…
Do you ever get burned out by the commercialization of Easter? I know I do. I find myself entirely confused about how the greatest event in human history has gotten lost in a holiday celebration featuring bunnies, pastels, and candy.…
My interview on The Aggressive Life Podcast “Ryan, what’s your plan?” Not again. I knew where this was going. My dad brought this subject up every few months, concerned about my intentions for moving forward with my life after having become paralyzed…
As a young kid at the turn of the millennium, I gazed at my idols on my bedroom wall. After hours of cutting, taping, and organizing old Sports Illustrated magazine clippings, I finally felt content. My project was complete. Ken…
How did your 2020 reading go? While I can never keep up with Stephanie’s pace of approximately one book per week, I did manage to read roughly two books per month this year. Besides starting this blog in 2013, the…
Shortly after Thanksgiving, I watched intently as Stephanie put the final touches on our Christmas tree. I watched as she strung lights around the tree and carefully placed ornaments on the branches. The smell of hot cookies filled the air,…
I looked up with groggy eyes, making out the face of an acquaintance I had attended school with. He was apologizing for not yet having visited me during my first few weeks in the hospital but I could tell he…
How have you been holding up lately? Everywhere we look, we see physical suffering, vocational challenges, spiritual confusion, and emotional trauma. Odds are, you are currently going through something difficult mystery joker. As someone who went from feeling like I was…
