This past weekend, several thousand people gathered in Hawaii — to race, to dream, to visit Albert’s floating espresso bar… my hat’s off to them. They heard the calling and followed their hearts.

September was my brother’s birthday and he pinged Facebook with the observation that he was a bit sad that Chuck Month had come to a close. I commented, “why stop at a month,” and a friend of our’s replied that I’d been enjoying Birthday Month for 40 years.

My buddy blew my cover!

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My previous article tossed out a list of values — money, fitness, skill, beauty, relative performance.

A friend wrote that my list appeared superficial and shared her list — honesty, loyalty, humor, intelligence, tenacity.

This reminded me:
A – Values are reflected in what we do.
B – To transcend superficiality, requires consistent effort.
C – Our popular media is a reflection of ourselves.

When we look at our daily actions, what do they tell us about our beliefs?

Reading the blogs from Kona, I see both lists reflected in the writings of my pals.

What we see is a reflection of our values.

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My personal plan from September 2005 had me achieving financial freedom (and retiring) this month. I had my material life, and annual calendar, mapped out — I was supposed to be “set” starting next month.

I shared the historical plan with Monica and she noted that I was living my life exactly according to plan. All that was missing was the balance sheet and international property portfolio…

That got me thinking and I asked her to tell me when I appear most happy. I recommend that you do the same with the person closest to you.

By the way, the exercise is more powerful if you spend 15 minutes alone writing about your greatest successesbefore you ask that question.

Compare the lists!

Oh yeah, the two things that make me most happy are training all day and getting to the end of my inbox:

• Task completion
• Moderate aerobic exercise

Guess the oceanfront house in Santa Barbara wasn’t all that important after all.

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To be able to focus on living your dream, you’ll need the support of your inner circle. Remembering that happiness is irrational and impacted by others; here’s where your cover story plays a role.

Because we are always in our own heads, it’s natural to assume that the rest of the world thinks exactly like we do. They don’t.

Figuring out my own list took me the better part of my first 30 years and I still need to be constantly reminded of what really matters.

That said, if you look at my life then you’ll see that I’ve spent a decade creating a socially acceptable outlet for the insight from my first 30 years. The perfect cover story is an extremely long term game.

Similarly, our sport is filled with people that are being true to their hearts and dreams.

It’s a lot of fun to help them achieve their goals.