I want to do more. I am not doing enough. I need to train harder. I need to train longer.

These are all common themes when developing a training plan with an athlete. It doesn't matter what sport is involved, the questions and concerns always revolve around these issues or a variant on one of these themes.

But what is the real underlying intent or motivation? Is it as obvious as it sounds?

Not always.

It is important to get down to the underlying motivation, context, and behaviors that drive the discussion in order to optimize the athlete's training - both physically and mentally.

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Two weeks between episodes always seems like a lot of time. But as I have found, time seems to keep on ticking along, faster and faster every day. I can remember my mother telling me as a child that I should enjoy how slow time goes by when you are young, because it gets faster as you get older. Once again, Mom was right.

Each two week cycle takes us a little closer to March Madness … to summer … to a federal election. Well, I guess two out of three ain’t so bad, and you can pick the two.

It’s time for Episode 35, a time for the economics of Wall Street, the economics of the New York Knicks, and the economics of Obamacare.

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When I first started playing the guitar, I gravitated towards the blues. Over a relatively short period of time and self-teaching, I began playing in coffee houses, campus pubs, and eventually open mics (and my own short-lived band) here in Austin.

Music has always given me a creative outlet, a means of self expression and self reflection. You can learn a lot of things while playing blues guitar in front of a live audience of 1 or 100. In retrospect, playing blues guitar taught me some important things about the art of teaching.

Although it might sound crazy,there are definitely some distinct commonalities between playing live blues guitar and standing in front of a classroom leading a group of students on a learning adventure.

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Get busy living. It was as simple as that.

For 17 days I was in a hospital room at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario – one of the best teaching facilities to be found anywhere in the region, if not the nation. I was under the care of highly-trained gastroenterologists that would lead me back to a world of health.

That’s the logical side of me speaking. For all intents and purposes, it felt like being in prison – or what I would imagine that feels like. Suddenly I was away from my family, my friends, and school. It was a long 17 days. There was a lot of time to wonder. And reflect. And mourn. And wonder some more. And think. A lot.

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