Yeah, it’s true.  There really are only two things that matter to me…..my Family, and Cycling.  Seriously, if I could fill my days with nothing other than these two things I would consider myself an utter success.  My Family and the Bike matter so much to me, that I’ve spent the past few years carving out a life that allows me to have these two things as my ultimate daily priorities.

Inside I’ve always known how mucho important these things are to me, but it wasn’t until I wrote this line in a recent post that I realized that nothing else really even matters to me: “Family and Bikes.  If I have that, then I have all I need.  The rest is just STUFF.”

But what happens when it comes to money and sustaining yourself so that the majority of time can be spent on these two things?  I’m not a Pro Cyclist who gets paid to ride a bike.  I may think of myself as a Pro Family Man…..but I have yet to meet someone who will pay me to be a Dad and Husband.  So what do I do? I have been lucky enough I have purposely created my own culture so that I primarily work from home, and have moved our Family around to locations such as our present home of Austin, where cycling is King and the weather makes it doable all year round.

However, as I find myself focusing more and more on my Family and the Bike, the idea of making money and building a career have totally taken the back seat.   But things have been weighing heavily on me lately and I’m searching out ways to balance my two main loves with that crazy little notion of making cash.

I know I have just a touch of “dreamer” in me, and I envision someone bringing me that paradise job offer which allows me to focus on my two loves letting me spend valuable time with my Family…teaching my kids about the world….and having no other priorities when I’m enjoying these moments.  Of course this offer also includes a whole lot of cycling time….and why not throw in a little world travel cycling along with it as well?

What have you done to fuel your passions in life?

Last week a good buddy of mine said to me…“If you’re as busy as you say you are, how can you get out there for all those two and three hour rides?”. “Priorities, my friend”, was my simple reply.  In essence there are only three main ingredients that fill my days….Family, Cycling, and Work.  If I’m good with those three then I’m doing alright.  This blog contains a little bit of all three categories, so you know it’s definitely up there on my priority list.

Everything else gets done when I have the time, but the only thing on my mind each and every day is making sure that my core priorities get satisfied. But how do I do it?  Well, I’m far from having it all running nice and slick….there are definitely days when I don’t feel that I spent enough time with my family, or felt like I was running around in 10 different directions without really getting anything done.

It’s I’m a work in progress.

But what does seem to work is being totally in the moment.  When I’m working, it gets my full attention.  It’s my goal to spend each and every working moment being productive so that I can accomplish as much as possible during that time.  If I’m with my Family, I need to be 100% with them.  Not checking messages on my phone or computer…and being completely in the moment. When I’m on the bike….it’s all about the bike.

I do find however, that when I’m out cycling my mind is constantly coming up with cool ideas for posts, tweets, and also ideas for my day job as well.  I guess even Einstein knew where to find his inspiration:

I thought of that while riding my bicycle.

– Albert Einstein

I love being in the moment when I’m out riding, but I also really enjoy it when I’m out there and my mind is racing with thoughts.  I often wish I had a voice recorder with me to make sure I remember what I was thinking during a ride.

Us humans are incredible beings….if we push ourselves, there is so much more that we can accomplish.  With clear priorities, good focus, and passion we are able to take on the world.

And win.