Having just ended a recent college season, I was taking some time off and playing with my dog, a two year old Black Lab, named Moxie. We were up at an area near my house called Lake Mohegan. Basically it is a series of trails around a river and like. Big spot for dogs in the summer. Moxie loves it as she can be off the leash, chase squirrels, scents, yet at the same time know her master is there with her. She always runs off and comes back. I get some exercise and she runs a marathon.
It struck me how she, like many other dogs, is hard wired to chase sticks and balls and bring them back to me. This particular day I found a really good stick and I was throwing it in the water, around the trail, and no matter what she had to do, she brought this stick back to me. She was built to do this. It was like Peyton Manning under center, like a Maserati on the highway, she was singularly focused and nothing, NOTHING, would get in her way. Current in the river? No big deal. Another dog going for her stick...are you kidding me..."that stick has my name on it, get your own", she says.
It struck me that this is a great way to go through life. To know exactly what you want and to go full bore, 100% dedicated to getting it. It's the way I want my college kids to be, my own kids to be, and myself to be. It doesn't matter what stick you chase, as long as you chase it like Moxie.
