Health. The word itself conjures thoughts of New Year’s resolutions gone wrong, getting up at some ungodly hour to do whatever badass bootcamp-style workout was featured in GQ last month and…kale [whatever that is]. A few short years ago, I really didn’t care all that much, but in 2013 that all changed.
Faced with some pretty overwhelming stuff both personally and professionally I was looking for a way to get all the stress and anxiety out of my system. Most ad-dudes would take to their favorite scotch and I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t try that first, but it was conducive to fixing the underlying problem. I took to running. I hate running. If running were a person I would not hang out with them. I’ve sustained a few sports injuries over the years and running is one of the things that I can still do. Anyway, when I started it was rough. Then after a few weeks I saw marked improvement and it became somewhat of a drug - I NEEDED to do it. If I didn’t go running then I felt guilty.
A week ago, I notched my 500th mile [lifetime] which I think is pretty cool, but in the grand scheme of things I suppose it means absolutely nothing. How do I know I ran 500 miles? The Nike+ running app for my iPhone - this brings me to my next point. In addition to feeling guilty if I didn’t go running, I felt like I was being defeated by somebody else. I am about a competitive person as there is and I do not like it when I look at the ‘leaderboard’ on the app and I’m not at [or towards] the top [note: some of my friends run marathons and I have zero interest] then I become hell-bent on blowing past their mileage.
What does this all mean? Well, Obsidian had its best year to date in 2013 and I feel very strongly that it had to do with the balance that a health regimen brings. By definition I am an entrepreneur, I hate that word and I hate people that use it even more…kind of like when somebody talks about an idea that is really ‘organic’. Bottom line is that I own Obsidian. It’s mine and everything that I do is a reflection of my company and my company’s values AND by extension, the values of the companies and individuals that I represent. What I’m saying is this, if you don’t take care of yourself nobody else is going to. I just finished 5 miles, I’m hungry to knock it out of the park in 2014 and this post serves as a written notice to anyone and everyone that is standing or thinking about standing in my way. We will not be stopped and we will not be silenced and I will not rest until Obsidian Creative Management is a household name synonymous with cutting edge talent.
Do you think you can stop us? You’ll have to catch me first.
