​Growing up, we didn’t get cable until I was in high school. On the basic channels, they would feature hunting (and fishing) shows on Saturday mornings.
 
Just about every week it would be my routine. Saturday morning get up, head straight down to the basement, and binge watch whatever shows they would play.
 
Although I enjoyed watching them all, my absolute favorites were the shows that featured horseback style hunts in the mountains. To me, this was the pinnacle. (and how a boy growing up in the Midwest, the Rocky Mountains seemed like a world away.)
 
Now, living out west, I am surrounded by both the mountains I used to daydream of and by a culture that idolizes horses. That catalyst that first got me on this horsemanship journey was a documentary put out by Heroes and Horses. It is called “500 Miles”. That film exposed me to the idea of mustangs, progressive trainers, and natural horsemanship.
 
I was hooked.
 
One of the points they made in the show was that “horses are a reflection of you”. Now, I heard that; but, the first time I brushed it off. Then, I would watch another program about horses and horse training. Again, I heard the saying. It is easy to ignore it when you hear it once; but, after you hear it repeated several times, you start to pay attention.
 
Now, having worked with Dart for months, I can honestly tell you that saying is 100% correction.
 
The more and more I work with Dart, the more and more I realize that I am staring at (and often talking to) a reflection of myself.
 
He has a huge amount of talent and ability; but, for some reason, can be hesitant to want to use it… yep.
 
He self-sabotages… guilty.
 
From a training perspective, we (as humans) expect to make huge gains. Not only do we expect every session to start off where the last session ended; but, we also expect large leaps of progress every time we work with the horse. Anything but that and we start to feel a bit let down…
 
…isn’t that so “human” of us!
 
Think about your goals.
 
Whether professional (getting a promotion, making more money, starting a business, etc.) or personal (getting back in shape, learning a new hobby, working on relationships, etc.) we expect to make big gains in progress. It is easy to stay motivated when everything is going great! But, what about when you start to plateau? When you progress is flat… what then?
 
Working with Dart, I am reminded not to shoot for (or expect to) make huge improvements every day. Instead, I am looking for 1%.
 
If we can just try and get 1% better every day, (eventually) those “1%’s” are going to stack up.
 
We will look back and be amazed at how far we have come.

​We've all heard that saying, sometimes it's “two steps forward, one step back.”
 
Trying to make progress (no matter what it is regarding) can be frustrating. Working with Dart has been no different.
 
We’ve had it where you could get a halter on him; but, you’d have to lure him out of the larger pasture into a smaller pen. Then, essentially, you'd get him in a corner. Eventually, he’d let you get up to him, and then he’d squirrel away towards the gate. Then you’d get him back into the corner, and towards the gate he’d go again. Eventually, he’d finally give up on the games and let you get the halter on him. Sure, it was nice to be able to halter him and work on other things; but, I just knew this wasn’t sustainable.
 
My fear was that the process of getting the halter on wasn’t built on a solid foundation. You hear stories of being out on a trail, a horse getting spooked, and then they run 10 miles back to the truck. It’s not that you can ever 100% avoid that from happening; but, I want to make sure the foundation is set that he feels safety being near me (or any human). That when he gets spooked or feels fear, he knows being near me is the safest place he can be (not 10 miles away at the truck).
 
So, instead of focusing on building upon the groundwork we have been doing, I decided it was best to take a step back and re-evaluate getting the halter on him. Trying a different approach.
 
The goal, to set up a better routine so (long term) catching him isn’t just a big “to do”.
 
Is this frustrating? Of course. For me, I constantly want to be building upon what we did last session. As humans, we think we are going to start off the next sessions right where the last session left off. Well, as much as we would like that to be the case, in life (and working with horses) it doesn’t always work out that way.

The lower the bar, the easier it is to reach. People expect less of you, and that is easy to live up to; but, what if you were meant for more?
 
Working with Dart, I can feel his resistance to change. His resistance to raising the expectations on himself. The more we work, the more we accomplish, the more we both know what he can do, the higher the expectations placed on him.
 
That can be an uncomfortable feeling.
 
Once those expectations are raised, people assume it is set in stone. We have done something before. So, a new floor on our performance is established… right?
 
That would be nice; but, life doesn’t always take a trajectory upwards and to the right.
 
Life is a series of ups and downs.
 
Progress is raising our expectations (and standards) for ourself; but, appreciating we may fall short at times. Those shortfalls aren’t permanent.
 
What is important it to acknowledge where we are, have an unwavering belief in what we are capable of, and continuing to take steps forward (no matter how large or small).

​You ever see, or come across, things that kind of make you stop pause?
 
I had that the other day. I came across a post on Instagram from an organization that I follow called Heroes and Horses. They do a lot of work with Mustangs and with servicemen and women. They help them get through all sorts of different issues (be it psychological, emotional, etc.). They help them to move on from their past experiences and work their way through the hardships they've endured to find (and refine) their purpose. To move forward with their lives.
 
So, they had this post and it made me stop and think. It gave me some clarity.
 
The quote was, “The conditions of the world only reflect your feelings. The outside mirrors the inside.” 

I don't know about you; but, there are times where not everything goes right.
 
We accumulate losses.
 
It made me realize that for the last 10 years plus, I've been essentially a victim to what I thought was happening to me. When, in fact, they may have been happening for me.
 
Ed Mylett is an entrepreneur that I follow, and he's got this book that I just recently listened to on Audible. It is called “The Power of One More”. In it, he talks about how giving things one more try, one more attempt, one more effort. In doing so, maybe that “one more” is the difference between where you've been and where you're going.
 
Maybe (just maybe) that is going to be the catalyst in life you've always dreamed of.
 
I have believed that (sometimes to a fault). In doing so, I've lost a lot of credibility with family and friends.
 
I've always been that idea person. (Maybe you're the same way?) You've always been that dreamer. You can see a concept (or see an idea), you can see the value in it, you can see what it can grow into. You're not just in the present, seeing what it is today, but you can see what it can be in the future.
 
That has bit me in the butt time and time again.
 
Getting super frustrated the “L’s” keep stacking up.
 
I've had so many things that I've done in the past that are no longer viable.
 

1. I wanted to go back and run my family's business. Wasn't invited back. I was told there's no room for me. Go get a job.
2. I get a job, get promoted right away; but, I'm not a kiss ass. I am not one to tell people just want they want to hear. I tell them my honest opinion and what I think they need to hear. I rubbed some of the upper management the wrong way and I was let go from that company
3. I go to start my own company. That doesn’t work out.
4. I had a podcast and internet radio show. Those are no longer running.
5. Go to work for in-laws, that didn't work out. So, now there's two family businesses that I wasn't welcome in.
6. I connect my parents to some new business and investing opportunities. Those started off great, ended up as scams. (What a shit show.)

 
I see all of these people that have been successful, they have achieved their dreams and more, and I think to myself “they are no smarter than me.” I am not an idiot. Why has nothing clicked up to this point.
 
People will tell you that you’ve tried; but, maybe it is time to just lower your expectations.
 
But you can’t.
 
You are a dreamer, and you know you were put on this earth for more.
 
So, I read that quote and I thought about the losing streak I’ve been on. I realized that my outside (my results) is a reflection of my inside (not feeling worthy of success); but, then all of a sudden something comes around that gives a little bit of a hope.
 
It's a little bit of a light and you start to look at it and you're thinking… Hmm, maybe this is it?
 
For me, it happened this spring.
 
My father-in-law had purchased a Mustang, not the car the horse, from a local organization that trains these animals and gives them homes. Gives them purpose and finds them new opportunities. They're not like a regular domestic horse. They need work. You need to keep up with them. You need to keep working at it in order to keep progressing. Otherwise, the chances are that they could regress.
 
There are so many parallels between horses and humans. When I look and talk with this horse, it is like I am looking and talking to a reflection of myself.
 
He's shown so much potential. He's shown what he can do; but, then whatever he gets put in a situation to where that progression's not nurtured, he starts to regress.
 
I feel like my life has been the same way. I’ve talked a big game, started to show progress towards my goals, and then something knocks me back and causes me to regress.
 
I can self-sabotage with the best of them.
 
After some self-reflection, thinking over this quote, and having listened to Ed’s book; I get this feeling that Dart (the 12-year-old Mustang) is that catalyst my life has been working up to. The amount that I've learned about myself when working with him has made me realize this is something that I want to do forever.
 
Am I going to be some professional horse trainer? Who knows?
 
I don’t know the path this is going to take; but, I am certain this is a journey I am meant to be on.

Taking a step back and focusing, doesn't mean you have given up on the dream.

Sometimes you have to take a step back, to take a leap forward.

You will never have all of the answers. You will never have the complete blueprints on how to build the plane. All you can do is jump and trust that you will be able to put it together before you hit the ground.

People default to "working out".

People working out generally associate progress with sweating, getting tired, and feeling sore; but, are they actually experiencing any progress?

Are they working towards a specific goal?
Following a detailed plan?

"Working out" is like being "busy".

Sure, you are getting a lot of "things" done, but are they the right things?

Are you getting closer to your goals, or just getting tired at the end of day?

Training equates to productivity.

Training is purposeful action towards a goal. There is a rhyme and a reason to everything you do when you train.

Just like there should be a purpose behind all of your actions when you are focused on being productive.

You think you can do it all on your own; but, the truth is, the business will only grow as far as you're willing to grow. Left to your own devices, you can't reach your full potential on your own. Reaching your full potential (which is a moving target you will never hit) involves extreme growth and breaking out of your comfort zone.

You can do that on your own to a point; but, eventually it will get so difficult, you will naturally start to let up on the gas.

One of our brain's jobs is to protect us. So, no matter what you do, complacency is almost unavoidable.
​
Unless you have a great team around you to kick you in the ass.