What an electric experience!! If you missed the broadcast, I’ve got two versions of my run shared below. One is the version edited for broadcast, and the other is a Behind-The-Scenes style angle filmed vertically on a phone behind the camera line. On that one I have added my own commentary to talk a little about what was going on in my mind while I was running the course.
“Size matters not. Judge me by my size do you? Hmm? And where you should not. For my ally is the force, and a powerful ally it is.” Yoda
I was always the smallest kid in my classes at school. I recall a memory of being in a gym class maybe in 6th grade, in a line of kids taking turns to shoot free throws. As I stepped up to the line, the teacher, noticing my small size, motioned for me to take a step or two in front of the foul line.
I’m sure I looked confused for a moment until I figured out she was trying to give me some extra help. She didn’t think I could do it. Or maybe she just wanted to help me because she felt bad about my “disadvantage”.
Either way, she was underestimating me and my abilities, and I was a bit insulted at the offer. I didn’t want an easier shot or special treatment. I wanted to do the shot by the same standards as everybody else, even if I missed. “Judge me by size, do you?” I could’ve written that line.
Sometime we are underestimated by others, and sometimes we even underestimate ourselves. In both cases it seems we have a simple choice of how we respond to it: You can choose to believe it, or you can use it as motivation for your success.
You already know which one is the right choice.
Wise, you are.
Have I told you lately I’m gonna be on TV tonight? Catch me on an all new Ninja Warrior tonight (July 7th) at 8pm eastern, 7pm central and next day streaming on Peacock TV
Y’all, I wish I could give you a sense of what it’s like to step up onto that platform. The energy is like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. There are no practice runs. You only get one shot at it. You don’t know how any obstacle is going to feel or respond until you actually engage with it and put your weight on it. The cameras are focused on you. The lights, the crowd, the countdown… the nerves and adrenaline are off the scale! A fellow ninja once told me of her first experience, “I thought I was going to throw up.”
I was 44 when I first saw American Ninja Warrior come across my radar. I randomly stumbled upon a commercial for season 4, and I was stopped dead in my tracks. I stood there with my mouth open thinking, “Where has this been all my life, and how do I sign up??” I knew right then I had to find that course and beg for an opportunity to run it. I went straight to the computer and searched to find out anything I could. I learned they were casting for season 5. I figured it was a long shot, but I submitted my application and then forgot all about it. A few months went by and the phone rang with my first callback and introduction into the world of ninja.
It all came at a time in my life when I was in somewhat of a mid-life crisis. I was still in pretty good shape for my age, but I found myself looking back on my youth with a great deal of regret for never having gotten involved in a high school or college-level sport. Small as I was, I had always been athletic, doing swim team, playing church-league basketball and softball, and intramural flag football in college. But I never had a sport to truly call my own, and I had never tried competing on any kind of real stage. Now I was aging out. I felt as though I had missed, and even squandered, the opportunities available to me in my youth. That was hard to swallow. And people just don’t get involved in high-level sports in their mid-40’s. That’s when those athletes retire.
But I felt like I still had something left, and something to prove. And I sure didn’t want to live with the regret of not trying. I knew my skill-set. I grew up playing in the woods, climbing trees, swinging on vines, and hopping across logs and rocks in the creeks. So anything that involved agility, balance, climbing, or swinging… well, that was right up my alley. And there, my small size is a great asset. I had finally found my sport. Better late than never. And I love that it’s a solo sport, because it’s all on me. If it goes south, I’ve got no one to blame but myself.
Sometimes I wonder, if I had never sent in that application, what I’d be doing now, and how my life would be different. I don’t know, but I’m certain I’d spend a lot of time in regret for not having tried. As they say, you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.
I feel like I got a second chance at my youth. I’m eternally grateful for that and feel so lucky. It’s like a winning lottery ticket, but instead of something worldly, like money, you get something priceless, like time. A second chance. A do-over. Imagine that feeling. That’s what it’s like. And that explains the look on my face.
I’d be honored if you’d watch THIS Monday night, July 7th, on NBC at 8pm eastern, 7pm central (or the next day on PeacockTV).
One day back in 2018 I was walking in downtown Greenville when a man passing by recognized me and asked if I was Bootie. Of course I said I was, and he introduced himself as Clark. We chatted for a minute, I happily obliged his request for a photo together, and then we went our separate ways. It was just a random encounter, and I had no reason to give it any other thought. I certainly had no reason to think I would one day sing at his funeral.
At some point after our meeting on the street, Clark happened to add the photo of us into his online dating profile. And through that dating site, he happened to reach out to a longtime friend of mine, Nancy. Nancy saw the photo of Clark and me together, figured he must be okay, and a common connection was made! After some time dating, Nancy and Clark got married. This was a second marriage for each of them, and it was the happiest time of their lives. I got to reconnect with Clark a handful of times, all too short.
Two weeks ago we were all shocked to learn Clark had died in a tragic accident at home.
Nancy asked if I would sing at the funeral. They both enjoyed the old hymns. I’ve been away from these old tunes and enjoyed reacquainting myself with them. The first is “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”, and also a short instrumental medley of “How Great Thou Art” and “He Leadeth Me.”
My heart breaks for Nancy and everyone connected to Clark. These kinds of moments are awful, painful reminders of how precious Life is for all of us, and each new day. Peace and Love.
From Clark’s obituary: “Clark was a certified public accountant with a career spanning over 45 years. He was a senior tax accountant at Price Waterhouse, a partner with KPMG, and the CFO of TriVergent Corporation. He was the CFO and a partner of First Sun Management Corporation since 2002. His work at First Sun provided joy and fulfillment in his daily life, as well as the friendships and bonds he developed there.
He had a deep connection to nature and raised livestock, including Tunis sheep, on the family farm in Gray Court. Later, he loved spending time outdoors with his wife Nancy hiking, biking, and traveling across North America, Europe, and the Middle East. An avid fan of the TV show “Top Chef,” he relished seeking out new culinary experiences on their travels.”
This one was fun. Listen with your good earbuds or headphones on sometime to get the full mix. You’ll miss a lot on a phone or built-in speakers.
I was around 20 years old when I watched Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” for the first time. I was fully-engrossed. There’s a lot of great stuff on that album and in that movie, and this song has remained one of my favorites. Enjoy!
This was my first trip to a WNL World Championship, and it was awesome!
2,300 competitors from 11 countries qualified and competed in Greensboro, NC, as young as 6 years old, and up to over 60. There were 107 competitors in my division, Male Masters (Masters means ages 40+). I finished 10th overall in the Discipline Circuit, and 19th overall in the Stages. Congratulations to all the athletes, especially the podium winners from the Masters squad in the various categories: Tim Lazzarevich, Scott Behrends, Rick Hinnant, Terry England, Michael Archer.
So many people are discovering obstacle fitness. If you have the smallest idea that you or your kids might enjoy ninja competition, please seek out a local gym in your area and try it out!! I’m amazed at the amount of work that goes into this event. Props to the @WorldNinjaLeague and all involved!
Early in my guitar playing, maybe 30 years ago, I knew I wanted to one day be able to play anything by James Taylor. But I think there was a part of me that thought it might just be too difficult. Regardless, I figured I’d give it a try. So I closed the door to my room and sat with my guitar and a cassette tape of JT’s greatest hits (for you young’ns, this does not mean Justin Timberlake. Also, you can google what a cassette tape is after this is over).
I would play about a measure on the tape and then stop it, and then I’d fiddle around on the guitar until I either found it, or had to rewind the cassette a bit and listen again. After a few hours of this I sat back and realized I was doing exactly what I thought I couldn’t do before, I was playing it all the way through. It was a lesson in not doubting myself, and not giving up on something before I even tried.
I’m sure there’s plenty of debate about which Carolina is being lauded here, but I’m content to be pretty evenly divided. While South Carolina is my home, I’ve got some special connections with the North Carolina mountains, as well. I recall days of driving I-26 and I-40, windows down, listening to JT sing what I was feeling in my heart, whether it was anticipating my destination or leaving what was behind me. Or maybe a little of both.
Bootie Cothran 