Pens and Paper at Panera

The seeds of greatness are in those elbows pictured above...
The other day I organized a little 'brainstorming breakfast' at Panera with a few people whose minds I seriously respect. (Minds, that by no small coincidence, are part of my running dream team.) Minds that transcend 'the box'. I hate that colloquialism: 'the box'. So much so? I invented my own NEW colloquialism: anti-perimeter thinking. (I will make sure to beat it like a dead horse throughout this post. Wink...) I got these guys together so we could build a basis of camaraderie, mutual support, and creative thinking. And...perhaps...a little bit of self-congratulating for giving our respective selves permission to bow out of the 'bigger, better, faster' race...
I remember reading in an article about leading an optimized life that if you want to see who your real friends are, tell them your wildest dreams and plans. There's some truth to that; I've gotten my fair share of those funny "huh?" looks in my years: starting a business, homeschooling, moving to Texas on a whim, and now massive downsizing in order to fund full-time adventure... And another reason for brainstorm breakfast is cast...having some company on what may be a lonely road sure is nice.
And lonely roads are something each of us is well acquainted with. It's not without some interest that I observe that we each have long distance running in common. The sociologist in me begs the questions: is there a disproportionate number of LD runners that think outside the perimeters? Do runners tend to be anti-perimeter thinkers? Or do anti-perimeter thinkers tend to be runners? And round and round my brain goes... But the real point is this: it was refreshing to share how each of us is reformulating our lives on our own terms. Looking at where we are in the process. Discussing some of the challenges and opportunities for restarts. And what came out as a simplified business plan: passion (discover your passion) - following (create an online community or 'following') - business (leverage captive audience)...can easily be turned around as a life mantra: business following passion (create a business around following your passion).
And alas the seeds can germinate.