There is No Team in I

This is another one of those counter intuitive, counter culture posts that I often come up with because I am a counter intuitive, counter culture, swim upstream, shout at the Devil kind of guy.

And this post will not be for everybody.  In fact, it won't be for most people.  Because for the most part, most people don't understand people who are perfectly fine being alone.

I've had several encounters, experiences and discussions recently that support this premise.

I was telling a few women in my hiking group about my Pacific Coast Bicycle Tour - 56 days 2350 miles down the Pacific Coast and the first question one woman asked was "Were you with a group?" to which I replied "No - I was alone" to which she replied "Well, I'm certain you worked out quite a few things on that trip" - I guess implying that the only reason I went alone was because I had some life issues to work out.  I started to reply "No -  I just enjoy doing long distance tours alone because it allows me to do what I want to do during the ride without having to worry about inconveniencing someone else or a group" but I just smiled and said "Yeah - I guess so".

I was talking to another woman at a local dance club the other day and she was inquiring about my life and I told her I had been married twice but will likely never marry again and she just bluntly came out and asked "So how do you like being alone?"  This time I bluntly replied back "I like it fine. It's a lot less work, a lot less hassle and a lot less money.  I don't have to worry about taking care of somebody else."

There are those that might suggest that I ran away from my family, my work, my marriages and society in general when I moved to Santa Fe.

I even have a friend of mine that regularly comments on how self-consumed I am.

I just tell her - "Yeah - you're right. I am kinda self consumed.  I took care of everybody else in my life for 40 years, gave away 2 small fortunes to my 2 wives and have given up on making money, being rich and having a "meaningful" career and now just focus on eating, working out, sleeping, dancing, hiking, biking, drinking coffee and learning and writing about how to live a healthier, happier and longer life.  Damn - I must be miserable."

I work on myself on the inside and out.  I work on being good to myself and nice to those I come in contact with.  I share discussions with new people always being open to the opportunity and concept of finding someone I might have a connection with.

But in reality, I am a pretty out of bounds, fringe, weird and eccentric person who doesn't fit in well with society but stands out in a crowd.

I get more propositions from men than women, stick to a clean eating plan, work out like a mad man and live a conservative, debt-free life.

I marvel at the Mob Mentality that surrounds our current President - not that I endorse him or anything he says or stands for - I just marvel that people won't give the guy a chance especially after 61 million people of this nation voted for him.

I tend to be for the Underdog.  I like to take the other side of a crowded trade and I always cast a wary eye to a scene that looks too good or too bad to be true.

I wanna live forever but will happy to live to be 70 just as long as I am banging out an Rx CrossFit workout when I die.

I have been counseled by pastors, preachers, psychiatrists, wives, kids, mentors, bosses, networkers, assholes, angels, friends and enemies and from what I can tell and from all the benefit they provided me - none of them had a fucking clue what I was about or how to help me be a better person.

That role and responsibility rests resolutely on the shoulders of one man....

Me.

And the last time I looked in the mirror....

I was the only one standing there.