After the breakdown in Ohio, I did make it to Chicago.

Walking around in Chicago, something triggers an old anger. The old conversations start running through my head. I should have said this. Next time, I’ll say that. And when I say “old” anger, I’m talking about 10+ years old. The fact is, there is never going to be a next time. It’s just for me to let go of… somehow.

I stop in the middle of the sidewalk and look over a landscape I’ve never seen before. Here, in a place I’ve never been, I still am me.

I’ve told people for years, almost decades now, that you never leave yourself behind. Moving to a different place isn’t going to change you. It’s just going to give you a different perspective that you can either use… or not.

You know that, right? You know you never leave yourself, right?

Of course, we all know that. But, some of us have experienced it.

To Know is nothing…

It’s that experience that gives us truth.

Experiential knowledge is far more valuable than academic knowledge.

Put the books down. You don’t need one more blog post to be sure. Just, go and do.

Learning a base knowledge to apply in a situation is vastly important, but if you never put yourself in a situation, the applicable knowledge is useless.

Can you imagine having been told 2 + 7 = 9, but never seeing a pile of two things lumped in with a pile of seven things? What would 2 + 7 = 9 mean to you? Would it really have value?

What is really valuable?

Experience

If something isn’t working for you, what exactly is the problem doing something you know isn’t going to work?

You’re in the same place. It’s not “working”. But, now, you’ve got an experience doing that second thing.

Experience offers two things: a story and a lesson if you let it.

At the end of the day, when you do something you already know how to do – something that is statistically going to turn out “bad” – you already have the worse case scenario in mind. The end result of your action can only be better or equivalent to your expectation. Except in every case, an action results in an experience – a story – and that experience is something you didn’t have before.

No two experiences are identical. You should be able to learn something – however small – from the new experience.

It’s OK to do something that feels like the right thing to do even if your mind is unable to discern a rational outcome from the action.

You haven’t experienced it, yet.

And you have no idea what that experience, story, or lesson will enable you to be or do – good or ill.

Go ahead and create your story. Don’t worry if you know how something is going to turn out. If something deep inside is telling you to do it, then go ahead.