There are days when you do not feel as though you want to go out there
and do the things that have come to define your life. You get up in the
morning. You eat the same cereal. You then pour the coffee in the same
way as you have done the last 1000 times before. You look around at
everything that you either own or have in your possession. Yet life
loses its meaning. This is real life.

You could be describing
the inner thoughts of an accountant, the desires of a school teacher or
the wishes of a librarian. Yet these thoughts are those of an Extreme
Sportsman. You would not have thought that, would you?

Looking
around at our lifestyle, it seems as though every day we are living the
dream. The majority of us are living the same dreams as the majority of
the human race, looking for the next bill to fall through the door and
hoping that the next pay check covers the cost of the Childrens
birthday presents.

The media makes out that we are living the
dream, yet this is only for a few seconds in a day. The media is not
there when you are up as the dawn stains the sky and when you fall flat
on your face as the board you ride bites into the rail faster than you
thought. They are not there when mid-ride the chain falls, breaks and
you are forced to kneel in freezing mud to put it back on. They are not
interested when an Extreme Escapologist escapes 450 handcuffs in two
hours just to be ready for the next weeks competition.

These
are the days that Meat loaf sung about in Lifes a Lemon and I Want My
Money Back. These are the days that even if you are a double world
record holder, or even if you are the most talented person alive, these
are the days that make you want to simply say, I quit.

Just in
the same way as there are days for everyone else in the world, there
are days where something happens and it makes you want to walk away.


Then something happens: It could be that you get some nice feedback
from the boss. It might be that you make the board do exactly what you
want it to do, or even that something finally goes right, but something
magical happens.

When these days happen, suddenly quitting is
the last thing on your mind. The thought of walking away from a sport
or a situation that gives you so much pleasure is the last thing on
your mind. When these days happen, you can conquer the world.


Sometimes in life, days like these are few. In others lives, these days
are as common as the sun going down or the moon coming up. Yet a few
things unite them all: These are the days that make you continue. These
are the days that make you stay. These are the days that make life
worth living.

Some people find these days at work when they
get their monthly paycheck. Some get them when they help someone in
trouble. Some get them when they make others marvel at what they can do
with a plank of wood and four wheels. It does not matter where these
days come from, as long as they come into your life. If these days are
not there, then maybe it is time to find them.