Last summer during the Triathlon Across America, we ran into some pretty tough neighborhoods…
There was no doubt that they were poverty struck communities that definitely needed a little bit of love.
There was one specific 3-day stretch where Kowalski and I experienced an ice cream parlor on the South Side of Chicago, a Watermelon stand off the highway in Gary, Indiana and a park in the outskirts of South Bend…
Needless to say, when a couple shirtless white dudes rolled up into their neighborhood, they were a bit taken aback… Yet when we approached all 3 places, we made sure we had big smiles on our faces flowing as much positive energy and love that we could exude.
Not surprising, we struck up a hilarious conversation on the South Side of Chicago with a group of people that couldn’t believe we were running to New York, then we celebrated Watermelon and created the official “watermelon chant” with the stand worker, and then shot hoops with a crew in South Bend that wanted us to run a few games with them…
When we go into an area scared, timid and standoffish, people are either going to respond the exact same way or they are going to sense your weakness and take advantage of your vulnerability…
At the same time, if we come in aggressively with a tough guy mentality looking for confrontation, you will assuredly meet your match.
Yet, when we arrive with a confident aura, positive energy and big ass grin, there is a good chance we find ourselves holding court at the ice cream parlor, creating the watermelon crawl and knocking down 3’s with our dudes at the park…
Bottom line: It’s not about where you roll, it’s HOW you roll.
-EB