I am a professional reminder-er and permission granter who moonlights as an artist, author, and speaker. I enjoy Star Wars, soft t-shirts, and brand new tubes of paint. My wife Kim and I homeschool our three weird kids and live in Wisconsin, where we eat way too many cheese curds.
โBorn For Thisโ by Jason Kotecki. 12 x 12. Oil on canvas. Original is SOLD ๐ด Shop this art!
Happy Sunday, Reader!
Greetings from Sheboygan, where Kim's latest iteration of Wonderhunt is underway! (It's not too late to trade feeling overwhelmed for feeling overjoyed.)
The Wright Brothers were the first to fly, but they weren't the first to try.
Not by a long shot.
For more than fifty years, humans had been actively working on the problem (after thousands of years of dreaming about it). Many brave people tried for years in vain, often at the cost of their very lives. Most considered it impossible.
But when the Wright Brothers succeeded, they became a match that lit the way forward.
They shared the joy of flying with others. In his first public demonstrations in Europe, Wilbur would take a passenger into the air with him. The brothers also eagerly trained new pilots. Soon after their success, countless others followed, and in short order, aviation boomed across the world.
After fifty years of collective failure, the work and the example of the brothers opened the floodgates. Orville himself lived to see aviation transformed by jet propulsion, the introduction of the rocket, and the breaking of the sound barrier in 1947. On July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong, another American born and raised in western Ohio, stepped onto the moon, he carried with him, in tribute to the Wright brothers, a small swatch of the muslin from a wing of their 1903 Flyer.
It reminds me of another pioneer named Roger Bannister, who was the first to run a mile in less than four minutes. People said it couldn't be done. Doctors suggested you could die in the process of even attempting it. And yet after Bannister proved it was possible, Australian John Landy did it himself just six weeks later.
But sometimes we need someone to show us a something can be done for us to believe we can do it ourselves.
One family Kim and I knew before having children was a match that sparked our own belief that we could travel with kids. Our daughter Lucy ended up on 34 flights before her first birthday.
And all the homeschooling parents we encountered who had raised successful children doing amazing things in the world were matches that gave us the confidence that maybe would could, too.
What if someone is waiting for you to be the example they need?
You and I, we're like matches.
A match is not made to sit in a box, unlit, forever. It was designed to create a fire, but not one kept to itself.
You were made with specific talents to achieve a specific purpose. Part of that purpose in life is to make a difference in the lives of others. And just like a match, you get one shot. You have to give it your all.
Of course, it's scary!
You have the option to embrace the status quo, like the other matches in this painting, preferring comfort and protecting themselves. But they are not fulfilling their potential.
That is not why they were made.
If God planted a dream in your heart, you have the moral imperative to chase it. Because your example might be exactly what someone else needs to achieve theirs.
Your spark can enflame and bring life to others.
As St. Catherine of Siena said, "Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."
You were born for this.
๐ค I wonder...what's a spark you can create this week to inspire and encourage others? Reply to share your thoughts with me, or join the conversation in the Escape Adulthood League!
Stay young and stay fun,
โ
P.S.
Miss out on Kim's new Wonderhunt course? No you didn't! It officially started Saturday, but it's not too late to get in on this remarkable opportunity to harvest the richness found in slowing down and renewing hope in this pre-holiday reset. Sign up here!๐
Wonderhunt: An Autumn Pilgrimage ๐
Join Kim for a 4-week photo-based journey designed to help you pause, look closer, and rediscover wonder. As the holidays approach, this is your invitation to slow down, open your heart, and notice the goodness unfolding quietly in your midst.
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On a mission to help people break free from Adultitis to build better lives, businesses, and teams.
I am a professional reminder-er and permission granter who moonlights as an artist, author, and speaker. I enjoy Star Wars, soft t-shirts, and brand new tubes of paint. My wife Kim and I homeschool our three weird kids and live in Wisconsin, where we eat way too many cheese curds.
View this online โข Get this from a friend? Subscribe here! 2025 Issue #51 ๐งฎ Happy Sunday, Reader! Greetings from Sheboygan, where this will be the final newsletter of 2025. The "Adultitis Fighter Insider" will re-emerge in January as simply "The Adultitis Fighter," with a slightly new look and format. Until then, I hope you and yours have a very merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, and a happy New Year! Many Januarys ago, as the ho ho hos of the holiday season abruptly transitioned to the ho ho...
View this online โข Get this from a friend? Subscribe here! 2025 Issue #50 ๐ Happy Sunday, Reader! Greetings from Sheboygan, where we are beginning to run low on 2026 Celebrate Everything Calendars. If you haven't gotten yours yet, don't dilly dally; this might be the earliest we sell out yet! This sign is above the door in the sacristy at Holy Name of Jesus in Sheboygan, where I serve as a lector. In a Catholic church, the sacristy is a room, usually near the altar, where vestments, supplies,...
View this online โข Get this from a friend? Subscribe here! 2025 Issue #49 ๐ข Happy Sunday, Reader! Greetings from Sheboygan, where we are SO grateful for everyone who participated in Purple Tuesday and everyone who has purchased gifts from our Lemonade Stand this holiday season. (There's still time to get something Adultitis-free for your favorite people.) Thank you for your support! ๐ I recently uncovered an article I wrote several years ago that feels especially poignant in this holiday...