What happens when you finally reach the destination?
Last email, I talked about the subtle art of reinventing yourself.
About taking small steps in a new direction.
Creating a new trajectory.
Building a new life.
Chasing a new vision of the destiny you're pursuing.
That applies to hockey when you're chasing the hockey dream.
And it applies to life.
But here's the question...
What happens when you finally get there?
What happens when the thing you've been chasing actually happens?
Halfway through my professional hockey career, I made a decision.
I was going to fight my way to the NHL.
It took me five years.
Five years.
People eventually saw me make an opening day NHL roster.
They saw me pull that jersey over my head.
They saw me take the ice against the Philadelphia Flyers.
They saw the lights.
The cameras.
The packed arena.
They saw the destination.
What they didn't see were the countless hours on the concrete.
The hours on the track.
The weight room.
The ice.
The bag skates.
The moments bent over with my hands on my knees, trying to find enough air to finish the next rep.
Nobody saw the subtle things.
The little decisions.
The extra work.
The thousands and thousands of tiny steps that slowly moved me in the direction of that dream.
And then one day...
I was there.
Here's the funny thing.
When I finally made the NHL, I thought it was going to feel different.
And yes...
The arena was bigger.
There were more fans.
More cameras.
More pressure.
More money.
Everything around the game was bigger.
But when I stepped onto the ice...
It was still a sheet of ice.
Blue lines.
Red lines.
Two nets.
The same sheet of ice I had been standing on my entire life.
And I realized something.
I belonged there.
Not because somebody gave me permission to be there.
Not because I got lucky.
Not because somebody made a mistake and accidentally put my name on an NHL roster.
I belonged there because I had put in the work to get there.
So when you reinvent yourself...
When you become that new version of yourself...
And when you finally arrive at the place you've been chasing...
Don't be surprised.
Know that you belong there.
You put in the work.
You climbed the hill.
You took the subtle steps when nobody was watching.
And those steps brought you here.
But there's something else you should know.
There is no destination.
You reach the top of one hill...
And there's another hill.
You climb to the top of the mountain...
And from that higher vantage point, suddenly you can see mountain peaks you couldn't see before.
More places to go.
More things to become.
More life to live.
So whether you're at the bottom of the mountain right now...
Halfway up...
Or standing on the highest peak you've ever reached...
My advice is the same.
Just keep climbing.
Just keep climbing.
Knuckles up,
Bobby Robins, savage motivator, NHL Alum, Writer for Wraparound
P.S. Every climb is a little easier when you have the right tools. If you're putting in those extra hours in the garage, basement, or driveway, start with the Puckaround. It's the most amazing off-ice hockey puck I've ever used because it actually feels like a real puck on the ice. Protect your stick with a Wraparound, grab your Puckaround, and keep climbing.