Announcing the Latest Upgrade: Bruce 5.1

Yes, it happens this time every year. November 8th arrives and grants me another year to live!

For many people who have reached or surpassed my age, another birthday is just another year to mark off the calendar and another year to look back and wonder where the years have gone. I certainly used to feel this way about birthdays.

However, my mindset has changed over the last few years and I now have a different outlook on birthdays and life in general. These are not milestones to mark how far I’ve come. No, they are now version numbers indicating upgrades and enhancements, just like software for our computers and smart-phones!

I made the shift from years to versions last year with the unveiling of Bruce 5.0. Over the weekend of November 8, 2013, I traveled to Virginia Beach and took time away by myself to think, pray, write, and set goals for what I want to achieve in this next decade of life. I decided to no longer passively wait to see what life would bring me. Instead I decided I would be very intentional about how I would live and the things I would bring into my life by specific thoughts and actions. I got up early on the morning of November 8th, the beginning of my 50th year and declared, by writing in the sand, that I was not 50, rather, I was Bruce 5.0!

The last year of my life has been busy, productive, prosperous, exciting, adventurous, scary, stressful, painful, remorseful, and covered by Grace every second that has passed! For those of you who know me or have kept up with me through my writing or social media accounts, you know what I mean. This last year has been many things, but it has never been boring!

To hit a few of the more notable moments of Bruce 5.0, I published a book, You CAN Go the Distance!, which has, with a few exceptional days, remained on Amazon.com’s Best Sellers list for the last 52 weeks! The response to the book and the comments from readers about how it has helped them run their first marathon or reach other goals has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

I started writing a new book, which am serializing through my website under the title “LifeThoughts.” The work on this book was proceeding ahead of my targets until February 17, 2014, when I got a phone call from my doctor telling me I had an advanced-stage Prostate Cancer.

Cancer and another personal crisis in early March pretty much knocked me to the ground and I put all of my goals on hold so I could devote 100% of my energy to getting through it all alive. I learned very quickly that it is good to have goals and plans for your life, but life sometimes punches you hard in unexpected ways and you have to make new goals and plans. That’s life!

My battle with cancer is well documented on my website, so there’s no need to replay it all here. I have, by all indicators, beaten the beast and am feeling healthier, stronger, and more energetic than I have in years!

The Summer of 2014 was all about rebuilding, starting over, setting new goals, and getting back to running this marathon we call “life!” I came through the struggle with a new vitality and vision for my life, and, by God’s Grace, I came back very strong, both physically and mentally!

While I did not reach a few of the goals I had set for myself back in November, last year, I did reach many of them. Even better, there were a few great things that came into my life that I had not planned and could not have foreseen. One of the unforeseen victories was being selected as the guest speaker and Life Coach for the Run For Fun Cruise, a 7-day Caribbean cruise coming up in February, 2015!

A few people had suggested it, and I had kicked the idea around a bit, but I did not have “start a podcast” on my list of goals for Bruce 5.0. However, after the battle with cancer and the mental work I had to do to get myself through it all, when the idea was suggested again, I felt a tingle and knew the time was right. On September 14, 2014, I launched the “Life Is A Marathon” podcast. The response to it has exceeded all of my expectations and, more so than the book, has become one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. Over 3,000 people a day, from over 130 different countries around the world, are listening to my show. Every day, I get emails, Tweets, Facebook messages from people telling me how my shows are impacting their lives and giving them hope and empowering them to make positive changes in their lives!

All in all, while this last year took some major twists, turns, and detours, I must say I’m very please with how Bruce 5.0 turned out!

Now it is time to fix my eyes on the future, make new plans, set new goals, and dream new dreams. I have a nice list of upgrades and enhancements I want to add to what I’ve built in the last year. I am very excited to start working with Bruce 5.1!

~NOTE: You may also listen to me talk about this on the Life Is A Marathon podcast.