Marcus Lopés

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dreams

On Purpose

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what do you want to do

What do you want to do? It was a question that was asked a lot when I was growing, and a lot more so as I neared the end of high school. What would I do next? There were a lot of things that interested me—music, politics, cooking, policing (notice that writing didn’t make the list then)—yet I really had no clue what I wanted to do. But like my older sister, I’d follow ‘the plan’ and go to university because our parents never had that opportunity. So, for five years I went and wandered aimlessly through academia. [Read more…] about On Purpose

What Will You Sacrifice for Your Dreams?

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Tick-tock. Tick-tock. I keep looking at the clock, and the calendar, with now just 85 days left until my fiftieth birthday. I don’t mind getting older. And I’m not freaking out about turning fifty, either. A lot of people tell me it’s a big deal, and keep asking me how I plan to celebrate it. And then they’re left speechless when I tell them I have no plans. Because my focus is on today, this moment, and what I need to do to make my dreams come true.

Looking Back to Go Forward

Since the beginning of the year and even a little before that, I’ve been trying to clear away the clutter in my life to make more space for the things that matter. Time is limited and precious, so I’m a lot more conscious about how I spend it. Throughout my life, I’d done a decent job at writing—and being, in general, creative—around a day job. But with my current one, something has always been off that I haven’t been able to pinpoint. It’s just been, or feels, harder to get other things done. And when I took a closer look at how I was spending my time away from work, that was when I understood I was caught in a pattern that, if allowed to continue, would defeat me and my dreams. [Read more…] about What Will You Sacrifice for Your Dreams?

Never Say Never

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never say never

Never say never…

Throughout all the years I had been running, I’d said I’d never run a marathon. I’d completed a few half-marathons, but a full one? Nope, not for me. Then in 2019, I ran (and completed) the Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and terrified of catching the virus — and safe at home alone and locked down — I said I would never step foot in a gym again. Not even the one in my condo building. Then on Tuesday, 25 October 2022, there I was entering Barry’s on Richmond Street for my first HIIT class.

Although those are just two examples of me saying, “I’ll never do that,” it always seems to be at some point I end up eating crow. Never say never, right? [Read more…] about Never Say Never

7 Days of Bliss

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It’s like a magic pill. The moment I turn off social media, everything falls away. The overwhelm. The doubt. The fear of both success and failure. It’s the easiest way to get back to myself, to remind myself of what really matters. So, that’s what I did last week. I unplugged from social media, and that gave me seven days of bliss.

The ONE Thing

7 days of blissWhen life gets busy, and I feel overwhelmed, some of the things I love fall to the wayside. Like listening to podcasts. During my time away from social media, I downloaded a few episodes from the ‘Achieve Your Goals with Hal Elrod’ podcast. Elrod’s interview with Geoff Woods, the Vice-President of The ONE Thing, stopped me in my tracks. The conversation reminded me about all the ways I’ve gotten off track. And that to achieve my goals, I had to simply focus on one thing. My ONE thing. Writing. [Read more…] about 7 Days of Bliss

Course Correction

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When I learned to kayak, my instructor made swim the rapid. Even though I grew up with a pool in the backyard, I wasn’t a strong swimmer. And the lifejacket strapped to my body didn’t really comfort me, either. “Don’t panic. And take a big breath when the rapid shoots you out, because then it’s going to pull you back down again.” Sure enough, I panicked. Underwater, my arms flailed grandly as I tried to reach the surface. When my head popped out of the water, I took a breath — probably not as big as I should have — and then quickly disappeared underwater. When I came to the surface again, I was beyond spent and, to my dismay, headed straight for the next rapid. And I was desperately in need of a course correction. [Read more…] about Course Correction