I must’ve been 7 years old when I first played Nintendo.

Maybe 8.  Can’t remember.

And I started with the grand-daddy of all the Nintendo games:

Super Mario.

I was hooked.  I lost oodles of days ducking and diving between fireballs, jumping over clouds and “powering up” with magic mushrooms.

If I wasn't paying attention I’d be nibbled by a piranha plant and lose a life.

If I wasn't quick enough, I’d get eaten by a giant fish and go back to the start of the level.

And I must’ve died 1,000 times during my Super Mario odyssey.

(haven’t played the game for 30 years but can still hum the music, if that tells you anything about how often I played and how often I died)

But dying was fun.  It meant the chance to go again.  And then again.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Until one day, many moons later, I rescued Princess Peach from Bowser’s hairy clutches and completed the game.

Mamma mia – it felt good!

Goes to show:  so much of reaching our goals is putting one foot in front of the other, stumbling, dusting ourselves off and going again.

The only “trick”, if there is one, is to start playing.  

And once you’ve started, don’t stop.

That's all for today.

Have a good weekend.

 - Tom

p.s. Whenever you're ready, here are the ways you can connect with me