The tumultuous weather seems to be following us. The weather was terrible at UC San Deigo and Davis. It was snowing in Albuquerque when I landed, and now a hale storm is approaching Oklahoma. The event at Oklahoma State got canceled because school is closing for the next two days. The event at The University of Oklahoma was great! We had 87 people show up. Last night, we were competing against a OU basketball game, music festival, Dr. Drew interview, and Obama’s State of the Union address. I told them that the real scoreboard is in their head, the real song is in their heart, and the real healing is in their spirit.

We also had a lot more males than normal. A fraternity filled up the first few rows. EJ Carrion, the Student Accelerator (http://www.ejcarrion.com), an up and coming motivational speaker told all of his freshman pledges to come. Normally we only have one freshman, but they were a majority this time. EJ and I are forming a relationship. We talked on the phone today and will hopefully meet in person this weekend. He has a lot of potential. You can see it in his YouTube videos.

The end of the event is where I always get the power of the message reflected back to me. A young woman came up to me and shared that the Route 66 stopped her from dropping out of school. She has been disappointed and frustrated with her time at OU and was ready to leave, but Route 66 made her think about college in a new way. Instead of relying on OU to do things for her, she felt empowered to use OU to get her where she wants to go. Amazing! Quite a few people came up to me afterward, more than usual. I think I’m getting better at connecting with the students and making each one feel like they’re being spoken to.

I’m at the Wydham now. My bed is so comfortable. I talked to my lady in the evening before going right next door to Club Rodeo to see how they party out here. Black and White people of all ages were in their having fun. A lot of people were smoking and beer only cost a quarter. They played a mix of hip hop and country music. I have a new favorite song called “She’s Country” by Jason Aldean. It’s like the country version of the Hot Boyz “Hot Girlz” song. Remember that? On the weekends, they have an actual rodeo in the club, but tonight was just ladies night. Entrance was about $6. I observed for about 30 minutes until I couldn’t deal with the smoke anymore.

Finally, I got a call from Cheri Peter, the mother of Jackie from Boise State. After my presentation there, Jackie said that her mom and I have to meet. Cheri is touching millions of lives all over the world through faith-based programs for youth and addicts. She has built a multi-media empire and successful brand that allows her to follow her passion and make a living doing what she loves. I love it.

Off to the grocery store to stock up for the next few days. They say that the chances of the power going out it high. By the way, a Chipotle burrito only cost $5.95 in Oklahoma. They costs $8.95 in New York.

When I got to Albuquerque, I rested. I wanted to shake this congestion in my face. Besides, when I asked the young woman at the front desk, “What’s there to do in Albuquerque?” she laughed at me. Natives rarely know. We take things for granted when we live places. If someone asked me “What’s there to do in Oakland?” I would probably shrug the same way. On Monday I went to campus and worked there all day. I got to play a hour of pool at $4 per hour. That’s amazing! Pool is one of my favorite hobbies. I also had a to do list and I was guided. I found or bumped into everything I needed naturally without even asking.

I’m learning that being on the road is a game of resource management. I have to manage my underwear, food, transportation, money, and health. I’m doing better in some areas than others. I’m doing good on the underwear game. I washed at Angelo’s in LA and then I’ll wash again at my cousins in Atlanta. The sink and tub come in handy. For food, I’m taking full advantage of the free breakfast at the hotels. They don’t offer much, but I pack a few pieces of fruit and thermos full of juice for the road. When I felt myself coming down with a cold, I took a cup full of lemons from Fuddruckers to suck on through the night. I’m more in tune in with body. It is telling me what to eat and when to stop eating. It knows exactly what it needs. I’m only averaging about $20 a day for food which isn’t bad. I realized that my health and voice are my two most valuable assets on the tour and I have to protect them. In the first week of the month, I used up all of the 5GB of data I have on my wireless card. It was my first month so I didn’t know how to pace myself. Now I see that it should only be used for the necessary stuff. My bad.

As many of you know, I’m a community builder. I build community wherever I go. But being away from my community has helped me see the other side of individuality (not individualism). I’ve noticed that sometimes, being alone is easier than being in community. There are a lot less responsibilities, expectations, and demands. Still, I choose community. I strongly believe that it’s through community that we grow and move forward. An individual can do so on their own, but one of greatest challenges we have is learning to love, work with, and communicate with others. Self-love is only the first step. The real challenge is to “love thy neighbor as thyself.”

The essential question that I’ve been meditating on wherever I go is “Why am I here?” Whether I’m at the airport, in my hotel room, in a new city, or on a campus, I ponder why I’m there and then just let Spirit guide me to the answer. I really encourage you to try it. The results have been awesome.

We had a great mid-sized group at the University of New Mexico. For the 7th time in a row, we had our token freshman. Everyone stood up to take Route 66.

Off to Oklahoma…

UC Davis was a full house despite the rain. They had over 120 RSVPs and over 70 students attended. I think my “OVERSOLD” reminder email 4 hours before the event got people to arrive on time. Sean and his team did a great job marketing. Their number one tool was classroom announcements wearing the Route 66 t-shirts.

Tonight I had some special guest in attendance: My mom, Dwight Taylor, and Chardonnay Harris. My mom and I linked up in Oakland around 2pm and took a slow few hour drive up to Davis because of the crazy rain. It was so interesting because I was in the driver’s seat, but she was still trying to drive and tell me what to do. I had to tell her to sit back and relax. This is exactly what happens in the lives of young adults as many end up driving their parent’s lives instead of their own. Some parents hide behind their kids and give up on their dreams because of their kids, but how can someone tell their kids to follow their dreams when they didn’t follow their own?

A good friend from high school and fellow purposefinder Dwight Taylor also came by. He lives in nearby Fairfield. We recently reconnected via Facebook and we have been inspiring each other. He encourages young Christians to follow their purpose through his music and speaking. It was so good to have him, his wife, and friend, JD, from Australia in attendance.

Finally, one of my SHAPE students from my time at UCLA was also there. I tutored Chardonay when she was in 5th and 6th grade at Audubon Middle School. She was one of our best students. To see her at UC Davis was amazing because that’s what SHAPE was all about. SHAPE is an educational outreach program that specializes in peer advising and homework assistance for youth in Inglewood and Los Angeles. I worked there as a tutor, peer advisor, and assistant site coordinators while I was student at UCLA before going on to become the Director upon graduation.

The energy of the group was live. It felt like everyone was engaged and participating. Every joke landed perfectly. They even laughed at things that were necessarily jokes. Everyone stood up to take Route 66 at the end of the presentation and we took a huge group picture at the end to capture the energy and moment.

On to the next one…

I spent most of the day working on the NSCS Route 66 Tour Promo video (link here) to the sound of the heavy rain. I just got all of the footage that morning and I wanted to get it up early enough for the UC San Diego team to use. I’m far from being a film editor, but it came out alright. I’m in awe at the capabilities of iMovie and all of the technologies that we have access to. These are the kinds of things that students should be learning in high school and college in addition to all of the theory.

This was the first night that everyone didn’t stand up to take Route 66 during my call to action at the end of the presentation and it surprised me. Questions ran through my mind like “Did I fail? Was my energy low? What did I do differently? What can I do differently?” At the same time, just because everyone stands up doesn’t mean everyone is committed. My primary concern is that people apply as many items on the Route 66 list to their self-education. Measuring that isn’t easy, but the idea of asking people for Route 66 stories to feature on our website every month might give us a better barometer of the integration.

I want to share a quick story about a young man named Kevin who has a passion for building things. He is known as the guy on campus with the wooden bike. Tommy has a picture of Kevin and I with the bike which we’ll upload soon. He said that it all started with legos when he was a kid and it just “built” from there. He served as a great example of someone committed to and demonstrating their passion for a long period of time. Becoming an expert at anything takes 10,000 hours of practice (20 hours/week, 50 weeks/year, for 10 years) and Kevin is well on his way.

Tommy and I went out to dinner and I discovered that Waldorf salads are my favorite. I’m headed home to Oakland next before I reach UC Davis. We had to increase their tickets to 125 since they oversold. Patty said that their secret has been doing classroom announcements for the past week. I can’t wait to get there.

On to the next one…

Route 66 at Cal State Fullerton

Last night we had another group of 55 come out. This was huge considering that they are still on Winter break and that it’s a 3 day weekend. Big thank yous to Rosa and the NSCS team there for doing such an amazing job. The Fullerton group was extremely engaged in the presentation. I felt like I connect with everyone at the heart.

One brother started at Fullerton in 2000 when I started at UCLA, dropped out after 2 years, and just returned back to finish up. He said that the presentation made him feel okay about his decision to leave school, find what he wanted, and then return because he didn’t know when he arrived as a freshman. Now he is maximizing every opportunity that comes to him. Sometimes letting go teaches us to appreciate things more.

Another young woman came up to me afterwards with watery eyes on the verge of crying. She said that presentation really helped her release some assumptions and beliefs that she was holding onto. She didn’t specify what, but I could tell that she felt free to get in the driver’s seat of her life and that she could live according to the things she already knew were true inside of her.

And finally, an older woman shared her story of leaving her job to take care of her grandmother who was ill. But guess what, her grandma is better now and the Route 66 moved her to stop hiding behind her grandmother and reengage her passion for cooking. I told her to consider every old person as her grandmother and use her passion for cooking to prepare love-filled meals for them. That’s a huge business opportunity. We’ll see

Two potential partnership opportunities have opened up with The Princeton Review (Hey Anthony, Sheen, Catherine, &) and Universum (Hey Jonas, see you and Paula soon).

My teammate Patty is headed back to DC. Without her, none of this would be possible. Thankfully, Tommy is coming to San Diego with me to fill her shoes.

Other MVMTs

Dwight Transparent Taylor, is an old friend from high school. We were on the same basketball team then, but now we aligning on our passion for purpose. He is Christian hip hop artist. Check out his latest CD “LIFE” on CD Baby. I get to see him in person for the first time since we graduated from high school at Bishop O’Dowd in 2000 when I arrive at UC Davis next week. I can’t wait for the moment to hand him a signed copy of my books and for him to hand me a signed copy of his CD.

I also got a chance to connect with Nick Kislinger, a friend of my good friend Michael Cox (rock star!). Nick is organizing reading groups in Los Angeles and DC for social entrepreneurs. He and I share a passion for building community through food and action so we talked about potlucks and 30 Day Do It groups. He is working with a team to build a HUB is Los Angeles. If you haven’t heard about HUBs, they are amazing work spaces for people on the frontiers of various industrries to converge. Imagine a TED conference but everyone actually working together, not just talking.

And finally, I got to meet Suparna Bhasin who also shares my passion for purpose and building community. We connected through Maritza Alacaron. She runs an organization called She Creates Change that inspires women to transform their lives. We’re definitely going to partner when I get back to New York. I can’t wait to meet in person.

One last story. I got a call from a sister in Brooklyn and she said that her circle of 30 powerful sisters called The Fast Girls has chosen to read the 8 Cylinders of Success together over the next 90 days and that they want to document their journey inward online. How amazing is that! 30 women in search of their purpose and sharing that journey online with the world. Wow! More to come on that.

For the weekend, two more 30 Day Do It groups are starting in Los Angeles and I’m having dinner with friends at Derrick’s Jamaican Cuisine tonight. UC San Diego is on Tuesday.

Read more updates on the Route 66 Tour Blog.

On to the next one…

The event was almost sold out in part due to the fact that Patrick brought half of his fraternity and Nick Papajohn’s leadership. We got 90 students to commit to taking Route 66 last night. I condensed to presentation to cut down on the time and go slower so that the information can sink in. The Anteaters…yes, the anteaters…were so participatory. I felt like we were having a conversation which is how it should be. As I went through the Route 66 list, I asked people to raise their hands iif they had done the item and only 1-5 students did any given item meaning that I’m sharing new information that is expanding who they are. You know that I believe if you love something you should push it and if it comes back to you, you should push it harder because it’s not until you push someone to their perceived limits that they realize that they’re limitless.

I want to say thank you to Anthony of The Princeton Review for stopping by and dropping off some free giveaways for the students. They are considering partnering with NSCS.

I’m doing my best not to eat fast food on the trip, but I had to stop by In & Out Burger on my way home. I got a cheese burger animal style (meaning that it has grilled onions on it). The fries are the best.

It’s raining this morning, but it’s still 54 degrees. No presentation tonight, but I have a lot of back office stuff to handle like emails, phone meetings, and logistics. I’m supposed to connect with one of my mentors Scott Sherman of the Transformative Action Institute and then have a 1-on-1 dinner with Angelo, my best friend. I’m so grateful that he’s letting me stay at his new home. I feel loves, welcomes, and at home.

Read more updates on the Route 66 Tour Blog.

On to the next one…

Last night, all 55 students in attendance committed to taking Route 66! Since half of the NSCS members attended in October and it was rush night at the frats and sororities, we didn’t reach our goal of 100, but that’s okay. It was our first stop and I’m confident that our online and offline marketing strategy will improve with each campus. UC Irvine only has 19 tickets left. My youngest brother goes there so that helps, but Nick Papajohn (the NSCS chapter chair) is also holding it down.

My 30 Day Do It goal for December was to rehearse 15 times for Route 66 and it really helped. I felt comfortable up there and at times I experienced a state of flow. I am 100% certain that this is where I’m supposed to be right now. On a side note, three new 30 Day Do It groups will have started by the time I leave Los Angeles.

I want to thank Jeff Berger (CEO & co-founder of www.koda.us, the tour’s leading sponsor), Maura Quinn of LIberty Mutual, Patrice (UCLA’s NSCS chapter sponsor), and Steve Loflin (founder of NSCS) or coming by. I also want to thank Daniel Farris and Mamdooh for coming through on the videography and Patty Guidetti (the NSCS tour & regional manager). And last but not least, I want to thank all of my friends who came by: Angelo, Robbie, Caleb, Erin, Jewel, Nosizwe, Vusi, and Leslie.

One last thing to celebrate, we got another $6,000 sponsorship from an individual donor yesterday. That’s huge! We still have a lot more money to raise as we go, but for right now, we’re being fueled by faith.

On to the next one…

The tour will officially begin at UCLA in January and we hope to fill Ackerman Grand Ballroom. Route 66 actually ends in Los Angeles, which is symbolic of our journey backwards to when a college degree was valuable and the focused on making sure students developed holistically. Today, a college degree has become commodity.

Today, I lead my Driving School for Life course. This is the second road trip in UCLA. It was one of the most powerful road trips I’ve ever lead. I’ve officially issued 190 licenses to live now. Sunday is a day to relax. Considering that I spend 5 years of my life in LA (3 as an undergrad and 2 as director of a non-profit), I have plenty of people to see including my little brothers.

I’m headed back to New York on Continental on Monday night. I’m going to review the video (soon to be posted), make adjustments, and continue to rehearse until the presentation is perfect. Overall, I felt great and I can’t wait until the tour starts.

Here’s an email I got on Monday from a parent in attendance: