When Rich Dixon learns lessons, so do we.

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Last time, I relearned an important lesson – the FREEDOM TOUR isn’t about me.

While I was off doing my TED Talk, Becky and the team pulled off our first one-day ride just fine. That day also taught us another important lesson – we don’t have to see the end before we begin.

Like everything else we’ve started, we didn’t really know what we were doing. Since we aren’t “event organizers,” we just asked people if they wanted to join us for a one-day ride to support the kids at the Home of Hope. About 50 people showed up. We had a couple of routes sort of figured out, everybody picked one, they gathered for Helmets Up, and off they went.

It wasn’t super organized. Didn’t have enough volunteers. A few people got lost. The timing could have been better.

And mostly, people had a great time. Because they weren’t there for the organization. They were there to follow Jesus and support a group of kids they would never meet.

We don’t have to see the end before we begin.

It’s one of those places where you and I are forced to ask ourselves one of my favorite questions:

Do I Really Believe What I Believe?

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My friend Scott dreamed in his 30’s of doing a round-the-world bike ride. He and his wife were training when she suffered a serious cycling accident that derailed their plans.

Then life happened, and a couple of decades later Scott readRelentless Grace and Rich’s Ride. We met at a book signing, where he told me he took seriously one of the questions I asked.

If an old, bald, crippled guy can ride a bike the length of the Mississippi River, what can you do?

He told me he was going to ride his bike around the world. About a year after we met, he did it. By himself, unsupported.

To be continued…