lululemon + international women’s day.

here is what i said. . .

i’m a husband. a father. a son. opinionated to a fault. quick tempered. a check list writer. a u-turn hater. not a general people person. a big picture thinker. willing to do just about anything for a friend. self sufficient and believe others should be as well. easily prone to tear up at bad children’s movies. a clean and healthy eater. a stomach sleeper. a fubol’r. a whale, crocodile, horse & polo player hater. and i’m CONSTANTLY and anxiously thinking about what is next.

to me the world is full of events and things to do that CLAIM to be authentic, creative, game-changing, innovative, inspiring and paradigm-shifting. they all sound great – but that’s not what i’m hoping for … I WANT MORE THAN WORDS. I WANT 100 PERCENT.

i want fall down, crazy stupid love. i want to be surrounded by ACTIVITY AND MOVEMENT that is alluring, beguiling, blazing, bursting, epic, frenzied, ravenous and volcanic. i want passion to erupt.

every day.

but most of the time i’m afraid to let you know. because i’m afraid you might not want the same things, feel the same way or perhaps my worth in not on par with yours.

i want to wake up even when i’m tired.  i want the mirage of failure to be check-mated by the exhilaration of self rescue.  i want the tingle of words on my tongue, but the comfort to know i don’t have to prove myself with them.

i want to fit in, by standing out.

i want to know that the hardest fifteen minutes of my day are against myself.  i want to sweat early and of course eat often.  i want sore muscles and wide awake nerve endings.

i want to ascend higher than i thought i could yesterday.  i want yesterday and the path followed to never be thought of.  i want tomorrow to be an anticipation of new adventures.

every day.

i want to be a part something.

i want those who see things as i do to pin their ears back and take off toward the finish line with me.  i want them to hinge their bets and go all in on their own self. nor hesitation. no regrets. 100 percent with me.

every day.

i want to feel alive.

now.

i’m kenT and i am enough, but often the tortured enough.

i am an artist – the guy who is not like the others. often i feel the need to prove myself everyday by making something and hopefully creating an obsession you’re compelled to exchange money for. i am often pulled to the dark side of what i do or who i am does not matter or equal what everyone else is doing and has accomplished. i feel like a 70’s shrinky dink experiment, wrapped up and packaged for show and a bit of entertainment, only to melt down when the temperature rises and the oven light goes on.

i am quiet. for me, small talk is a big task. people persons are bacteria in my world. i am not one, and i tend to avoid them like the bird flu. hanging with groups of people is not very often the highlight of my day. i know we all have the same amount of words to use in a day – but i would gladly give you some of mine to use if you like.

i am awkward. but i have come to realize we all are in some way. my awkwardness has set me up for success to impact others in my own unique way. as i think upward while others may think down or go left when some go right i often create surprise and intrigue. my strong opinions on seemingly stupid things have lead to precise and unusual ways of making something different than the next person. being the odd one out in a charlotte world of khaki’s and blue oxfords gives me enough attention to showcase my trade.

my awkwardness / my faults / my weakness in one season has set me up for success in another.

i am everything. 100% whole. this is honestly the most difficult thing for me to say. it’s difficult to say outloud. i want to say more and wow you with vernacular but i am at a loss.

but i am real, i am 100% i can offer this evidence.

i affect the mood of those who see my compositions of color every day. i know it because they tell me. they message me. they thank me. i inspire. because is see those i mentor succeed.

i sweat. i bleed. my hands tear. my muscles ache. my heart beats and my breath is short. all things that tell me. . . i am alive. i am real. i am 100%. i am worth my 100%.

my fear is strength that pushes me to create.
my vulnerabilities are fire.
i feel, i touch, i experience deeply.
i create, i impact, i am powerful beyond measure.

i am alive. i am real. i am awkward. i am real awkward. be awkward with me.

there was a whole lot of “i” in that introduction and you really don’t need to know all about me. what you do need to know and realize is that we are all on the same mat. in the same hot room, feeling the same things.

whether you have five followers of 5 thousand you are enough. whether you are at the beginning or the middle of your journey you are enough. you are not the pose you can get into. you are not your title. you are not your job. you are not your failures or for that matter even your success’s. you are enough because you are you.

i’m challenging you to alter your traditional introduction with job title and status attachment. the, i’m kent + i’m an artist, but not the tortured kind. i am on a mission to make the walls of your home, office or secret lair as colorfully composed and inspiring as you are introduction. change your business card and get rid of the alphabet of certification. most of that is just s.h.i.t. as it is.

tell me. stand up straight. look me in the eye. if your a man, or if you are a woman celebrating today and everyday, tell me who you are, what you feel, what you create, and how and who you inspire everyday. if you are quiet like me it’s okay to whisper. if you are loud and proud – say it in a manner that you want me to hear it, but don’t say it to impress me. say it because it is so. and because it is enough.

whoever you are and whatever stage you are in, know that you are enough. you don’t love a child because of what he or she has accomplished. you love them because of who they are. love yourself and those around you the same way.

it is international woman’s day and i want you to cherish everything that goes along with what we have talked about. but more than anything else, i want you to celebrate and claim that you and the space you are currently in is enough – when you get to that point you become contagious. contagious like the old ymca hot tub. everyone around you will be infected. image a world you can create by surrounding yourself with people who believe they are worthy just as they are.

my name is kenT

i’m opinionated to a fault. often too quick tempered. a check list writer. a u-turn hater. not a general people person. a big picture thinker. willing to do just about anything for a friend. self sufficient and believe others should be as well. easily prone to tear up at bad children’s movies. a clean and healthy eater. a stomach sleeper. a fubol’r. a whale, crocodile, horse & polo player hater. but i’m  gonna stop constantly thinking about what is next because just like everyone else in this room i am already enough.

and that. that is enough for me.