How to Chase Your Dreams, Take Big Actions, and Grab Life By the Balls November 22 2013
*The following is a guest post my buddy Chad Howse asked me to write for his site chadhowsefitness.com
My buddy Chad contacted me and asked if I would write a blog post for the site as we have often shared ideas and supported each other over the past couples of years with our respective fitness websites.
I have written for many sites, publications and am always striving to absorb as much information about health, fitness, nutrition and overall well-being. My newest venture is starting a cap and apparel line called Boston Scally Company. It has been a dream that I have been passionate about pursuing for years.
Throughout this process I realized that there was a very specific way that guys like Chad, myself and readers like YOU take toward pursuing a dream or reaching a goal—and I have always been curious as to why we take this approach.
It stems from somewhere—it has to. Maybe you had a mentor growing up, certain family-values or grew up in a specific environment.
No matter where I go in life I always make sure that there something I bring with me me no matter what…
My home.
Boston.
It was then that I realized—I wanted to not only pursue my dreams, but understand what inspired me to do so. It was pretty simple for me—I grew up in Boston. This was where andhow the make up of my culture, personality, attitude and perspective on life stemmed from.
I have always been extremely proud of this, because it inspired me.
So I will ask you to think about this question as you read the remainder of this post…
Where does your inspiration stem from?
Just a Bunch of Blue-Collar Wiseguys
Boston is known for being a blue-collar city where hard work is a given, the bond of brotherhood is unbreakable and the pursuit, no matter what it’s toward, is always relentless.
There is a certain vibe in Boston that starts with its’ people, their sarcasm, their underlying rugged persona…and the one-of-a-kind culture they all embrace.
It inspired me.
In the 1920s leading into the 1930s—times were tough in America. Many communities consisted of second generation to those that immigrated from all over the world to find a better life for their families, provide for their children…to scrap for an opportunity at the ‘American Dream.’
You’d often see working class men leading up until this time and throughout, wearing ‘flat caps,’ or as we refer to them in Boston—‘scally caps.’ The design of this cap was most likely for functional purposes such as blocking out sun or providing more shade, but quickly redefined itself. As immigrants began settling in the United States, the ‘scally’ cap became a staple in American fashion—especially in Boston.
Not Just a Boston Thing
But beyond my beloved city, there are people just like me in other amazing cities or towns that truly appreciate where they came from and how it molded them. They understand that sometimes pursuing a dream takes hard work, grit…and a little charm.
This is where it all stems from.
Maybe there’s been a time where you figuratively and literally needed to fight in order to achieve a dream.
Maybe there was a time when you failed, but then made the choice to pick yourself up by your fucking bootstraps and bloody a few lips to make sure that it never happened again.
Or maybe you picked someone else up out of the dirt to sacrifice your own dream to help them achieve theirs.
This is the mentality and the soul of what, I feel, makes good people great.
And that is what Boston Scally Company is all about.
We aim to give those, not only from Boston, the opportunity to own a quality cap or shirt that represents our blue-collar mentality and the culture behind it. If you understand the tough, humble and loveable nature of those “blue-collar wiseguys” then you will understand Boston Scally Company.
If you get inspired by the pursuit of a dream and breaking through the barriers along the way, just like many of our ancestors did—then you will understand Boston Scally Company. And, to me, there is no better way to share this with others than in the form of Boston’s most culture-defining piece of headwear—the ‘scally’ cap.
