Burnsie In The House!

Michael ‘Burnsie’ Burns
Columnist, Legacy Magazine

Now, the pressure is on: I’m a columnist, not a simple contributor, guest writer, or scout… but a columnist. 
Like, I’m now expected to submit articles regularly instead of how it was before: submitting articles regularly because I felt like it. 
What if I’m too fucking busy? It’s playoffs time? What if I’m not in the mood, or I’m caregiving my life partner/help mate/ #1 team mate?
Did I agree to this because I’m a people pleaser? Because it strokes my aged ego, which hasn’t outgrown the desire to be stroked?

I don’t this so. I think I said “fuck it” because when I did MDI’s (Mentor, Discover, Inspire) initiation weekend, Legacy Discovery (LD), in 2008, I was able to recognize and articulate my life’s purpose: to make a difference, to have an influence on other people’s self awareness. This gave me context and guidelines to choose thoughts, words, and actions in my life that would contribute to my purpose, or not.

A few years before that, I participated in a traditional Native American Lakota vision quest, under the guidance of Fred Wahpehah, founder and Elder of Seven Circles Foundation in California. Fred’s community was dedicated to perpetuating the ancient native ceremonies and earth philosophies. During 4 days and 3 nights in my ‘altar without food or water, my vision was
’teaching.’

I make a distinction between the two events because my vision
quest was a one-off, with no structured follow up.
Whereas, discovering my purpose at the LD was/is contained by a global organized network whose mission is: To cause greatness, by
mentoring men (people) to live with excellence and, as mature
masculine leaders, create successful families, careers, and
communities.

So here is an ongoing support network: one that reminds me how
to continue to make choices that fulfill my purpose, and reflects
back to me when I make the wrong choices. (Even more on point,
and closer to home for this kind of feedback, is my beloved wife,
Pat. I can see, in her mirror, my good and bad behavior choices, 24/7.)

Another thing I’ve learned from 39 years of intimately engaging
with hundreds of men, is that men are very much alike.
Personalities are vastly different but the core of our
heritage/ancestry has the same biology and the same range of
emotions, and those drive our actions.

When I read or listen to men sharing their truths, and they listen
to me, we nod our heads signifying, “I know what you mean.” When I have something moving in me that I want to share, in time, someone else will say that very same thing.
in the same way, besides writing having a therapeutic effect – and besides getting my ego stroked when my writing is read – putting my thoughts and emotions into a form that others can access realizes my purpose.