Some would say there’s a fine line between passion and obsession. First of all, what is the difference?

I found a great explanation that I will use here to frame the rest of this post.

Passion – when people admire you for it

Obsession – when you do it too much and people think you’re weird

However, how does one truly impact an industry, a culture, a generation without people thinking they’re weird? Especially when what you choose to be passionate about/be obsessed with is different from what everyone else is doing.

What happens when you’re literally the only person doing what you’re doing? Do you keep going because you have such a strong belief in what you’re doing? Do you keep going because you know you have the ability and the opportunity to impact a lot of people in a very positive way? Do you keep going because you love what you’re doing and the more you do it, the more you see the potential?

How long do you keep at something before you decide it isn’t worth it? How often and how much do you listen to the opinions of others? Do you reach out for help from your friends and family? Do they believe in your journey?

I truly believe that the difference between passion and obsession is a fine line. I believe that it is defined differently by different people.

Why am I asking this question? I admit that people think I’m weird for what I do. I’ve been made fun of but through it all, I do what I do because I deeply love throwing a frisbee. It’s like meditation for me. I don’t just throw because it’s fun. I throw because I’m good at it, and because I want to be better at it.

Do people think I’m weird because I’m passionate about frisbee and they don’t understand frisbee? Or do they think I’m weird because I am obsessed with frisbee? I would think the first because I don’t consider what I’m doing as an obsession. I think obsession means that it impacts you and those around you in a negative and harmful way.

Sure my involvement in frisbee has cost me thousands of dollars. Sure it’s taken up a lot of my time that I could have spent developing friendships and relationships. I’ve no doubt lost relationships because of the time I spend doing what I love. Ideally I want to involve as many people in my life as possible in disc sports. For me, it’s a lifetime of living an active lifestyle. There’s a reason we joke “when a ball dreams, it dreams it’s a frisbee”. There truly is no other toy than a frisbee.

So I ask you, what do you think the difference between passion and obsession is?

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Last week I flew to Beijing, China to attempt a new Guinness World Record – “most targets hit in one minute with a flying disc (frisbee)“. Guinness set a minimum requirement of 20 targets hit and although I was close on my 2nd attempt with 16 targets, I was not successful in establishing a new Guinness World Record.

That happened on Saturday night and to say I was upset is expressing it lightly. I was crushed. I felt like my friends, my family and my fans were going to disappointed since I hadn’t set the record. I felt that everything I had done up to that point didn’t mean much since I wasn’t able to perform when it counted most.

But, as the seconds turned into minutes turned into hours turned into a few days, I’ve been able to look back and see the good in all of this.

First of all, I got a free trip to China (and was paid for my appearance) and my dad also had his trip paid for. How sweet is that? I also:

Got to spend the most time I’ve had with my dad in years

Got to spend a few hours on the Great Wall of China

Met Anthony Kelly, who holds many Guinness World Records and travels all over the world (such as Most Tennis Balls Caught in 1 Hour, and he has also caught an arrow while blindfolded!)

Met Peter Rosendahl, who also holds many Guinness World Records and has been to more than 55 countries (such as Fastest 100m on a Unicycle – 11 seconds, and Most Skips in 1 minute with a unicycle)

Met 2 guys from Storm Freerun team,  Tim “Livewire” Shieff and Jan ”Jashman” Barcikowski (they freerun with Damien Walters!!)

Met Liz and Rob, the 2 Guinness officials from the UK, who were awesome and super supportive

Met Cathy from CCTV, who set the whole thing up for me and flew my dad and I over

Went to the Hongqiao Pearl Market and bought some “good fakes” (a watch, headphones and a flash drive)

Got to see a new culture and experience history that is many times older than Canada

So, if you look at my trip to Beijing with the sole intention to set a Guinness World Record, then yes, I failed. However, to do so would be shortsighted because the opportunities and knowledge I gained from failing are worth more than had I achieved the record.

The setup of the world record was actually not done properly so I will be filming an attempt in the next few weeks – if successful, I will be submitting to the Guinness officials who will award me a World Record. I also didn’ t know there would be a minimum requirement so that was a surprise. I’m glad Guinness is giving me the opportunity to give it another attempt and I will not disappoint this time!

I am going to be working with Anthony and Peter and hope to do more Guinness shows in countries like Italy, India and possibly China again.

I had a very difficult time Saturday night trying to digest everything that comes with not being successful at achieving something. But I’ve realized that I will have many more attempts at World Records and not every attempt can be successful. All I can do is make sure that I’m as prepared as possible and that everything I can control is done properly (like the setup of the World Record, which I will make sure of next time).

I want to thank all of my friends, family and fans for your support these past few weeks and I look forward to sharing with you my Guinness World Record when I am successful. I will keep you posted on the progress of my attempt and will share videos and pictures with you from that event.

I look forward to going for coffee with my friends and telling you all about my trip. I have many more planned so I know this is just the beginning. It’s opened my eyes to what is truly possible when you do what you are passionate about.

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One of my favourite quotes is from George Bernard Shaw:

“You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’”

This is a huge theme of my life – dreaming. My favourite movie is Rudy, a true story about a kid who dreamed about playing football at Notre Dame, and achieved his dream when he got to play 1 play in the final game of his final year.

Now, in life there are people who dream (like Rudy) and there are people who do (like many people who work 8-5, Monday to Friday). Everyone can dream but too many people don’t because they’re too afraid of not being able to reach their dreams. So what do they do? They try to fit their dreams into their current life instead of working to make their current life match their dreams.

Well I like to live with both a dreamer’s and a doer’s mentality. I’ll admit I often look at things that are and ask “Why” but I’m also quick to ask “Why not”. I don’t care if something has been tried before – there’s usually a reason it didn’t work the first time. Once that reason is known, why not try again?

And the nature of my passion (disc sports – ultimate, disc golf, distance, self caught flight, dog disc, etc) allows me to often dream of something and ask “Why not?” And the beauty of it is that I can actually do something that hasn’t been done (or hasn’t been done for more than 25 years).

Sometimes it’s a solitary pursuit and many people don’t get my passion but looking back over the past 11 years, I realize that I am who I am today because of frisbee and I know that when I look back on my life 11 years from now, I’ll be glad I made the decision to make frisbee such a big part of my life. I know that the more I do, the more I will inspire and amaze people and that is what keeps me going. To know that there is a chance others can share in my love for frisbee even a little bit is an incredible feeling.

So I ask you – are you a dreamer, a doer, or both?

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Monday was already sort of pre planned based on the soccer game being suspended from the night before but I also had a few things to do so it was more laid back than some of the other days.

The soccer game started at 10am and it begin at 0-0 with no time played; based on what we were told the night before, the game was going to restart with Denmark leading 1-0 and 25 minutes having been played. However, this was not the case and so I digress. Around the 35th minute, Denmark scored to again take a 1-0 lead. This game mattered because if Denmark won, they would advance. A draw or an Australian win meant Australia would advance. The game was pretty good – lots of chances from both sides but I felt that Denmark held the edge in chances (and obviously in score). However, there were some dirty plays which affected the moods of both teams but I felt that Denmark got more frustrated and inevitably, Australia finally scored – with 1 minute left to play. It was a great goal and followed some drama from a Danish player going down in front of the Australia net – he stayed on the ground although he wasn’t hurt, the ball moved to the opposite side of the field, and Australia scored to have the game end in a 1-1 draw and so they advanced. Compared to Sunday, the crowd was just a fraction – maybe 1,000 compared to 25,000 the night before so it was definitely much more quiet than it could have been. All in all, a good game.

After that, I got some work done and then Victor and I went and threw for an hour up by where Jose bought his house. Nice spot with a good view of the city – the grass space we threw on was a bit weird – it felt like they have just thrown some sod on top of a parking lot but there was a good crosswind so we got to work on our wind throws quite a bit.

After that, we headed for a Malaki UFC practice which lasted around 3 hours. Before the practice, there was some excitement as Victor’s car got stuck in some mud. Just after we pushed him out, Alejandro pulled up and proceeded to get stuck as well. Needless to say, both of their cars were covered in mud so after practice, we headed out to a car wash to get Victor’s car cleaned up. Well, that was quite the experience. Not only are the car washes in Queretaro much cheaper than Canada ($4 compared to $10) but they also wash your car for you while you wait. I thought that was neat as it created jobs for people where there normally wouldn’t be one (at least not that I’ve seen in Canada really).

After the car wash, we headed out for some food and I got my first taste of Pozole, which is a traditional soup passed on from the Aztecs. The pozole was delicious (and not as spicy as I was expecting – or maybe I was just better handling the spice than I expected) and I also had some enchiladas which were also delicious.

The third day was busy but a nice break compared to some of the other days of my trip. It’s always nice when you can do such a variety of activities and end the day with some delicious food!

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When I woke up Saturday, I had no idea what an amazing day I would have.

I’m staying with Victor and his family – so his parents, him and his 2 brothers and their bird who sings a lot. I love their house – it’s wide open, gets lots of sunlight and is in a great neighbourhood which is close to everything. They differentiate between a grocery store and a supermarket – grocery store is more where fresh fruit is sold and is for the neighbourhood and the supermarket is much bigger and serves the city. I like the grocery store idea – very welcoming, open concept and the food is fresh.

Anyway, for breakfast, I had Guava and Papaya for the first time – a taste I’m not used to but I like it – and they were so fresh. Yummm!

One thing that’s totally surprised me is the culture here – I didn’t realize how important friends + family is compared to Canada. Victor and his 2 brothers live at home and they are very close. I feel that is a big thing we’re missing in Canada. I feel like it had it’s place sometimes but in Canada we seem much more focused on our careers and entertainment than something real like our friends + family. I’m very lucky to be staying with Victor and getting to see this side of Mexican culture.

We went for a little tour of downtown and it was amazing how many people have fruit stands along the street, and also how many people try to sell something when the car is stopped at a light. We stopped and I got to see the Mausoleum of the Corregidora which holds the remains of Josefa Ortiz Dominguez, a heroine of the Mexican war of independence, and has many statues representing and honouring important people from the history of Queretaro. It’s amazing how much history there is in Queretaro. It’s easy to be proud of your heritage when you’re able to see it and read about it so easily.

Later on, we bought some Tuna fruit (also called Nopales) from a street vendor and it was delicious. I wish we had it in Canada but cactuses are pretty rare!

After we played ultimate and ate some food, we went downtown and watched the Mexico vs USA Golf Cup final at Wicklow’s Irish pub. Their pubs + bars are tucked away so when you walk down the street you really don’t know what’s inside until you get to the door. It’s quite neat as it makes the downtown seem a lot less commercial.

After the game, we went to meet up with some of the players from Malaki and I got to drink some delicious Mexican Tequila. I was feeling mucho bueno and got to eat some real tacos from a street vendor which were also quite delicious. I’m getting used to the spice in their food slowly.

I hope all my friends and family are doing amazing. I didn’t realize how much traveling would open my eyes to so much – but I guess when I see the culture the way I am, I can’t help but be influenced and inspired.

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I love to write and I’m so excited to be in Queretaro, Mexico coaching + playing with Malaki UFC (Ultimate Frisbee Club) so I will be blogging about my trip. There will be lots of randomness – I’m very aware and pay attention to a lot so you might think some of it is weird but if it’s in there, I thought it was neat enough to mention.

Neat thing I saw on the ground: Baggage truck pulling a chuckwagon with wooden barrels on the runway at the Calgary airport.

Neat thing I saw in the air: The captain made an announcement when we were flying over the Grand Canyon so I got to see that from the plane.

Annoying thing: The flight attendant on US Airways giving a long speech about an air rewards credit card.

Nice little thing: Having an empty seat next to me on both flights.

Random thing: Watching other people try to sleep is entertaining – there really isn’t a comfortable position and you see people try everything.

Something I enjoyed: Reading “The Art of Learning” on the plane. The book arrived last week, generously sent to me by Michael Lawler, a former coach o Boston’s Brute Squad, a women’s ultimate frisbee team, as his way of thanking me for posting his videos on the Ultimate Rob website.

The first part of the book describes chess in such a brilliant manner that I immediately appreciate the complexity and skill involved. The second part, which I have just started, discusses Tai Chai and the practice of Push Hands, a competitive sport which incorporates a lot of the Tai Chai movements.

So far I’ve learned the difference between entity theorists and learning theorists which leads to understanding how we best learn and how that core approach to learning will determine how we perform under pressure of when faced with a new, difficult problem.

Something pretty cool: I was the only Canadian on the flight to Mexico from Phoenix.

Something gross: Airport fast food restaurants and the smell that lingers in the plane from everyone having just eaten it or eating it on the plane

Temperature thing: It is so hot in Phoenix and not a good hot either. It was around 115 degrees F when we landed. Makes me enjoy Calgary’s summer much more.

Something this trip has fueled so far: The desire to travel more! I’ve been all over Canada and the USA but this is my first trip outside of those 2 countries. It’s more than I could have ever imagined and I want to do more.

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Today I leave for Mexico. Specifically, Queretaro. But I’ll be flying into Mexico City. I’ve known for a while that Mexico City was huge population wise and it has always impressed me how big it is.

I’ve always been fascinated by numbers – I still remember how amazed I was in grade 6 when I found out the population of California. For Social Studies, we were each given a state and we had to research and prepare a report on the state. I got California and I was blown away when I learned that they had more people in the whole state than we did in our whole country. That opened a whole new world for me and really put a lot into perspective – about how many people there really was in the world. Up to that point, I hadn’t really traveled much other than crossing the border with my family once in a while, so I felt like California was some foreign land. When I was in grade 6, we definitely didn’t have the internet – and we actually used floppy disks that were floppy.

Anyway, fast forward to 2011 and 17 years later and today I will be flying into Mexico City, with a population of almost 9 million. Now, I grew up in a town of 6,000 and although I’ve lived Halifax and Calgary and spent time in big cities, this is a whole new experience for me.

I notice the little things and I can only imagine what it will be like flying into such a massive city. I’m excited, nervous, scared but mostly just incredibly grateful for this opportunity. That opportunity will be to coach + play with the Malaki Ultimate Frisbee Club (UFC). It’s because of Ultimate Rob that I was able to get to know their captain, Victor and it’s because of him that I have this amazing opportunity.

Have you experienced something similar? When you had a change in perspective? I’d love to hear your stories!

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For 2 years I’ve run a website called Ultimate Rob (www.ultimaterob.com). In that time, I’ve published roughly 50 articles and posted more than 60 videos. My goal when I started the website was for it to be the go to website for ultimate frisbee but very quickly I realized that it wasn’t feasible – both from a time perspective on my side and from a searching perspective from a user side. I decided to instead focus on writing articles and filming videos that would help people very simply “Play Ultimate Better”.

So far, I’ve seen my fan base grow consistently and that’s been done mostly through word of mouth. I haven’t spent money on advertising, although I know that would have helped me grow more quickly. I also haven’t spammed people like a lot of people do when they don’t understand marketing and so the fans who do follow me appreciate what I do and I can honestly say that I haven’t had 1 negative comment in 2 years on any of my videos or articles. I have had some great discussions with players from all over the world – Ireland, Australia, Mexico, Poland, China, Philippines to name a few – and have been lucky enough to meet some of those players in person. When I started, I had some general ideas about how to monetize Ultimate Rob because I have spent a few thousand dollars to get everything going. However, the more time I’ve spent on the website and the more I’ve connected with people, I’ve decided that I had more value to offer than charging for content. The approach I chose to take was to offer to run clinics for teams and have them pay for my expenses. This would allow me to travel, share my knowledge and meet some awesome people. Although I wasn’t charging for the clinic per se, I was hoping to sell some of my dvd’s (I created a dvd 2 summers ago and have sold roughly 50 copies). With that in mind, I have spoken to some ultimate players in different countries about running a clinic for them – and so far none have happened.

Until now.

On Monday, the captain of the Malaki UFC (Ultimate Frisbee Club) contacted me and asked if I would consider going to Mexico from June 24 – July 4 to coach them and play a tournament with them. It’s still hard to believe it’s happening because, although I knew I could do it, I didn’t think it would happen. Well now, it is.

Monday was a flurry of activity as I was sending messages back and forth with Victor trying to figure out all the logistics and when we both realized that it was going to work, I spoke with my boss, who gave me the thumbs up to book the time off. Victor promptly booked my flight and next Friday, June 24, I will be boarding a plane bound for Mexico City. I will be staying in Querétaro, which from all the research I’ve done so far looks like an amazing city. According to Victor, they have the world’s 3rd largest boulder, a pyramid built by the Chichimecas, it’s a colonial city established by the Otomis indians, then colonized by the Spaniards, they have a huge aquaduct with 72 arches, and the wine there is supposed to be amazing. I’m not sure if I’ll be close to any beaches but I’m pretty excited to see a part of Mexico that most people going to Mexico don’t (as many people visit the resorts on all inclusive deals). It will for sure be the experience of a lifetime and it opens the door for more opportunities like this.

I will be taking pictures and videos and will be blogging while I’m there. This is the first time I will be traveling outside of Canada + the USA so I’m beyond myself with excitement!

I wanted to thank everyone who has believed in me and supported me while I’ve built Ultimate Rob to where it is today. I have many more things planned and I am so excited to share the sport of ultimate (and disc sports) with more people!

Best,
Rob McLeod
aka Ultimate Rob

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Sweet potato fries.

Tri-ominos.

Good friends.

Cute puppies.

Good music.

Ultimate frisbee.

Water.

More good friends.

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On Tuesday school starts again at the U of C. I’m back in 4 classes each semester and will finally be getting my degree after having started almost 10 years ago. It’s been an interesting 9 years and here are some things I’ve learned/done in those past 9 years:

1) Lost my mom

2) Lost my grandfather

3) Learned how to play ultimate frisbee

4) Taught myself how to build websites

5) Met a lot of amazing people

6) Lived in 3 provinces and 8 different places

7) Attended 4 universities in 3 provinces

Had 14 jobs

9) Lost some friends – made lots of new friends

10) Completely changed my career focus

11) Discovered my passion in life

12) Got 3 speeding tickets

13) Bought my first car

14) Had my first love

15) And have been a part of many amazing trips, groups, parties, adventures and events

I wouldn’t change it all for anything. As hard as some of it has been, it’s made me who I am today. Very cliche to say but it’s true. The worst thing ever and the best thing ever happened to me – losing my mom and finding my passion. Knowing that she would be happy with what I’m doing makes it all worth it, what I’ve gone through to get here. Sometimes it’s nice to look back on a period of your life and reflect. You could almost consider it to be an era of my life ending and a new one starting. But really there’s multiple parts of my life right now so just one part of that is going to be over when I graduate in April. It’s been a good run, I’ve learned a lot and still have a lot left to learn. Here’s to living life!

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