Take the Next Step
There are days at Trinity Endurance when it feels like everything is happening at once.
Bikes are coming in for repairs, bikes are going out, inventory is arriving, customers are walking through the door, and you're just trying to keep up.
Then there are days when nothing happens.
We recently had one of those days.
We had just gotten through a pretty good push of bike repairs and inventory. The day before, we'd gotten everything finished and out the door. Then the next day we were sitting in the shop and there were no new repairs coming in and hardly anyone walking through the door.
It was quiet.
When you're running a new business, quiet can make you think.
You start wondering when the next customer is coming. You think about rent. You think about the inventory you've bought. You start wondering if there's something else you should be doing to get people through the doors.
But the funny thing is, there was still plenty to do.
There's always plenty to do.
Work on the website. Order inventory. Clean the shop. Build another display. Contact vendors. Work on marketing. Plan another community event. Find new cycling routes. Figure out the next group ride.
My to-do list never seems to get shorter.
Sometimes the hardest part isn't finding something to do.
It's figuring out what to do next.
What's the Next Step?
That's something I've been thinking about a lot lately.
When you're building something new, there isn't always a roadmap sitting in front of you telling you exactly what to do.
I've never built a bike shop before.
I've never tried to build an endurance community before.
I've never tried to organize all the events and programs we're working toward.
We're figuring a lot of it out as we go.
There are times when I wish I could see exactly where Trinity Endurance will be five years from now and know every decision we need to make to get there.
But that's not how it works.
And honestly, that's not how most things in life work either.
Sometimes all you can do is figure out the next step.
I think that's where discipline and faith come together.
Discipline tells you to keep working even when you don't feel like it.
Faith tells you that you don't have to see the entire path before you start walking it.
I've Been Here Before
Endurance sports have taught me a lot about this.
If you're standing at the beginning of a really long race thinking about every mile still ahead of you, it can become overwhelming pretty quickly.
I've had the same feeling during long training days.
You start thinking about how many hours you have left or how many miles you still have to cover.
That's usually not very helpful.
Instead, you break it down.
Get to the next aid station.
Ride the next ten miles.
Run the next mile.
Sometimes the goal is simply to keep moving forward.
Building Trinity Endurance feels a lot like that.
If I think about everything I want this place to eventually become, the list is huge.
More bikes.
More inventory.
More employees.
More community rides.
Running events.
Kids endurance programs.
Community partnerships.
Better routes.
More opportunities for people in Yukon, Mustang, El Reno, and west Oklahoma City to get involved.
There's a lot I want to build.
Trying to accomplish all of that at once would be impossible.
So I have to remind myself:
What's the next step?
Rest or Avoidance?
There's another part of this that I'm still trying to figure out.
Rest.
There are times when you need to stop.
Your body needs it. Your mind needs it. Your family needs you to put the phone down and be present.
Rest is important.
But I also know myself.
Sometimes what looks like rest can become an excuse to avoid doing something difficult.
That's a line I'm still learning to navigate.
Am I resting because I need to recharge?
Or am I sitting still because the next step is uncomfortable and I don't know exactly what to do?
I don't think there's always an easy answer.
That's where I have to slow down, pray about it, and try to be honest with myself.
There are days when the right decision is to work.
There are days when the right decision is to go home.
Both can move you toward where God is calling you if you're making the decision for the right reason.
Faith Doesn't Remove the Questions
I believe God called me to build Trinity Endurance.
That doesn't mean I never question things.
I still wonder how we're going to pay for the next big inventory order.
I still think about rent.
I still wonder whether an event will work.
I still wonder whether people will show up for the next ride.
There are plenty of questions.
But underneath those questions, there's also a sense of peace.
Things have continued to work out.
Not always the way I expected.
Not always when I wanted them to.
But enough doors have opened at the right times to remind me that I don't need to have everything figured out.
I just need to keep taking the next step.
Sometimes the Next Step Is Wrong
And here's another thing I'm learning.
Sometimes you take a step and realize it wasn't the right one.
We've tried events that didn't get much participation.
We've ordered things that didn't sell.
We've spent time on ideas that didn't work.
We've reached out to companies that never responded.
That's part of learning.
Taking the next step doesn't guarantee that every decision will be perfect.
Sometimes the wrong step teaches you what the right one should be.
You adjust.
You learn.
And then you take another step.
That's still progress.
What's Next
We're going to keep building.
There are more bikes coming into the shop, more community events we're working on, more routes we want to explore, and more ideas than we have time to accomplish.
Some of them will work.
Some probably won't.
We're going to keep learning either way.
And on those quiet days when nobody walks through the door, we're going to keep working.
Because a quiet store doesn't mean nothing is happening.
Sometimes those are the days when you get to work on the things that will matter six months from now.
I don't know every step Trinity Endurance needs to take from here.
But I don't need to.
I just need to figure out the next one.
Made for More Reflection
Maybe there's something in your life right now that feels too big.
Maybe you're thinking about starting a business.
Maybe you're trying to get healthier.
Maybe you're training for a race and the finish line feels impossibly far away.
Maybe it's your career, your marriage, your faith, your finances, or something else entirely.
When you look at the whole thing, you don't know how you're going to get there.
That's okay.
You don't have to solve the entire journey today.
Sometimes you just need to ask:
What's the next step?
Not the next hundred.
Just the next one.
"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." — Proverbs 16:9
This Week's Challenge
Think about one area of your life where you've been stuck because you don't know how everything is going to work out.
Stop trying to solve the entire thing.
Figure out one step you can take today.
Make the phone call.
Go for the run.
Send the email.
Have the conversation.
Say the prayer.
Take the day to rest if that's what you truly need.
Then tomorrow, figure out the next step.
Community Question
Where in your life are you having trouble seeing the next step?
And if you've made it through a season like that before, what helped you keep moving when you couldn't see the whole path?
Sometimes progress is exciting and obvious.
Other times, progress is quietly choosing to do the next right thing when nobody else is watching.
Keep showing up.
Keep trusting.
Keep taking the next step.
You were Made for More.
