Go Where the Journey Takes You


Last Saturday St John's Parish in Burlington held their Mistletoe Market and A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp was there. Saturday morning at the market was yet another lesson of what can happen on any journey.  The hero's journey has goals but never expectations of what others will do. It's our journey. This book has transformed my mindset to be thankful for whoever you meet and whatever happens, rather than wasting energy on worrying about who doesn't show up. 

That mindset allowed me to have a great day and sold more books than I thought I might. It wasn't the number of books sold that made my day, it was those people who represented my journey that I sold to. Interesting that not one book was sold to anyone who had any connection to the camp. And it wasn't my salesmanship! It was the journey of the land and the people of Olympia Sports Camp.

I sold to a former colleague from my days at Bishop Reding high school in Milton, a school I left in 1996. She had just joined our parish and thought she'd drop by the market. How cool was that reunion?

I sold to a man who walked by my table and then stopped because he saw the picture of the camp on my pull-up banner. He owns a cottage on Tasso Lake, part of the 20km bike ride that many Olympia coaches have done for decades. For us the bike ride always ended up with a swim in Camp Lake, just past Tasso. The man, whom I'd never met, extolled the beauty of the land called Interlaken, and we spoke for several minutes about life on Limberlost Road. He was thrilled to get a book. 

Perhaps the most poignant sale, representative of my journey, was to a woman who noticed my name on the banner and said, "Are you Chris Dooley. Did you coach basketball at Bishop Reding?" This woman knew nothing about Olympia but she knew me. Turns out that in 1994 her son was playing for Nelson and she recalled Nelson beating Reding in the Halton Final, and that her son played a key defensive role in the win. 1994! We talked for a long time about the specifics of that game and she even knew a few of the names on that Reding team. Ironic that because of a book this woman brought back many memories for me and for her. Wins and losses are part of the journey but for us to share that time from 29 years ago just shows the power of community, and the power of the journey.

I spoke to a lot of people about the values in this book and that I'm trying to spread these, to promote the ideal that we are in control of our journey, and that in itself is exciting. I say it again that if anyone wants a copy of the book I will get it to you some way, somehow. Why? Because it will be a thrill to get it into your hands, and we can share an Olympia moment.


Next on my agenda is an event that has meant a lot to the Dooley family for many years now, the Jacob Ranton Memorial Basketball Tournament at Waterloo Collegiate. Joy and I will be there on Friday Dec 15. I'm thrilled to have my book sales go toward the Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council and to support my dear friends Doug and Sandra Ranton, who were dealt the worst thing parents can go through, the death of a child. I'll write more about the tournament next week but if you are in the KW area drop by. Nothing better than a win win... Nothing better than a community.

Copies of A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp are available at The Different Drummer BookStore on Locust St in Burlington. The also will be available at Indigo.ca and at some Indgio stores in the area. Or if you live in the Hamilton/ Halton area etransfer $30 with your address and I'll deliver it to your door. It's worth the drive! 

I have a couple of opportunities to get your copy in person coming up. I'm at St JOhn's Parish Christmas Market on Brant St in Burlington on Nov 25 and at the Jacob Ranton Memorial Basketball Tournament on Friday Dec 15 at Waterloo Collegiate. More details to follow.

If you would like us to come to your town for a book event, email me at coachdools71@gmail.com

Online copies are available at aherosjourney.ca

Audiobook version is available at Audible, Amazon, or iTunes 

A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp  is part of the legacy of one of Canada's best and longest-lasting camps. Check out the 2024 registration information at olympiasportscamp.com

Comments

  1. Greg RogersNovember 28, 2023 at 6:34 AM

    Hi Chris
    Great to see your book at Christmas bazaars. It would make a wonderful Christmas gift!

    ReplyDelete

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