On the evening of June 10, 2005, Lisa Guliani and I attended a Chrome at the Dome motorcycle rally where the keynote speaker was legendary stuntman Evel Knievel. I’ve been a huge fan Evel’s ever since the early 1970’s when I’d watch him crash & burn on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Not only was Knievel the world’s greatest daredevil of all-time, but he also exhibited a philosophical bent that set him apart from most other sports figures (Muhammed Ali being a notable exception). Evel’s strong, independent, rough-edged views on life can be found on an excellent videotape entitled The Last of the Gladiators, which captures him traveling cross-country in his motor home.

Anyway, due to a lifetime of death-defying motorcycle accidents, Evel is now staring-down mortality; so at the end of his speech last Friday night he left the audience with the following six life-lessons, which I would like to pass along to you.

                    1) Protect and cherish your health.
                    2) Believe in God. “If you’re an atheist,” Evel said, “I feel sorry for you. Maybe someday                         somebody will show you a different way.”
                    3) Find somebody who you can love and share your life with.
                    4) Determine your purpose for being here on this planet.
                    5) Do the right thing by your fellow man. If you give your word, keep it. If you make a                         deal on a handshake, honor it.
                    6) Follow your dreams. You might fall many times, but don’t ever let it stop you.

Evel Knievel isn’t perfect, and he’s made many mistakes. In fact, he’d be the first one to admit it. But I’ll tell ya what --- of all the politicians, religious figures, academians, bureaucrats, and those in the mainstream and alternative media that we see each day; I’ll take Evel’s philosophy over 99.99% of them!