“I’m just a ‘Baby Stoic’ exploring this pale blue ark and trying to make myself less of a piece of shit every day…”
Linnie is a self-described Professional Silly Goose, recovering ‘Corporate Climber,’ and achievement addict.
“Now, this is a story all about how
My life got flipped-turned upside down
And I'd like to take a minute
Just sit right there
I'll tell you how I became… displaced from my home, sold all my shit, made a viral video during COVID which caused this cascading effect of finding myself and getting my heart obliterated, had my dream of being an Army aviator ripped out of my hands at the finish line, but then climbed out if the giant self-imposed hole I made of myself and found myself in Texas…*breath… where I found myself all over again and learned how to experience healthy love, self acceptance, and purpose through adventure and leaning into discomfort…”
… More or less the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air story…
I spent much of my adult life living for my resume and not my obituary. A few years ago, I found myself fat, tired, unhappy, and working for a large aerospace company that was running me into the ground. I was 110lbs over weight, finding my life to be mostly meaningless and my dreams slipping by (but hey, I had two Masters degrees and management experience… too bad I couldn’t ‘Six Sigma’ by life). I ended up making a radical change in my life. Dropped the weight, left the company, had my marriage dissolve and experienced a messy break up, perused a career in Army Aviation (which my dreams were dashed at thanks to COVID and age restrictions), experienced a massive existential crisis, and liquidated almost everything I owned (not in that order). I literally imploded my own life… found myself making six figures but sleeping on couches, renting temporary rooms, and occasionally sleeping in my truck. Through the catastrophic failure of my life I found a lot of purpose and meaning… and I can look back on my struggles today with gratitude that it all happened. With no debts and nothing to my name, I went on a quest to rebuild my life which has allowed me to meet so many great people and have so many rich experiences along the way. Although it’s been bitter sweet getting so painfully close to my dreams only to have them ripped away by forces out of my control, I’m happy it all happened the way it did.
I’m still an aerospace safety and emergency management professional by day, part time pajama fighter/hide-and-go-seek champion/adventure blogger by night… I’m just enjoying the fruits of my labor and my time here on earth.
This is a blog that started out as a “Self-Love” project, aimed at trying new things and healing from life punching you in the face (originally called “500 Days to Freedom”). It’s since then morphed into a project where although I still do adventures and things that push my limits, I continue to meet a bunch of people with similar stories of strength, worthiness, and perseverance along the way.
“Axios!” is a greek exclamation that means “worthy.” I actually had it tattoo’d on my arm in 2013, not realizing I needed to be reminded of my own worth just 8 years later. So I named this site The Axios Collective in honor of that word, my journey, and the collective of other great stories from the people I meet and inspired my own growth. The idea being that I am a collection of all the people and experiences before me, connecting me to something greater than myself.
Wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance… these are the four stoic virtues and the ones in which I hope to explore throughout the adventures/musings on this page. I mean, the great Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius had a journal that everyone reads… why can’t I? Maybe one day this too shall be published and placed on the back of someone’s toilet seat with all the other great words of literature.
This blog is a mixed bag of nuts for topics: relationships and why I and others suck at them, philosophy on life, jiu jitsu, adventures, finding ones purpose, how to do “overland” camping, overcoming hardships, pushing ourselves to do uncomfortable things, etc. etc. etc… Think of it as a catalogue of a person’s evolution as they form their own philosophy on life… sprinkled with some “How To” excepts from various topics.
Buckle up Buttercup and enjoy the ride!
