From Taylor HQ 001
001—The day my truck almost rolled into traffic…
To all the men out there who know the trenches of new fatherhood — you’ll feel this one.
We were coming home from lunch. My daughter, all of 10 weeks old and fluent in absolutely zero English, was melting down in the back seat. That kind of cry where the mouth’s wide open, the face is red, and the actual sound only comes out every few seconds in soul-crushing shrieks.
My wife was doing her best to console her, and I pulled into the driveway with one goal: get our little girl out of the car, into the house, and hit the reset button.
I threw the truck into what I thought was park, jumped out to grab her…and then I heard it:
“JACKSON! THE TRUCK IS ROLLING!”
By the time she said my name, I already knew. I hadn’t pushed the shifter all the way into park. The truck was in neutral, and our driveway slopes down toward a semi-busy street.
Without thinking, I took two big strides, yanked the door open mid-roll, leapt in, and mashed the brake just before we hit the bottom. Crisis averted. Wife’s anxiety 10/10.
My wife and I just stared at each other—heart rates up, the little munchkin somehow calm again—and started nervously laughing at what had just unfolded.
No damage. No injuries. Just a hard-earned lesson and a good story.
Here’s what I took from it:
1. Slow. Down.
Rushing leads to mistakes. Simple as that.
I was going a million miles an hour, trying to be Superdad. But speed without intention gets you hurt. Remember the phrase:
Smooth is fast. Fast is smooth.
Slow the hell down and you will go much faster and with less stupid mistakes.
2. It Pays to Be Fit
Let’s not ignore what my wife commented about afterwards — I 007’d the hell out of that recovery.
Was it stupid to leave the truck in neutral? Absolutely.
But had I not been physically capable—quick, strong, semi-confident under stress—that moment could’ve ended far worse.
Your strength isn’t just for the gym or your vanity. It’s for life. It’s for moments like this. For your wife. Your kids. Your community.
So heading into the week, remember:
When the pressure’s high, slow your ass down.
Stay physically capable—always. Your family depends on it.
Strength & Nutrition Field Notes:
Make sure that you are using a FULL range of motion with all of your workouts this week. It is a simple thing, but when you shorten a movement (specifically the end range of motion) you are losing out on hypertrophic (muscle growing) gains. Don’t skimp on range of motion!
For the gentlemen who are not into having breakfast, it is still recommended that you get a protein shake in first thing in the morning before the day gets rolling. You can do this post-workout if you lift in the morning, but there is really not any benefit in losing out on that early protein dose especially for men who are struggling to hit their protein numbers (.7g-1g/lb bodyweight) each day.
As always, if you have any questions, thoughts, or need to get your health back in order, we are here 24/7.
God bless, be strong, and stay after it,
Dr. J
