My Koi

but the journey continues

I now have my koi.

It only took ten years, three tattoos, four airports, one missed connection in Amsterdam, and roughly six hours of getting repeatedly stabbed with tiny needles in Hamburg, Germany.

Seems reasonable.

If you’ve read my previous newsletters, you already know the significance of the koi.

Ten years ago I quit drinking.

One year sober I got a phoenix.

Five years sober I got a dragon.

Ten years sober I got the koi.

Which admittedly sounds backwards if you know the story.

Normally the koi becomes the dragon.

In my case, the dragon showed up early.

Story of my life.

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Could I have commissioned a koi tattoo locally?

Absolutely.

Atlanta has incredible tattoo artists.

I could have driven twenty minutes down the road and accomplished the same thing.

But that wasn’t really the point.

The point for me was the journey.

The point was creating an experience that carried as much meaning as the tattoo itself.

So. Why fly to Germany for a tattoo?

Why not?

We tend to take tomorrow for granted.

We assume there will always be another opportunity.

Another chance to do that thing we’ve always talked about doing.

The older I get, the less I believe that.

If something is meaningful to me and it involves a little adventure, I am all in.

Did people think I was crazy?

Absolutely.

A six-hour tattoo session in Germany sounds like the setup to either an incredible story or a terrible decision.

Fortunately, this one turned out to be the former.

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Several years ago, while researching artists before getting my dragon tattoo, I stumbled across the work of Alina Vax.

Her neo-Japanese style immediately grabbed my attention.

Bold.

Colorful.

Elegant.

Powerful.

The kind of artwork that stops you mid-scroll and makes you stare for a while.

I remember telling myself:

“My next significant tattoo will be from her.”

Five and a half years later, I finally made good on that promise.

Like any good adventure, the logistics became part of the story.

• The flight was covered with airline eCredits.

• The hotel was covered with points.

• The tattoo was funded through profits from some early cryptocurrency investments.

I had everything planned.

What could possibly go wrong?

The travel gods looked at my itinerary, gave me an up and down look and said, “Challenge accepted.”

I had to be in Philadelphia for a work event so that would be my outbound for the international leg. The route was simple enough:

Atlanta → Philadelphia → Boston →Amsterdam → Hamburg

Instead, it became:

Atlanta → Philadelphia → Boston → Amsterdam → Missed connection → Frankfurt → Hamburg

I boarded a plane in Philadelphia at 5:30 on Wednesday afternoon.

I arrived in Hamburg at 8:00 PM Thursday evening.

Tattoo appointment:

12:30 PM Friday.

This, my friends, is why you always arrive at least one day early for important international activities.

The travel gods demand a sacrifice.

Mine was sleep.

Thankfully, everything settled down once I reached Hamburg.

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Tattoo day arrived.

One of the things I have learned over the years is that if you’re going to hire a talented artist, let them be an artist.

For all three of my tattoos, I have provided the concept and the meaning.

Then I get out of the way.

No micromanaging.

No twenty-page design brief.

Just trust and give them artistic freedom.

The same way you trust a great pitmaster to cook brisket or a great chef to prepare a tasting menu.

I hired them because they’re better at their craft than I am.

Six hours and several breaks later, the koi was complete.

And?

It was worth every mile traveled.

To say Alina nailed it would be a massive understatement.

The placement.

The colors.

Everything.

Perfect.

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Now, I’m not suggesting you go get a tattoo.

Meredith would probably appreciate me not recruiting people into that hobby.

But I do think everybody has their own version of a Dragon’s Gate.

Something they’ve been talking about doing.

Something they’ve been putting off.

Something they’ve convinced themselves they’ll get around to someday.

Maybe it’s a trip.

Maybe it’s a business.

Maybe it’s writing a book.

Maybe it’s finally making a change you’ve known you needed to make.

I don’t know what your thing is.

I just know life has a funny way of speeding up on us.

One minute you’re celebrating one year.

Then you’re standing in a tattoo studio in Germany wondering how ten years went by so fast.

If there’s something calling you, go take a step toward it.

The koi didn’t become a dragon sitting still.

-Ed