Emerson Post #4- Challenges

That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him. Where is the master who could have taught Shakespeare? Where is the master who could have instructed Franklin, or Washington, or Bacon, or Newton? . . . Shakespeare will never be made by the study of Shakespeare. Do that which is assigned you, and you cannot hope too much or dare too much. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Identify one of your biggest challenges at the moment (ie I don’t feel passionate about my work) and turn it into a question (ie How can I do work I’m passionate about?) Write it on a post-it and put it up on your bathroom mirror or the back of your front door. After 48-hours, journal what answers came up for you and be sure to evaluate them.

Bonus: tweet or blog a photo of your post-it.

My biggest challenge is getting it all to fit together. I'm doing decent at a lot of things but I feel in a transition right now. I'm getting better but not there. I know you never get there, but I'm on the cusp of really getting somewhere fantastic.

It's tough and focus on goals and taking it day by day is the way I need to manifest this. Busting out the daily goal board is probably in order.

Emerson Post #3- A Dangerous idea

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

The world is powered by passionate people, powerful ideas, and fearless action. What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family? What inspires this belief, and what have you done to actively live it?

(Author: Buster Benson)

The belief I try to foster in myself that everyone doesn't share is that you can do anything that you want to. In reading about great men, you find that limitations are more or less the creation of the self and not society.

To try something new is really more about overcoming fear. Obstacles are there, sure, but they exist to repel those who don't want it bad enough. The higher the obstacles the more special the goal.

Individuals have a way of getting wrapped up in this cookie cutter life. Get married, buy a car, buy a house, have kids, buy a bigger house, and retire. We find a job where we get paid well enough to live within predefined means. Consumerism provides us with a safety of new things to show off our "interesting" life. It's much more rare for the individual to pursue an interesting life on its own merits.

This idea came from reading blogs/books of successful people and realizing that my belief system and the opportunities that existed were largely lies that I had created for myself. In my life, it made me apply for a job I had no business applying for and getting it. I've taken sabbaticals at age 27 and done things just to see if I could.

I could always do more, but now I have more of a "why not" outlook than a "I can't" outlook and that has made all the difference for me.

Emerson Post #2- A Sentence

Your genuine action will explain itself, and will explain your other genuine actions. Your conformity explains nothing. The force of character is cumulative. – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

If ‘the voyage of the best ship is a zigzag line of a hundred tracks,’ then it is more genuine to be present today than to recount yesterdays. How would you describe today using only one sentence? Tell today’s sentence to one other person. Repeat each day.

(Author: Liz Danzico)

Good times with good friends, nuzzled around a productive workday.

Emerson Post #1- Fifteen Minutes

We are afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death, and afraid of each other. Our age yields no great and perfect persons. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

You just discovered you have fifteen minutes to live.

1. Set a timer for fifteen minutes.
2. Write the story that has to be written.

Fifteen minutes isn't very long to reflect on one's life or what one wants to say. So in that case I will just speak. Due to the brevity of time forgive the jumbled nature or my comments.

It's tough to say what makes one's life great. I don't think it's the same for everyone nor do I have the answer for everyone. The things I remember most about my life are the things I have done with others I care about. Friends and family are what make life worth living, and how we exist beyond our finite life. All things come to an end, but when we give of ourselves to others it stays with them and should we do something fantastic well perhaps it will change them enough for the better that the individual passes it on to others, and so through acts of kindness we can live on forever.

The human experience is so magnificent and yet so mundane, no? Regardless of how fantastic of a life one lives there is ample time for nonsense. Time spent doing things that don't matter or that we would rather not be doing. Why is that? Maybe we grow in these moments in ways we can't yet fathom. Do we develop patience, focus, wantingness? I can't say for certain.

Money can't be the answer for anything because at the end of the day it's just there and you always feel like you could have more. I don't see it as a limitation in my life. I have enough to do the things I want, and yet I strive for more. Perhaps, it's seen as a scorecard. That's Warren Buffett's premise. That we merely use it as a way to keep track of who has done what and so we feel that the more we have the better we won at life. There is some truth to this idea. Society pays us for our contributions, though it seems unequitable because we overvalue some things (athletics/entertainment) and undervalue others (education).

If I have one desire for those around me it is to live their dreams. It is so easy to get locked into routine and live it. To do the same thing over again. To find the best use for our paycheck, spend it, and get the next. Spend some time frequently questioning why you do what you do and try alternatives. We have a set time here and we may as well take advantage of it. I've found that our only limitations in life are those we instill upon ourselves. Hard things worth doing are hard to prevent people that don't want it bad enough from doing it themselves.

I used to believe that life was about finding what you are good at and doing that. I was wrong. There is no such thing as exceptional talent without exceptional effort. Any successful individual you read about has struggled to get where they are at. It is human nature to try and find the shortcut. There isn't one. You will not find unbridled success without developing a talent. Enjoying the cultivation process helps.

Take the time to believe in yourself and let others know you believe in them. Empowerment is something that is cheap and can have a profound impact. I'm very bad at this, so I apologize for my shortcomings here. When you see someone up against the wall help them see over it. Sometimes it only takes a change in view to continue to push.

Create something. Whether that be a blog, art, whatever, it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Do something because you can and because you enjoy it.

Quotes- Blackbird

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night
-The Beatles

This song is my life right now. I can't stop listening to it.

It doesn't matter what you have done in the past. F*** your past. You may have been broken, but today you can fly. All the pain, all the crap you have gone through is gone. It is not who you are now. Open your eyes, see the world, face your fear and go in to the night. We are not prisoners of our past; we can open our eyes and change in an instant. Define yourself by your dreams and fly.

Quotes- And Then Some

And then some… these three little words are the secret to success. They are the difference between average people and top people in most companies. The top people always do what is expected …and then some. They are thoughtful of others; they are considerate and kind …and then some. They meet their responsibilities fairly and squarely …and then some. They are good friends and helpful neighbors …and then some. They can be counted on in an emergency …and then some. I am thankful for people like this, for they make the world a better place. Their spirit of service is summed up in these three little words …and then some.
-Carl Holmes

If you are doing what is just asked of you in your job, relationships, life, etc. you are short selling yourself. If you aren't giving more than the minimum you will never cultivate anything of excellence. We are all painters, we draw the landscape of our lives with our actions daily. If you can't give your best, than you are in the wrong line of work or around the wrong people. It's time for a change. Creating your ideal world takes time; plant the seeds today so you can see fruit tomorrow. You're worth it.

Quotes- Insanity

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
-Albert Einstein

Last night I sat in bed trying to fall asleep for over 3 hours. Getting up at 5:24am to go lift was looking more and more daunting as the minutes rolled by and I laid awake unable to sleep. I sat in bed thinking about how tired I would be in 4 hours. "I will probably end up skipping I am going to be so tired," I thought.

I've done it that way hundreds of times. "oops! too tired, back to bed, we'll make it up the next day." I've half assed it plenty, so my results have been half assed. As I lay there I realized that excellence would require me to be different. If I wanted different results I had to change. So at 1am still unable to sleep I got out of bed, got dressed, and went to the gym. I wasn't excited about it and I didn't have my best workout, but I got done what I needed to do to be successful.

I wanted different results than I've gotten in the past.