Category: Gravity

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Is It Right In Front Of You?

I was having an off day, today.

Didn’t feel like doing anything.

I had a hard time with my walk this morning. I usually start feeling good and energized after a few minutes… didn’t happen today.

I felt like crap.

I was sort of dragging myself through the day.

I decided, before work, to move forward on a few household issues that needed attention.

I felt like I could handle these even in a crappy state.

The dishes weren’t done.

There was a hole in the wall from a door handle.

The air filter for our AC needs to be replaced.

Oh. And I needed to write an article.

Several of them I didn’t even complete… I just took a step forward.

Dishes got done.

Got a new door stop, and spackle to fill the hole. I’ll likely fill the hole tomorrow.

Forgot the size of the air filter, but I checked it and have it in my phone so I can pick it up on my next trip out.

And I’m nearly done with this article as well.

The results?

I don’t feel amazing.

But I feel significantly better than I did.

Not a stunning win immediately… but a small win right now and one I suspect will continue to build over time.

All these tasks were relatively small things that were right in front of me. Several of them have been ignored repeatedly.

There is always some work to be done right now.

It’s useful to have a few ideas of simple tasks that are right in front of you that can be completed when you have time or when you really need a win… no matter how small.

Most of the time it isn’t the one thing that will give you financial freedom, amazing relationships, or incredible youthfulness and good health.

Frequently it is just a small step forward.

But small steps build up over time.

Keep your sword sharp, Stoic.

Ben

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The True Teacher

Long ago, I spent 7 years practicing karate.

Before taking karate, I had lots of movie-inspired images of how a fight might go if I was ever in one.  Getting live feedback from the knuckles of my fellow students and my instructor cured me of these delusions.

These days, I’m something of a teacher, myself.  But I haven’t forgotten the wisdom of the knuckles.

And there are lots of other teachers out there.

But..

There is only one Teacher.

And the Teacher educates you less through talk, and largely through interaction with the world.  This interaction can be very painful.

Me and all the other teachers out there… at our very best… can only point you to the Teacher and speed up your journey a bit. Hopefully we help you to minimize the pain.

But who or what is the Teacher?

The True Teacher is God.

Or Nature.

Or the Universe.

Or Life.

Whatever you like to call that which allows us to be here.

Part of the brilliance of Stoicism is the recognition that we only get better to the degree we align with nature.

We sometimes refer to it as experience.

Another way to look at this: Whatever you learn, find a way to get it into the field and get feedback as quickly as possible. You only truly learn through experience. Whatever you read or hear is debatable. When you have actually done it, you get an understanding that leaves much less need for guessing and theorizing.

In karate, you get hit some of the time.

But over time, you learn to avoid some of the punches. And you learn to roll with some of the punches.

It is wise to recognize there is a great deal of suffering in life. But it also wise to suffer no more than necessary.

Another way to say this:

Sometimes you’re gonna get hit…

But you should avoid the punches you can, and roll with the punches you can’t.

Keep your sword sharp, Stoic.

Ben

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Takeaways from Day 1 of the Time To Rise Summit

Tony is brilliant, so the event was brilliant.  That’s no surprise.

Intense.  High Energy.  Fun.

My biggest takeaway?

I was reminded of a time late last year when I was reading Robert Greene’s Daily Laws.

He starts with a quote from Nietzsche:

My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati:  that one wants nothing to be other than it is, not in the future, not in the past, not in all eternity.  Not merely to endure that which happens of necessity… but to love it.


Greene suggests we learn to appreciate calamity and seeming disasters… because this makes us stronger.

We can welcome the challenges and discomfort that come up in life (or welcome the strength we gain from them), but we can also proactively face some discomfort so that we are constantly building this strength of character.

At the event today, this came up in at least two ways:

First, there was the suggestion to challenge yourself physically on a regular (preferably daily) basis.

Examples:

  • Cold plunges
  • Pushing yourself to the edge in exercise

Second, whatever is the most important step (toward your major goal) that you least want to do… do that first.

If you pick the worst and do it first, everything gets easier after that by comparison.

And over time, it becomes one of the most powerful habits you can have.

What’s it like when you pick up a simple daily practice that eventually

makes you unstoppable?

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The Secret of Burning Desire…

Back in the esrly 2000s, I always felt sad reading Napoleon Hill.

I wanted success.

I just didn’t want it enough to call it a burning desire.

I tried wanting it more… but that didn’t seem to work.

I tried coming up with more reasons why… but that only changed it a little.

I tried coming up with more audacious goals (why make millions when I could make trillions)… but the bigger they got, the more distant and unlikely they seemed.

Why Make Millions When I Can Make Trillions…

Karate sort of answered the question for me.

I spent years reading books about martial arts… and watching kung fu flicks.

Then I spent years looking for a good martial arts school in northwest Florida. All told, I visited over 20 different schools. 

In most cases, the style didn’t look like something I wanted to learn. In some cases, I couldn’t imagine training with the instructor.

Any time I found a place I really liked (two, that I can remember), it was too far away to train regularly (60 minutes in one case and 90 minutes in the other).

Then I moved to Colorado Springs.

And as luck would have it… the third school I walked into was the one I trained at for the next 7 years.

It was a special time in my life.

I was doing something I loved, and I was doing it for me. It was frequently painful… but it was the kind of pain that lights up your eyes.

…but it was the kind of pain that lights up your eyes

At first, I mostly went in twice a week.

Over time I started showing up as often as I could… three to five times a week, and sometimes multiple times per day.

In 2005, I earned my Black Belt in Coppock’s Kenpo Karate.

Where did I get the Burning Desire?

I don’t have a complete answer, but I have an important piece.

Gradual persistence.

I kept coming back.

And I continued to invest more over time.

Too much too fast, and I quit.

But the implementation of my karate obsession was gradual.

I also had fun on the path.  I really enjoyed training in kenpo.  Even before that… I enjoyed checking out new martial arts schools.

There was also a strong community.  I really liked my fellow students.

And possibly more important… I found a great instructor.

You don’t have to have all of these to discover your burning desire… but if you don’t have any of them… you’re gonna have a Hell of a time.