"Every person who's changed the world or built an empire has sat where you're sitting now". - up in the air
i realize that i am a big loser. i have lost a countless number of times.
and my goal this year? to lose more than i have ever lost before.
how does that even make sense? well it is because i believe that the most successful people are those that really go for it. and well when you really go for it, things aren't always going to go your way.
yeah you could "play it safe" or "play it close to the vest" but how much are you really challenging yourself? how much are you truly growing? because i always believe that to truly grow, you'll have to step out of that comfort zone.
i've lost a million times. when it comes to relationships, running, work, school, basketball, etc.
"If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I would pick the trait of persistence. Determination. The will to endure to the end, to get knocked down seventy times and get up off the floor saying, "Here comes number seventy-one!" - Richard M. DeVos
its why i tell people my favorite athlete is peyton manning. because he lost MANY times before he finally won. and he admitted each time he lost, that he gave it his all. all too many times, when we lose, we give an excuse why we lose. or we don't try 100% so IF we lose, we have an excuse to why we lost (again, the 4th barrier that coelho discusses).
"Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. - Conan O'Brien
time to work really hard and be persistent, even when (not if) things don't always go my way. because noone wants to live a life of regret. and we don't get do-overs.
finished reading the alchemist again and my head is swimming with thoughts...
the 4th obstacle to achieving your dream, "the fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all our lives" confuses many, including myself. i mean if its your dream, why would you sabotage it?
we often hear the expression, "listen to your heart". well sometimes our heart tells us not to follow our dream. thats silly right? why would our heart want us not to follow a dream?
the thing is, following dreams is painful. sometimes we don't achieve what we seek out for. and our hearts know this. sometimes our heart tells us to stop this pursuit to protect us from the potential hurt and failure.
so listen to our hearts. but really understand why our hearts are telling us something. because sometimes we shouldn't walk away from the dream. we should pursue it, even if it means risking potential hurt and pain and going AGAINST what our heart tells us to do. b/c as coelho says, "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."
if any of this doesn't make any sense, please read this book. or ask me for it, and i'll let you borrow mine. coelho presents these thoughts in a much more clear and lucid fashion than i could ever dream to.
i first read the alchemist about a year and a half ago. i was in a very different frame of mind, a different place in my life. i'm rereading it again and its like i'm seeing things for the first time.
wanted to share something, what coelho describes as the "4 obstacles to happiness".
"There are four obstacles:
First: we are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. ... If we have the courage to disinter dream, we are then faced by the second obstacle: love. We know what we want to do, but are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream. ...Once we have accepted that love is a stimulus, we come up against the third obstacle: fear of the defeats we will meet on the path. ... Then comes the fourth obstacle: the fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all our lives.
... But if you believe yourself worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get, then you become an instrument of God, you help the Soul of the World, and you understand why you are here."
deep stuff huh? but i think before we can figure out what our obstacles are, we must first figure out what our dream is. i'm not sure what mine is right now.
just got my fall semester grades. an A in database systems and an A- in Information Systems Analysis and Design. after 3 classes my gpa is a .... 3.80. wow. i can hardly believe it myself.
anyways, one of the good things about cabo was just relaxing. i was able to finish 2 books, "boston marathon or bust" and "sex drugs and cocoa puffs". sd&cp was amazing because of all the pop culture references and relating them back to society in a way that i could identify with. whole chapters dedicated to internet porn, sbtb (saved by the bell), star wars, and john cusack? sign me up.
i've read a ton of marathon books but this one was different. this was almost a "self help book". i guess i don't like the term self help book b/c it implies that those who read it need some help. well truth be told, i guess we could all use a little help. it can't hurt right? anyways, this book talks about what it takes to be successful, how to jump hurdles, etc. very insightful book that is helping me form some very concrete "goals" and plans to achieve those goals. (eerily similar to what i wrote a few weeks ago about why new years resolutions don't work). anyways, i realized what my first real step is to qualifying for boston.
drop some weight (again). time to step out of my comfort zone and start getting...well uncomfortable.
hey everyone, hope you all had a great thanksgiving. i ran in the morning then basically just ate and watched sports all day. great day for sc with a win in basketball and a great win vs asu!
the rest of the weekend, no big plans for me. just some running, meetings for class, and eating leftovers.
i've been reading "the game" by neil strauss. amazing stuff. if you are a dude, you have to read it. it breaks down afc's, pua's, group theory, and ioi's. trust me these are acronyms that you want to know about.
didn't talk about the lakers trade earlier but i love it. even if ariza doesn't play a minute for us (and i think he will play some major ones down the road), its a great trade just getting rid of brian cook and his bad contract. i think of ariza as a shandon anderson type and i think he could be a great fit for the lakes.
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