Persistently Chasing Excellence
Hey guys,
My latest book/project is getting close to being complete. I’m looking to launch in February. Before it gets there, I’d like to make sure that I’ve covered the important topics. Your feedback would be extremely helpful and I’d appreciate it profusely. Click here to fill out the questionnaire.
Thanks,
Pete
As a teacher, I take pride in the fact that I learn all of my students’ first and/or last name within the first three days of class. Learning the names of over 100 people in that amount of time is not always easy but it is good for building a rapport with people. There are plenty of tricks to acquiring information that quickly. Unfortunately the honest truth is that I don’t remember all of the names after the year is over. The other day a former student came to visit and it took about five minutes for me to remember her first name. While I’m not proud of this event, I don’t feel all that badly about it either. The information was in there but just not near the top of the filing system. I feel much worse when I first meet someone and less than a minute later, I don’t remember their name.
There are many reasons why this happens but a major one is that new people aren’t usually important to us yet. In English class you may remember your teacher talking about the “first person”, “second person” and “third person”. That basically represents the way that we used to define people’s importance. In a pre-technology world, the most important person in our lives was ‘self’. This was followed by the people we had contact with directly. Finally there was the rest of the world that held up that third position. Now there is a third class of people, invisible.
Invisible people are all around us. Of course they’re not truly invisible. We can see them if we look hard enough. The reason we usually don’t see them is because we’re looking at our phone, TV or tablet. In theory these should be “third person”, people that are there but you are not directly interacting with. The problem is that position has now been replaced by the “second person”. These are the people that we are in direct contact with but today they are almost universally ignored in favor of the digital. The digital second person is basically the default contact that we reach to before anyone else. For some, it seems as though all people have become invisible people.
So this weekend, give life back to the invisible people. Take the time to see who is there. Engage with people you know and don’t know on human level. Remember that a hug is better than text. A smile is better than a like. Time with an old friend is better than a new Facebook friend. Technology is a tool just like a hammer. Used correctly, both are intended to build. Used incorrectly, both have the possibility to destroy. Be human this weekend and visit with the invisible people.
Growing up, my grandparents owned an A-frame house in the Pocono Mountains. It remains one of my favorite places in the world even though they sold it over 20 years ago. This place was spectacular! It had no TV, only a radio that may have been from the 1950’s. There was no running water, we had to fill 5 gallon jugs at the spring nearby. The toilet was filled by rainwater that needed to be pumped into the basin after each use. There were exactly two bedrooms and about twelve beds. The master bedroom was on the first floor and it contained one king size bed. The rest of the beds were set up end to end in two columns on the second floor varying from a crib up to a queen size. At maximum capacity, the second floor could sleep about 20 people. It was located on a gravel road about a half mile from a lake with a small sand beach. The nearest store or other forms of civilization were at least five miles away. It was a wonderful place to vacation.
By many standards, this might seem like the exact opposite of a vacation spot. It seemingly lacks all of the comfort that one might look for in a week away. However everything that was lacking was what made it so great. The lack of TV forced everyone to find other ways to entertain themselves. My brothers and I caught salamanders. We raced them down the gutters on the side of the house. My grandmother taught us to play rummy and other card games at night. The lack of running water made us conscious of our resources. Also everyone had to pitch in with finding firewood for cooking or carrying supplies from the car on arrival. The communal sleeping arrangements forced people to get along and be respectful of the needs of others. We had everything that we needed when we had nothing that most people would have wanted.
In our fast paced, consumer based world, most of us do not lack resources but rather resourcefulness. Having more things is not particularly the answer. Now that most Americans have most of their needs met, satisfying their wants has not particularly made them any happier. Since more is not particularly the answer, perhaps the answer lies in better and deeper forms of less. Rather than having 500 Facebook friends, it might be better to have 5 irreplaceable friends. In the place of better resolution on your flat-screen, put more resolve into the relationships with the cast in your own life.
I’m not saying that you can’t have it all. I’m saying that the key to having it all may be enjoying all that you can from all that you have. Less will always be more if it is appreciated for what it is and not lamented for all that it lacks.
Double down on a person or situation that really deserves it.
Pete
My mother is a spectacular cook. Her cookies are famous among our family and friends. She makes sensational macaroni and cheese. Although I don’t eat them, I’ve been told that her apple pie is the best. I’ve started off with this shower of compliments because my mom is also a bit clumsy. She has fallen and hurt herself quite a few times. Once she broke her ankle without even falling down. She and gravity are not the fondest of friends.
It is a force that sometimes wreaks havoc on her life. Gravity could be seen as a force that pulls us down but more accurately it is a force that makes us lift ourselves up. Gravity is not overwhelming. It is a relatively small amount of resistance to endure. We’ve become quite adept as a species at defeating gravity in a variety of ways. At the moment our problem is not that we cannot overcome resistance, it is that we do not face enough of it.
In the modern world, we face so little resistance on a daily basis that we have forgotten or never learned how to overcome it. The challenges of most days are nothing more than annoyance. With so little an amount of resistance against us, we should be able to break free of their pull and almost fly. BUT we don’t. The reason that we don’t is simple. We’re afraid. Afraid that we’ll fail. Afraid that we’ll lift off but then fall. Afraid that someone will see us and laugh. Gravity is a force, a constant that we can work around. We did not create it but we can figure a way around it. Why can’t we do the same thing with fear? Unlike gravity, it does not have to be a constant and we create it. So getting around it or destroying it completely is well within our grasp. Fashion your wings and fly.
Pete
With a very quick internet search, I found a list of 225 stadiums in the United States. This list does not come close to covering all of the high school and college stadiums that exist. However the number does illustrate pretty easily that we are obsessed with competition in this country. The enormous salaries of professional athletes further shows that we put a huge value on competition. Visiting one of those stadiums would make something else very clear. Special attention is paid to championship seasons. This means that the team either won more than anyone else or won when it mattered most. Despite this overwhelming obsession with competition and results, in life we tend to ignore the games that are most meaningful.
The reason that we ignore is because there is no stadium, scoreboard or crowd. The game that we are playing is the game of NOW. Each moment of our life can be WON or lost. NOW is the only game that matters and there are too many opponents to count.
We lose NOW to laziness.
We lose NOW to procrastination.
We lose NOW to fear.
We lose NOW to indifference.
We lose NOW to foolishness.
We lose NOW to the promise of later.
NOW has to be WON. The beauty of this game is that we are in control of the rules, the scoring, and the opponents that we allow to play. NOW is a rigged game if we’re willing to take control of it.
Decide today! How do I win this moment? How do I string a large number of winning moments together? Have I been losing without even knowing? Life is a game in so many ways. Don’t forget that you’re the referee and the score keeper. And most of all, don’t forget to lace up and start playing NOW!
Sometimes it is directly said and sometimes it is an expectation. Much of our education system has been working with this paradigm for decades. The idea is that sitting down and being quiet leads to better grades, more retention, better students and better employees. In all honesty, I don’t truly have a problem with the idea of sitting down and shutting up provided that there is also an opportunity to stand up and make a ruckus. This opportunity to SUMR used to happen outside of school but most activities are now adult driven. In a recent interview, I was asked “why do you think teens are so stressed today?” The answer to the question is relatively simple but the resolution is much more complex.
The simple answer is expectation. The modern teenager has been thrust into a world of paradoxical expectation. For years on end, kids today are taught that the secret to survival is to sit down, shut up and follow directions. Those who learn these lessons are lauded for a few years until they reach a point where they need to make their own decisions. At that point, they are expected to know how to use their judgement but that faculty has never been exercised and is therefore weak. Those who rebel against the SDSUFD model are labeled as troublemakers and given fewer opportunities for advancement. They see that the system doesn’t like them and they don’t care for the system either. Systems are only valuable as long as they work. SDSUFD only partially works and needs to be adjusted.
Humans were built for action. We were meant to fly! Unfortunately the mixture of old systems and new circumstances have clipped our wings or made us believe that we have none. We’ve been made to believe that we are supposed to wait for someone else to tell us what to do. That we are supposed to be more robotic, more efficient and less emotional. This is completely contrary to everything that human beings are. We are animals that are most efficient when our emotions are in line with our objectives.
So what does this mean for each of us?
If you are a teenager, you need to balance your daily SDSUFD with SUMR. You need to have an outlet, either mental, physical and/or emotional that you choose. Begin the process of getting your hands onto the steering wheel of your life. You’re most likely not ready to have full control of your life yet but you should not be in the backseat either.
If you’re in your twenties or older, take a hard look at your life and decide how much of your life belongs to you. This is not a call to buck all authority or burn every bridge in your life. It is a call to more action for your own betterment. Sometimes that action will be that you need to “sit down, shut up and listen”. Then you need to stand up and act on what you’ve heard. Step forward and take your role as the star of your own TV show. If you are playing a secondary role in someone else’s show, then you need to rewrite the script.
Take today as if it belonged to you because truly it does.
Pete
On Thursday of this past week, tickets for Adele’s tour went on sale. Through some minor internet miracle, I was able to get a pair of tickets for my wife and daughter. They both love Adele and were extremely excited about their good fortune. This will be my daughter’s first concert. My wife commented that our kids have done pretty well for their first concerts: Foo Fighters at CitiField and Adele at Madison Square Garden. By comparison, my wife first saw the Beach Boys (way past their prime) at Waterloo Village and I saw Poison at the Meadowlands. I’m not sure that most people’s first concert experience has a big effect on them but mine did. Please share in the comments what was the first concert that you attended.
The reason that my first concert was memorable had nothing to do with Poison. I actually much preferred the opening act, Tesla. After that concert, I went to Sam Goody or some other record store and bought “The Great Radio Controversy”. It was a decent album but the music eventually became secondary to the process that it started. The liner notes to the album explained the name of the band and what the great radio controversy was about. After reading that bit of information, I looked further into Nikola Tesla. It was the first time that I remember using an encyclopedia for something that was not school related (the internet was not available). Music was a gateway to exploring information and ideas that would not be presented in school. This habit continued through high school with my interest in punk rock which helped to expand my vocabulary and thought processes. At this point in my life, this form exploration is second nature and the internet has made it much easier.
The one thing that I try to avoid is getting caught in a complete echo chamber. Although we have infinite amounts of information available to us, many people get caught listening to the same messages continuously. This is not to say that all things are worthy of our attention. It is important to consider what you value and be open to new possibilities when they come along. Poison was an OK concert to begin with but if I was still only listening to “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”, I’d be worried about myself. Although we tend to think of ourselves in very concrete terms, we should be anything but stagnant. Seeking out the next step seems to be a better strategy than waiting for someone to tell us where to go.
Adele is on tour now because she is relevant at the moment. There is nothing wrong with going to see Poison provided that you realize that they’re a nostalgia act. Visiting the past is enjoyable. Living in the past can be dangerous. The past is unchangeable. The present is our one opportunity to affect the future. Decide what you need in order to take your show on the road and be tour now.
Pete
Hanging on the wall in my son’s room is a stock certificate for one share of Disney stock. It was a gift at his birth from his Uncle Peter and Aunt Paula. More than anything it is decorative. At the time of its purchase, Disney stock was worth about $35. With the acquisition and release of Star Wars, it is now worth about $114. So in theory my son’s stock portfolio has performed very well. It is worth over 300% of its original value. The growth is outstanding but it’s not enough shares to create truly meaningful value. The stock was a gift, never truly meant to turn my son into an investor.
However the truth is that we are ALL investors! Stocks are a financial investment. That is the type of investment that most people think about when they hear the word. The truth is that we can invest in many types of currency. Right now you’re investing several of your most precious currencies on this blog post: time, attention and possibly trust. Many people don’t get involved in monetary investing because the markets are too unpredictable. There is the risk of major losses at stake. It is impossible to lose money, if you don’t put any in. People are usually conscious of how they invest their money. Often they are not as conscious about how they invest their other resources.
Time, attention, trust, love, respect and many others are all currencies that should be invested with more intelligence than money. Money is a renewable resource while time is not. If you lose twenty dollars, you can always make up for that loss. The lost twenty minutes is gone forever with no hope of replacement. Since money is tangible we give it extra reverence but these other currencies are as or more important. So perhaps it is time to look at your investment portfolio and decide if it is balanced. Have you put yourself into a position to be swimming in the assets that you have accrued through careful planning? Or will you feel bankrupt in the end because you squandered the resources that you had? You are an amazing human being who is destined to do great things if you’ll use your resources wisely!
Invest wisely today!
Pete
As we approach the New Year, there will be plenty of people that will resolve to lose a certain amount of weight. As we endeavor to do anything, it is important that we identify what we TRULY want and not some facsimile or symptom. If someone wants to lose ten pounds, the quickest way to do so would be to do the following:
The above process is definitely “gaming” the system but it brings into plain view one fact. Weight is only partially measuring the thing that you think that you care about. It is also measuring how much gravity is pulling on you. You are one space shuttle ride away from losing all the weight that you have. The things that are truly important are: health, energy, vitality, self-esteem, self-image, or a variety of other things. Weight is a system of measurement without a doubt but it is not the only system of measurement.
The world is changing and many of the systems that we have clung to are breaking down. As this breakdown continues, it is important to look at what you value most. Are you merely “gaming” the system? Are you going after real results that have the value that you’re looking for? As a teacher, I see it all the time. The desire for the short term grade rather than the long term knowledge or skills is pervasive. In the long run, the grade is almost worthless without the knowledge or skills. It is not the only system that is broken. We can take valuable fruit from the broken systems but only if we’re willing to see. Weight is invisible but if we look in the right places, we can see what really matters rather than accurately measuring what doesn’t.
Pete
In a week’s time, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be a cultural phenomena throughout the United States and the world. Millions of people will wait in line to be thrilled by the adventures of old and new heroes from “a galaxy far, far away.” As we (yep, Luke and I have tickets) sit there in the seats watching the new chapter of this modern day myth, some people will let their imaginations soar for two hours. Unfortunately that is where it will stop for many. The reason why Star Wars resonates with so many people is that it follows the formula of many of the greatest myths in history.
In his book, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” Joseph Campbell deconstructs what he called the hero’s journey. For thousands of years, people have been retelling similar versions of the same basic story. The reason why it works is because the formula involves a regular person who is “called to adventure”. The fact that the hero’s journey is focused upon the development and ultimate triumph of the “every-man” makes it an almost irresistible hook for the general public. It is easy to see one’s self being called to a spectacular adventure and answering that call. Although we can picture ourselves answering the call to adventure, the call often does not come or is imperceptible.
In most of our lives, there are very few “calls to adventure”. The call needs to come from within. Expecting that the world is going to lift your butt off the couch and force you to do something great is foolish. Besides if a Sith Lord showed up at your door looking for a lightsaber duel, you’d probably sh– your pants. I would. You need to read the signs and choose your own adventure. Force yourself to do something outside of your comfort zone. Force yourself to be better than you’ve been in the past. Force yourself to engage with people and circumstances that would thrill you. GO FORCE YOURSELF because then you’ll have something to do until Episode 8 is released. Enjoy the movie and enjoy your life.
May the Force be with you.
Pete
Huryk Unlimited 