Three Videos to Get You Pumped

Here are three incredibly motivational videos to get you revved up for your day (and your life). Take notes on them...especially the last one!

Special thanks to Alex Cane, whose Facebook post of the first video led me to dig up the other two. Total rush.

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Funny Crap My Kid Says

I have a four-year-old daughter. If I could draw, she (especially in combination with my cat) would be my comic strip. The things that come out of most kids' mouths are usually pretty priceless. But when her cherubic little countenance spouts these things, there's just no way to stop from laughing.

...or cringing.

[after taking a chunk out of her toe on a concrete step]
"Shhhhhh! Aahhhhhh...Good lord!...Hey look, Daddy: I can see the inside of my foot!"
 >.<

 Her: Are you going to play with the choir now?
Me: No sweetie, the choir isn’t here today.
Her: Oh...so you’re playing with yourself.
>.< 

Her: Who are you talking to?
Me: Nanny.
Her: What nanny?
Me: Your nanny.
Her: I’m not a nanny!
>.<

"Daddy, make sure there are no flies in here. I don’t want them to sping me. Especially bees and wops."
>.<

Her: Excuse me...How old are you?
Waitress: Um...I’m 22. How old are you?
Her: I’m four. What’s your number?
Waitress: [casts a sideways glance at le dad, who is trying to hide under the table] 
>.<

Store employee: Hi! What’s your name?
Her: I’m Mila. What’s yours?
Store employee: I’m Dana.
Her: Well Dana, it’s very nice to meet you [handshake].
Dana: [lol] How old are you?
Her: I’m four. How old are you?
Dana: Oh...too old sometimes.
Her: Are you as old as like my daddy?
Dana: I don’t know...maybe.
Her: Wow! You must be a pro!
>.<

Her: So, um, Daddy...
Me: Yes?
Her: Did we do a Barney break? [that's after watching the same DVD 5 times in a row] 
Me: Yep.
Her: Sooo...we had a Barney break then.
Me: Yep.
Her: So, I guess that means we can watch it now, huh?
>.<

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A Lesson from Hick Abbott

As you know, The Man Sphere is all about improvement. Over the weekend, we in Canada celebrated the observance of Remembrance Day (Veterans' Day in the US), which of course commemorates the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I in 1918. It's a time to give pause and reflect on the sacrifices of veterans from the Great Wars, and of those who continue to serve, in the advancement of the cause of peace.

But it's more than that. To the man looking to be all that he can be (if it's not too cliche to quote the US Army), it's a time to pause and think about the sacrifices we're able to make in our own lives. Can we, in fact, be more than we are? Can we create a greater contribution in the lives of others? Is self-improvement a selfish act?

This passage floated across my Facebook feed this weekend. It's from a general speaking at the funeral of Edward Lyman "Hick" Abbott (read more HERE). It summarizes what was then a good assessment of a stout Canadian, and what is, I think, the standard to which many of us aspire in life and business:

"He was the type of Canadian, and the type of Britisher, that the Germans cannot understand; the type that fights with a silent fury and yet that does not hate; too much of a sportsman to fight unfairly, but more dangerous in attack than their finest products of hate-inspiration because of utter recklessness combined with a deadly skill and total inability to recognize defeat.”

Give that a good read once again. Of course this is a piece out of history, where these ethnic and country lines were drawn much more sharply than they are in today's pluralistic world. But the attitude described is one worthy of note. He fights with a silent fury, but doesn't do so out of hate. He does so out of motivation to succeed; out of a sense of honour and defense; out of a sense of obligation to protect that which is most valued in his life, and the lives of those he loves.

See the next part? Too much of a sportsman to fight unfairly, but dangerous because of utter recklessness combined with deadly skill. Carry this into other spheres of endeavour, and our own desire to deal fairly with others can be tempered with a sound acumen, be that in business or personal life. Acumen, I think, is that combination of willingness to take risk (utter recklessness) and solid training and awareness of the field (deadly skill); in other words, being trained, motivated, and willing to risk the adventure for the sake of the goal.

The last point, though, is one I find most poignant: "total inability to recognize defeat." We talk a lot about perseverence through adversity, and when it comes to setting goals for our own improvement this process is vastly enhanced by the knowledge; not the mere estimation or assumption; that things will get tough. Not recognizing defeat doesn't mean being blind to the reality of failure. It means understanding that failure is not an end; that there is more life and another process beyond that. That's perseverence.

Fury without hate. Fair but dangerous. Reckless but with deadly skill. Unable to recognize defeat.

Sounds like the kind of guy I'd like to be.

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Live How You Want To Live

I read an interesting meme on Facebook this week that got me thinking. The quote is from Doctor Who, and it reads:

Some people live more in 20 years than others do in 80. It's not the time that matters, it's the person.

This struck me as poignant, because I, like many other modern males, have recently discovered that I haven't "lived." Not by this definition at any rate.

I'm a big fan of Tim Ferriss' work, and some of his ideas do permeate my to-do list. I also see that there are a lot of women (a LOT) on dating sites who are looking for travel and adventure. And it occurs to me that there is a curious modern mindset that in order to have "lived," one must have lived extensively by experiencing "all that life has to offer."

Here's my problem: what if you don't actually like to travel? What if your personal idea of contentment is actually coming home to a place of comfort, putting on a favourite movie, and kicking back? What if partying on the beaches of Ibiza is so contrary to your personal nature that the thought of it actually makes your guts clench?

There's a disconnect here between ideas of self-acceptance and ideas of life fulfillment  Let's assume for a moment that we accept the notion that different people have different barometers for happiness. We can't, therefore, assume that the desire to collect nice things and avoid vagabonding is a kind of failure. Yet memes like this seem to suggest that the object of the game is to get out and live more; "more" having the subtext of "better."

Some people don't like to travel. Some people don't like to attend gala parties. Some people don't like to stay at home on their vacations. Some people don't like to go to bed at 10 p.m.. These are the realities of personal differences, and we have to accept them. Constantly telling people that not living up to a certain level of adventure is a failure of life by some arbitrary measure of someone else's happiness is a recipe for depression.

Guys, you're grown ups. Live how you want to live. If you like adventure, go for it. If you like kicking back at home, go for it.

The Doctor doesn't get to tell you how to live.

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A Much Easier Way To Live

Grandmaster Wong Jianhua (to me, translated by Master Peng): "Don't attack. When you attack, you always have to plan. Where to hit. Where to look for weakness. Where to block. What can he do if you do this or this, and what can you do for each response? And you do this all before you make a move, and if your opponent doesn't do what you've planned for, your attack is finished. Instead, defend. Then you only need to respond. If he does nothing, you do nothing. If he does this, you do that. Attack clouds your mind with strategy. Defense only has one strategy: counter the attack. This is a much easier way to win, and a much easier way to live."

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